Mark D Humphries
@markdhumphries.bsky.social
Theoretical systems neuroscientist. Author of “The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds”: https://tinyurl.com/ymwy9jrh
Lab: https://humphries-lab.org
Essays on the brain: https://drmdhumphries.medium.com/
Lab: https://humphries-lab.org
Essays on the brain: https://drmdhumphries.medium.com/
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Excited to share our preprint on variability in patch leaving decisions! Check out the 🧵 below
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Excited to share our preprint on variability in patch leaving decisions! Check out the 🧵 below
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Super pleased with this one, led by the amazing PhD student and foraging expert @emmavscholey.bsky.social!
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Super pleased with this one, led by the amazing PhD student and foraging expert @emmavscholey.bsky.social!
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Delighted to share our latest preprint. It's been a long time coming. Thanks to all the authors for their unique contribution and for for their patience. We show how the visual thalamus deals with active and passive head motion in freely moving animals: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Efficient mixed representation of active and passive motion in the mouse visual thalamus during natural behaviour
During natural behaviour, changes in the visual scene are largely driven by the subject’s own movements, which can be actively generated (e.g., walking) or passively imposed by external forces (e.g., ...
www.biorxiv.org
November 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Delighted to share our latest preprint. It's been a long time coming. Thanks to all the authors for their unique contribution and for for their patience. We show how the visual thalamus deals with active and passive head motion in freely moving animals: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint:
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
“Sexual dimorphism in the complete connectome of the Drosophila male central nervous system” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We describe the #connectomics reconstruction and analysis of an entire adult #maleCNS #drosophila central nervous system. 1/10
🚨Registration for Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 closes October 20th 🚨
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Home - The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging
uobevents.eventsair.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:23 AM
🚨Registration for Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 closes October 20th 🚨
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join the lab to study how cortical microcircuits are organised at the single cell level using high throughput molecular methods. Please share and get in touch if interested!
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
October 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join the lab to study how cortical microcircuits are organised at the single cell level using high throughput molecular methods. Please share and get in touch if interested!
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Pleased to have this review out in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social. In it we discuss various aspects of the intersection between foraging behaviors and neuroscience, and offer some future directions: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
The study of foraging is central to a renewed interest in naturalistic behavior in neuroscience. Applying a foraging framework grounded in behavioral …
www.sciencedirect.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Pleased to have this review out in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social. In it we discuss various aspects of the intersection between foraging behaviors and neuroscience, and offer some future directions: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Plus, there's now a related conference organized by some wonderful people @unibirmingham.bsky.social in the UK, including @brainapps.bsky.social, @markdhumphries.bsky.social, and others. (Registration for this conference is still open until the 20th October!) uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Home - The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging
uobevents.eventsair.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Plus, there's now a related conference organized by some wonderful people @unibirmingham.bsky.social in the UK, including @brainapps.bsky.social, @markdhumphries.bsky.social, and others. (Registration for this conference is still open until the 20th October!) uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
#neuroskyence, a question for you:
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
October 7, 2025 at 7:52 AM
#neuroskyence, a question for you:
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
#neuroskyence, a question for you:
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
October 7, 2025 at 7:52 AM
#neuroskyence, a question for you:
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?
(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
“Mapping ion channel function” doi.org/10.7554/eLif... isn’t exactly a citation slayer, but it’s still one of my favourites (& my first independent project). Today we push pt 2, where we trace code origin & unite almost all channel models in a common expression. Boom! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
An ion channel omnimodel for standardized biophysical neuron modelling
Biophysical neuron modeling is an indispensable tool in neuroscience research, with the combination of diverse ion channel kinetics and morphologies being used to explain various single-neuron propert...
www.biorxiv.org
October 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM
“Mapping ion channel function” doi.org/10.7554/eLif... isn’t exactly a citation slayer, but it’s still one of my favourites (& my first independent project). Today we push pt 2, where we trace code origin & unite almost all channel models in a common expression. Boom! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Synaptic reverberation underlying mnemonic persistent activity
Stimulus-specific persistent neural activity is the neural process underlying active (working) memory. Since its discovery 30 years ago, mnemonic acti…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:16 AM
#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Synaptic reverberation underlying mnemonic persistent activity
Stimulus-specific persistent neural activity is the neural process underlying active (working) memory. Since its discovery 30 years ago, mnemonic acti…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:16 AM
#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Early-bird registration for "The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025" ends September 30th
A meeting for everyone fascinated by the brain's role in foraging, 3-5 November 2025 at University of Birmingham.
Full speaker list, schedule and more now on the website
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
A meeting for everyone fascinated by the brain's role in foraging, 3-5 November 2025 at University of Birmingham.
Full speaker list, schedule and more now on the website
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Home - The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging
uobevents.eventsair.com
September 19, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Early-bird registration for "The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025" ends September 30th
A meeting for everyone fascinated by the brain's role in foraging, 3-5 November 2025 at University of Birmingham.
Full speaker list, schedule and more now on the website
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
A meeting for everyone fascinated by the brain's role in foraging, 3-5 November 2025 at University of Birmingham.
Full speaker list, schedule and more now on the website
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist (anything from cognition to NeuroAI) to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NMHB) member vacancies
Closing date
14 September 2025 at 11:59pm (UK time)
Number of positions
Six
Length of term
Two years, plus additional two years after review
Time commitment
Two days per month
Remuneration
£160 per da...
www.ukri.org
September 10, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist (anything from cognition to NeuroAI) to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NMHB) member vacancies
Closing date
14 September 2025 at 11:59pm (UK time)
Number of positions
Six
Length of term
Two years, plus additional two years after review
Time commitment
Two days per month
Remuneration
£160 per da...
www.ukri.org
September 10, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
Drop me a line if you want to know more
Deadline September 14th
www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
uobevents.eventsair.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.
August 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.
Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
uobevents.eventsair.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 29
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
My latest column for @thetransmitter.bsky.social - why neural populations are a convenient fiction
doi.org/10.53053/FZK...
doi.org/10.53053/FZK...
The challenge of defining a neural population
Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.
doi.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
My latest column for @thetransmitter.bsky.social - why neural populations are a convenient fiction
doi.org/10.53053/FZK...
doi.org/10.53053/FZK...