Nicole Rust
@nicolecrust.bsky.social
Mood & Memory researcher with a computational bent. https://www.nicolecrust.com. Science advocate. Prof (UPenn Psych) - on leave as a Simons Pivot Fellow. Author: Elusive Cures. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243054/elusive-cures
Pinned
Nicole Rust
@nicolecrust.bsky.social
· May 10
Just look what was waiting for me when I came back from my run. Elusive Cures is now a REAL BOOK!!
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Scicomm matters now more than ever!
Returning from a trip to rural USA, realizing the messages so familiar to is are not getting out - both in terms of 1) disruptions to US science and 2) healthcare misinformation.
Efforts like @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social matter! /1
sciencehomecoming.com
Returning from a trip to rural USA, realizing the messages so familiar to is are not getting out - both in terms of 1) disruptions to US science and 2) healthcare misinformation.
Efforts like @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social matter! /1
sciencehomecoming.com
Science Homecoming
sciencehomecoming.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Scicomm matters now more than ever!
Returning from a trip to rural USA, realizing the messages so familiar to is are not getting out - both in terms of 1) disruptions to US science and 2) healthcare misinformation.
Efforts like @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social matter! /1
sciencehomecoming.com
Returning from a trip to rural USA, realizing the messages so familiar to is are not getting out - both in terms of 1) disruptions to US science and 2) healthcare misinformation.
Efforts like @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social matter! /1
sciencehomecoming.com
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Excited to see this work led by Barnes Jannuzi published!
With a hard-won dataset, Barnes shares the surprising result that visual cortex looks more like the hippocampus than you might think!
#neuroskyence
With a hard-won dataset, Barnes shares the surprising result that visual cortex looks more like the hippocampus than you might think!
#neuroskyence
Excited to share a new article, led by Barnes Jannuzi. Here we tried to pinpoint something about visual familiarity that isn't reflected in visual cortex via something putatively hippocampal. Nope! Per the theme of this era, the brain is not so simple. /1
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Sharpened visual memory representations are reflected in inferotemporal cortex
Humans and other primates can robustly report whether they've seen specific images before, even when those images are extremely similar to ones they've previously seen. Multiple lines of evidence sugg...
www.jneurosci.org
December 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Excited to see this work led by Barnes Jannuzi published!
With a hard-won dataset, Barnes shares the surprising result that visual cortex looks more like the hippocampus than you might think!
#neuroskyence
With a hard-won dataset, Barnes shares the surprising result that visual cortex looks more like the hippocampus than you might think!
#neuroskyence
Excited to share a new article, led by Barnes Jannuzi. Here we tried to pinpoint something about visual familiarity that isn't reflected in visual cortex via something putatively hippocampal. Nope! Per the theme of this era, the brain is not so simple. /1
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Sharpened visual memory representations are reflected in inferotemporal cortex
Humans and other primates can robustly report whether they've seen specific images before, even when those images are extremely similar to ones they've previously seen. Multiple lines of evidence sugg...
www.jneurosci.org
December 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Excited to share a new article, led by Barnes Jannuzi. Here we tried to pinpoint something about visual familiarity that isn't reflected in visual cortex via something putatively hippocampal. Nope! Per the theme of this era, the brain is not so simple. /1
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
In other exciting news, @mattgeramita.bsky.social’s @natneuro.nature.com + Eric Yttri paper exploring the neural circuits underlying hesitation just dropped today! 🧠🎤
To summarize the findings, please see my musical abstract (with apologies to Peter Frampton 🎶)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
To summarize the findings, please see my musical abstract (with apologies to Peter Frampton 🎶)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
December 5, 2025 at 8:14 PM
In other exciting news, @mattgeramita.bsky.social’s @natneuro.nature.com + Eric Yttri paper exploring the neural circuits underlying hesitation just dropped today! 🧠🎤
To summarize the findings, please see my musical abstract (with apologies to Peter Frampton 🎶)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
To summarize the findings, please see my musical abstract (with apologies to Peter Frampton 🎶)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
Here's what we are doing lately wrt (neurophys data+code) sharing. Curious to compare with you.
1) Provide manuscript reviewers a link w/ data & code & state "Data will be uploaded to a repo upon acceptance".
2) Upon acceptance, upload it all to Figshare, get the doi, & insert that into the proof.
1) Provide manuscript reviewers a link w/ data & code & state "Data will be uploaded to a repo upon acceptance".
2) Upon acceptance, upload it all to Figshare, get the doi, & insert that into the proof.
December 5, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Here's what we are doing lately wrt (neurophys data+code) sharing. Curious to compare with you.
1) Provide manuscript reviewers a link w/ data & code & state "Data will be uploaded to a repo upon acceptance".
2) Upon acceptance, upload it all to Figshare, get the doi, & insert that into the proof.
1) Provide manuscript reviewers a link w/ data & code & state "Data will be uploaded to a repo upon acceptance".
2) Upon acceptance, upload it all to Figshare, get the doi, & insert that into the proof.
Friends at Yale! Please join me Monday (3:45p) to discuss the New-New Intellectual Framework for Psychiatry. I'll share my take on the past, present and near-term future of our field, and I'll be excited to hear your own thoughts.
December 5, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Friends at Yale! Please join me Monday (3:45p) to discuss the New-New Intellectual Framework for Psychiatry. I'll share my take on the past, present and near-term future of our field, and I'll be excited to hear your own thoughts.
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Thank you for having me on BrainInspired, Paul @braininspired.bsky.social! It was such an honor to be on my favorite show—a rare place where we can leisurely talk about manifolds, latent circuits, power laws, and other esoteric ideas, and still be taken seriously in knowing they are all real.
Are manifolds real?
Are latent circuits real?
Tatiana @engeltatiana.bsky.social uses one, infers the other, and says yes to both.
Also, how timescales are different and the same across the entire brain...
braininspired.co/podcast/226/
Are latent circuits real?
Tatiana @engeltatiana.bsky.social uses one, infers the other, and says yes to both.
Also, how timescales are different and the same across the entire brain...
braininspired.co/podcast/226/
December 5, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Thank you for having me on BrainInspired, Paul @braininspired.bsky.social! It was such an honor to be on my favorite show—a rare place where we can leisurely talk about manifolds, latent circuits, power laws, and other esoteric ideas, and still be taken seriously in knowing they are all real.
Happy to report that the Grand Plan is in excellent hands @stanforduniversity.bsky.social. Silicon Valley energy is everywhere. Goings on are ambitious & transformative. Many! minds directing opportunity toward good.
I was blown away by the undergrads, Neurosci & Psyc Grad students & faculty.
I was blown away by the undergrads, Neurosci & Psyc Grad students & faculty.
December 4, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Happy to report that the Grand Plan is in excellent hands @stanforduniversity.bsky.social. Silicon Valley energy is everywhere. Goings on are ambitious & transformative. Many! minds directing opportunity toward good.
I was blown away by the undergrads, Neurosci & Psyc Grad students & faculty.
I was blown away by the undergrads, Neurosci & Psyc Grad students & faculty.
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence - Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing our mechanistic understanding of the shared structure between the brain and higher-order behaviours. In this Review, Mathis and Mathis synthesize state-of-...
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Today!
Friends at Stanford (and anywhere): Join me for the Wasow Scholar Lecture next Tuesday at 5p PT (Zoom link available).
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
December 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Today!
Reposted by Nicole Rust
A remarkable journey of resilience and transformation, from the chaotic corridors of group homes to the halls of Columbia and Stanford, EMERGENCE is a coming-of-age tale where heartbreak and humor meet the scientific wonder of modern artificial intelligence.
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
November 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A remarkable journey of resilience and transformation, from the chaotic corridors of group homes to the halls of Columbia and Stanford, EMERGENCE is a coming-of-age tale where heartbreak and humor meet the scientific wonder of modern artificial intelligence.
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Where do you think this is *not* the case? (i.e. what parts of theoretical neuro today are truly new?)
Where do you think this will not be the case in 20 years? (i.e if research progresses in a direction you think it should, what will be the new stuff we’re not talking about today?)
Where do you think this will not be the case in 20 years? (i.e if research progresses in a direction you think it should, what will be the new stuff we’re not talking about today?)
I think it's a problem for neuroscience, particularly theoretical neuroscience. I was watching a talk with someone the other day and said to them "I feel like I could have been listening to this same talk when I started in neuro almost 20 years ago". Turns out they were thinking the same thing.
November 29, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Where do you think this is *not* the case? (i.e. what parts of theoretical neuro today are truly new?)
Where do you think this will not be the case in 20 years? (i.e if research progresses in a direction you think it should, what will be the new stuff we’re not talking about today?)
Where do you think this will not be the case in 20 years? (i.e if research progresses in a direction you think it should, what will be the new stuff we’re not talking about today?)
This piece was seemingly about the words we use to describe emotions but behind it is a discussion about what makes them harder to study than other brain functions. From a philosophy of science perspective, it's a fascinating (measurement) problem!
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
November 29, 2025 at 12:22 PM
This piece was seemingly about the words we use to describe emotions but behind it is a discussion about what makes them harder to study than other brain functions. From a philosophy of science perspective, it's a fascinating (measurement) problem!
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Can’t tell you how often I’ve had to ask critics what measure they think is better than self-report to know how someone subjectively feels
recently reviewers even asked us how people could possibly rate how good they felt 🤪
As if other a pulse measure or something would be better 😜
recently reviewers even asked us how people could possibly rate how good they felt 🤪
As if other a pulse measure or something would be better 😜
November 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Can’t tell you how often I’ve had to ask critics what measure they think is better than self-report to know how someone subjectively feels
recently reviewers even asked us how people could possibly rate how good they felt 🤪
As if other a pulse measure or something would be better 😜
recently reviewers even asked us how people could possibly rate how good they felt 🤪
As if other a pulse measure or something would be better 😜
Aspiring scientist communicators: this! It speaks to changing the narrative that scientists only engage in scicomm as emeritus professors, as well as how to seize your own way of doing it.
Jenna Levin interviewed &
@seanmcarroll.bsky.social
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018...
Jenna Levin interviewed &
@seanmcarroll.bsky.social
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018...
Episode 27: Janna Levin on Black Holes, Chaos, and the Narrative of Science – Sean Carroll
www.preposterousuniverse.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Aspiring scientist communicators: this! It speaks to changing the narrative that scientists only engage in scicomm as emeritus professors, as well as how to seize your own way of doing it.
Jenna Levin interviewed &
@seanmcarroll.bsky.social
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018...
Jenna Levin interviewed &
@seanmcarroll.bsky.social
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018...
My second year in college, I read a book subtitled “The Scientific Search for the Soul” and I realized, for the first time, that you can get paid to do that. I enlisted.
www.thetransmitter.org/summer-readi...
www.thetransmitter.org/summer-readi...
November 28, 2025 at 2:51 AM
My second year in college, I read a book subtitled “The Scientific Search for the Soul” and I realized, for the first time, that you can get paid to do that. I enlisted.
www.thetransmitter.org/summer-readi...
www.thetransmitter.org/summer-readi...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Our latest profile is here! Dr. Zoe Donaldson (@neurozoe.bsky.social) studies the neural circuits that govern social bonding & social loss, and how variations in these circuits shape emotional outcomes.
Follow the link to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Follow the link to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Zoe Donaldson — Stories of WiN
studies the neural circuits that govern social bonding and social loss, and how variations in these circuits shape emotional outcomes
storiesofwin.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Our latest profile is here! Dr. Zoe Donaldson (@neurozoe.bsky.social) studies the neural circuits that govern social bonding & social loss, and how variations in these circuits shape emotional outcomes.
Follow the link to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Follow the link to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
All new ideas necessarily emerge ill-formed and less polished than pre-established ideas. That’s no surprise. Pre-established ideas often had a 20-30yr head start!
Another of Charlie Gross’s passions was history of neuroscience. He wrote excellent books. This gave him a wide-angle view. He taught us that dogma exists to be challenged, we haven’t figured things out, and being a stepping stone is inevitable and perfectly fine.
direct.mit.edu/books/book/2...
direct.mit.edu/books/book/2...
Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience
In these engaging tales describing the growth of knowledge about the brain—from the early Egyptians and Greeks to the Dark Ages and the Renaissance to the
direct.mit.edu
November 26, 2025 at 10:51 PM
All new ideas necessarily emerge ill-formed and less polished than pre-established ideas. That’s no surprise. Pre-established ideas often had a 20-30yr head start!
This! I endorse It all - from the historical perspective to the wide angle view illuminating the big gaps in the field. If you’re feeling up to it, take a few steps back for a good dose of humility but also inspiration.
Another of Charlie Gross’s passions was history of neuroscience. He wrote excellent books. This gave him a wide-angle view. He taught us that dogma exists to be challenged, we haven’t figured things out, and being a stepping stone is inevitable and perfectly fine.
direct.mit.edu/books/book/2...
direct.mit.edu/books/book/2...
Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience
In these engaging tales describing the growth of knowledge about the brain—from the early Egyptians and Greeks to the Dark Ages and the Renaissance to the
direct.mit.edu
November 26, 2025 at 9:41 PM
This! I endorse It all - from the historical perspective to the wide angle view illuminating the big gaps in the field. If you’re feeling up to it, take a few steps back for a good dose of humility but also inspiration.
Friends at Stanford (and anywhere): Join me for the Wasow Scholar Lecture next Tuesday at 5p PT (Zoom link available).
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
November 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Friends at Stanford (and anywhere): Join me for the Wasow Scholar Lecture next Tuesday at 5p PT (Zoom link available).
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
I am very excited that the emphasis of this event (and my time at Stanford) is focused on interacting with students.
symsys.stanford.edu/events/wasow...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
www.americanscientist.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!
🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Learn more about the origins of Neurotree and how you can use it to explore trends in neuroscience.
By mapping connections among researchers, Neurotree makes it possible to trace how the field has evolved and to visualize how shifts in lab size, training and other factors can shape its direction, writes founder @stephenvdavid.bsky.social.
bit.ly/4od0SiL
#neuroskyence #StateOfNeuroscience
bit.ly/4od0SiL
#neuroskyence #StateOfNeuroscience
Tracing neuroscience’s family tree to track its growth
By mapping connections among researchers, Neurotree makes it possible to see how the field has evolved and what factors shape its direction.
www.thetransmitter.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Learn more about the origins of Neurotree and how you can use it to explore trends in neuroscience.
Reposted by Nicole Rust
starting fall 2026 i'll be an assistant professor at @upenn.edu 🥳
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
November 25, 2025 at 9:36 PM
starting fall 2026 i'll be an assistant professor at @upenn.edu 🥳
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
Reposted by Nicole Rust
After having another run on our archaeologists, we put out calls on social media and emails, and once again, against all odds, got every damn LEGO team matched with an archaeologist.
This brings us to 803 teams/classes matched with an archaeologist this semester. That is absolutely bananas.
This brings us to 803 teams/classes matched with an archaeologist this semester. That is absolutely bananas.
November 24, 2025 at 11:57 PM
After having another run on our archaeologists, we put out calls on social media and emails, and once again, against all odds, got every damn LEGO team matched with an archaeologist.
This brings us to 803 teams/classes matched with an archaeologist this semester. That is absolutely bananas.
This brings us to 803 teams/classes matched with an archaeologist this semester. That is absolutely bananas.