Mariam Aly
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mariamaly.bsky.social
Mariam Aly
@mariamaly.bsky.social
7.6K followers 500 following 560 posts
I study brains and sometimes use one.

https://www.alylab.org/
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mariamaly.bsky.social
Excited to release the SPOT grid: a new image set that factorially crosses scene-object & texture-pattern pairings.

We hope these stimuli will be useful to researchers aiming to (partially) disentangle the contributions of lower- and higher-level visual features to behavior & brain activity.

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8x8 grid depicting the approach to stimulus creation. Feature pairs are on the axes and images are in the cells. The x-axis represents the high-level feature pairs: setting (green) and object (teal). For example, the first column of images all depict “truck” (object) in “field” (setting) rendered in various textures and patterns. The y-axis represents low-level feature pairs: texture (blue) and pattern (purple). For example, the first row of images all depict different objects and settings rendered as if drawn with crayon (texture) and containing large horizontal edges (pattern).
September 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I can't quite believe it – I got a new NSF grant! 😲🤯

I'm incredibly grateful to the program officers & reviewers for their dedication and efforts to keep science going 🌟👏🏼

So, I'll be hiring! Looking for a postdoc to study competition in memory-guided attention. See flyer for details! 🎉
[Aly Lab Logo: schematic of brain in shades of blue with two cut-out seahorses facing each other]. Postdoctoral Position in the Aly Lab at UC Berkeley. We are recruiting a postdoctoral scholar to work on NSF-funded research examining competition and cooperation in memory-guided attention. The position will be supervised by Dr. Mariam Aly (https://www.alylab.org/) in the Department of Psychology at UC Berkeley. Candidates should have a PhD in Psychology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or a related field, and expertise in studies of behavior as well as neuroimaging and/or eye tracking. This is a two-year position with a flexible start date. More details here: https://tinyurl.com/alylabpostdoc
August 22, 2025 at 6:04 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Nice! I can appreciate good citrus. Currently I'm going overboard with smoothies made with Ataulfo mangoes
A pile of 12 Ataulfo mangoes on a table, with a bag of apricots in the background.
July 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
And the views never get old
Ferry departing from SF ferry terminal. San Francisco Bay, Yerba Buena island & Bay Bridge in view.
July 16, 2025 at 10:52 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
It's awesome living in a place where ferry commutes are possible. With occasional sea lions even!
sea lion on a pier at the Berkeley marina
July 16, 2025 at 10:48 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Lovely!! I went to my first bonsai garden last month (the one at Lake Merritt, Oakland). Here are a few of my favorites. I think a couple are cypress and one is a redwood.
Bonsai tree with reddish-brown and white bark in stripes (white bark is dead). Wavy bonsai tree with whitish bark.. Upright bonsai with broad trunk. Shot of several bonsai with palm trees in the distance. In the center is a redwood bonsai.
June 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I adore it. Some photos from our walk today – it's a beautiful day!
Redwood tree. Purple tubular flowers with an intricate white pattern on the inside. I think it's foxglove. View of green trees with San Francisco Bay in the distance. Yellow rose with more yellow roses in the background.
May 5, 2025 at 1:34 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Snake!
Snake on a park walking path. Water and hills in the background.
April 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I also cuddled my neighbors’ cat. No photos this time but here are some photos from a while back
Grey cat being pet; part of woman’s arm in view. Gray cat with white belly and white feet, lying on its back with arms and legs in the air and belly exposed.
March 23, 2025 at 2:24 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
This is wonderful, Angeline. I agree it’s important to savor the moments of joy we have. Today I appreciated the spring flowers
Flowers with a yellow middle, an almost black color around the middle, and pink near the edges. Green plants in the background. Purple and white flowers, with red and white flowers and green plants in the background. Vibrant red flowers and green leaves. Flowering magnolia tree.
March 23, 2025 at 2:20 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
UC Berkeley is joining the national #StandUpforScience movement on Mar 7, 12-1pm. Join scientists, activists, & community members to defend science! Join us & spread the word. To learn more, volunteer, or suggest a speaker: www.standup4scienceberkeley.com
#SUFSatCAL #standupforscience2025
Statue of Liberty image along with the following text: Stand Up for Science 2025. March 7, UC Berkeley. 12:00 – Community speeches. 12:45 – March through campus. Science is for everyone. Join academics, students, and activists at Upper Sproul to defend science as a public good. Families welcome!
March 5, 2025 at 2:32 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
How is the memorability of an image influenced by how it makes us feel?

@hartwakeland.bsky.social created an image set (VAMOS) of over 900 scene images, along with their valence, arousal, and memorability ratings. They then showed that *moderately* negative images are more memorable!

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Sample images sorted by evoked valence/arousal and memorability. Scene images were selected to span a wide range of average valence and arousal scores. The figure above shows examples of memorable and forgettable images from across the spectra of valence and arousal. Examples include a tornado (negative and memorable), pollution from a factory (negative and forgettable), a field of sunflowers (positive and memorable), a frosty field in early morning (positive and forgettable), a car crash (high arousal and memorable), and a mountain scene (high arousal and forgettable).
January 16, 2025 at 4:01 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I should clarify, what I vaguely referred to as "citrus" are actually owari satsuma mandarins – I need to brush up on my fruit knowledge 😊
Four owari satsuma mandarins, with attached leaves, on a desk.
December 18, 2024 at 10:06 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I finished my 1st semester at Berkeley & learned that the lore of students giving apples to their teachers needs adjustment - in California you get persimmons, pomegranates, & citrus from students who have fruit trees at home. It’s delightful. Thank you to the amazing students this semester 🥰
Two persimmons on a table, with a note saying “For Mariam”.
December 18, 2024 at 8:00 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I want to see more lab jackets. Varsity jackets would be *hilarious*.
Black and white varsity jacket with "Aly Lab" on one side and the Aly Lab logo on the other (a schematic of a brain in blue colors, with a cut-out of two seahorses facing each other).
December 10, 2024 at 10:30 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
This one (from Nadel) is too long to fit into one post but you really do just have to read the whole thing, I promise it's worth it
What started as a potential Psychological Review article morphed into a monograph that grew from 300+ typewritten pages to the book we finally published after too many years (O'Keefe and Nadel 1978). The circumstances causing this shift from an article to a book were amusing (in hindsight): John and I regularly attended seminars in Elizabeth Warrington's group in Queen Square, now the site of several outstanding neuroscience institutes. These seminars were usually followed by sherry and conversation in Elizabeth's smallish office. On one such occasion the speaker was holding court about what a liberated male he was (this was the early 1970s) and after about 10 min I couldn't take his pomposity any longer and said some quite intemperate things, after which John and I left. As we walked along Queen Square John asked gently—“you do know who that was, right? Of course, I responded, a real jerk. No, John said, that was the current Editor of Psych Review.” Thus ended any thought of submitting an article to that journal, and since there weren't any other venues for theory pieces in those days we decided to write a small monograph instead, with Oxford University Press as the target.
December 8, 2024 at 5:07 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Scenes from an evening hike up the hills. Much to be grateful for ☺️
Evening view from the Berkeley hills. San Francisco Bay in the distance, orange and yellow sunset, trees. Evening view from the Berkeley hills. San Francisco Bay in the distance, orange and yellow sunset, dense foliage close by, nearby house, other buildings in the distance View from the top of some stairs in the Berkeley hills. House to the right, trees nearby, San Francisco Bay in the distance, sunset light.
November 29, 2024 at 2:54 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Love this! We moved our plants from NY to CA this summer, via plane. Including large ones in checked baggage ☺️
Several grown plants (including parlor palms and snake plants) in plant pots draining in a tub. They were repotted after a cross-county move. Repotted plants on a kitchen floor with streaming sunshine. Two snake plants, two parlor palms, Chinese evergreen, dracaena, jade, and chives.
November 17, 2024 at 6:44 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
The beginning of Fall colors is uniquely beautiful against a backdrop of palm and fruit trees 😊
Quiet, tree-lined street with green, orange, and red leaves and a palm tree in the corner. Colorful bush with yellows, oranges, and green. Tree-lined street with green and red leaves and a large palm tree. Trees with red and green leaves.
September 22, 2024 at 10:57 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Today I learned that eucalyptus sap looks like blood
Bright red sap from a eucalyptus tree.
September 2, 2024 at 7:02 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Took public transit to this beach over the weekend and saw whales breaching from the shore. I still can’t get over how lucky I am to be here 😊❤️
View of the Pacific Ocean from a cliff. A person is hang gliding above. View of the Pacific Ocean from a cliff.
August 16, 2024 at 1:28 AM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Views from my previous faculty position vs. current faculty position 😊
View from my prior office: dumpsters. View from new workplace: lots of green trees, hills in the distance, hint of San Francisco Bay
July 16, 2024 at 7:36 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
I know this is primarily a science account. But I'm moving back to California on Friday and realizing that THIS is home is making me very happy 😄
Picture of UC Berkeley's campus with extremely large redwood in front and white buildings with red roofs toward the back. Albany Beach Overlook. View of San Francisco Bay on a cloudless day, with rocky and sandy shoreline. Cat crossing sign in a residential neighborhood. Woman's hand with giant strawberry as big as her palm. The strawberry was delicious despite the alarming size.
June 11, 2024 at 6:07 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
When I moved to California for my PhD, I felt like I was home. I never wanted to leave.

So I am *delighted* to be going back – to join the faculty at UC Berkeley's psych department!

Thanks to my amazing lab, mentors, letter writers, friends, & partner for helping me land a dream job ❤️ 🔆

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Photo taken during my November interview. Taken from outside a cafe close to my new home in Berkeley Way West! The photo shows some white buildings on Berkeley's campus, with a staircase in the middle and green and red foliage around the buildings. The sky is a beautiful blue.
April 12, 2024 at 4:10 PM
mariamaly.bsky.social
Beginning of my time in NYC vs end of my time in NYC
Three small plants sit on a windowsill of an NYC apartment: a dracaena, a snake plant, and a Chinese evergreen. In the background, the brick wall that served as our, and their, view for 7 years. The small plants have grown into a jungle (jungle includes parlor palms not in previous picture). Their view is still an ugly brick wall but they have flourished nonetheless.
April 7, 2024 at 8:26 PM