Sneha Aenugu
@saenugu.bsky.social
Decision neuroscience @ Caltech
learning, memory, and decision-making | fusion of humor & philosophy
https://snehaaenugu.com/
learning, memory, and decision-making | fusion of humor & philosophy
https://snehaaenugu.com/
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Live updates: Two deceased in active shooter incident at Brown University
Serving the Brown University community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
December 6, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
new paper in TICS officially out today. great learning from and writing with Anastasia, and super cool cover art from Prof. Pinar Yoldas.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Sensory reformatting for a working visual memory
A core function of visual working memory (WM) is to sustain mental representations
of recent visual inputs, thereby bridging moments of experience. This is thought to
occur in part by recruiting early...
www.cell.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:21 AM
new paper in TICS officially out today. great learning from and writing with Anastasia, and super cool cover art from Prof. Pinar Yoldas.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Our lab plans to attend en masse. We think #FENS2026 will be the greatest FENS meeting ever. See you in Barcelona!
🚨 Big news for the neuroscience community!
The Call for Abstracts, Travel Grants and Registrations for #FENS2026 is officially open! 🧠
👉 Register and submit your work today: https://loom.ly/usQR0ao
The Call for Abstracts, Travel Grants and Registrations for #FENS2026 is officially open! 🧠
👉 Register and submit your work today: https://loom.ly/usQR0ao
December 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Our lab plans to attend en masse. We think #FENS2026 will be the greatest FENS meeting ever. See you in Barcelona!
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Who is the brillant teacher who found a way to get kids to listen to Beethoven’s 5th—and like it! #AMomentofJoy
December 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Who is the brillant teacher who found a way to get kids to listen to Beethoven’s 5th—and like it! #AMomentofJoy
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
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.
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
November 22, 2025 at 6:43 PM
𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
"...trade-off between cognitive flexibility and stability inherent to dynamical system models of varying complexity."
by S Musslick and A Bizyaeva
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Storing long-lived memories via molecular error correction: a minimal mathematical model of Crick's memory switch https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.688304v1
November 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Storing long-lived memories via molecular error correction: a minimal mathematical model of Crick's memory switch https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.688304v1
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
If you are looking for a postdoc with interests in animal cognition and behavior, be sure to talk to Jieyu Zheng: you won't regret it!
November 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
If you are looking for a postdoc with interests in animal cognition and behavior, be sure to talk to Jieyu Zheng: you won't regret it!
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
How about we just let everyone write them the way they want. If Blake and I want to write in bullets we should be allowed to, and if others want to write art that should be allowed too. At the moment we all have to write this generic and boring pseudo objective style.
November 14, 2025 at 11:54 PM
How about we just let everyone write them the way they want. If Blake and I want to write in bullets we should be allowed to, and if others want to write art that should be allowed too. At the moment we all have to write this generic and boring pseudo objective style.
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Come join us at #SfN25 for the minisymposium "Cognitive Maps in the Prefrontal Cortex"!
Saturday, Nov 15, 2:00-4:30pm, Room SDCC 6CF
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
We will explore how the PFC represents structured relationships across species and how this supports flexible behavior.
Saturday, Nov 15, 2:00-4:30pm, Room SDCC 6CF
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
We will explore how the PFC represents structured relationships across species and how this supports flexible behavior.
November 14, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Come join us at #SfN25 for the minisymposium "Cognitive Maps in the Prefrontal Cortex"!
Saturday, Nov 15, 2:00-4:30pm, Room SDCC 6CF
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
We will explore how the PFC represents structured relationships across species and how this supports flexible behavior.
Saturday, Nov 15, 2:00-4:30pm, Room SDCC 6CF
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
We will explore how the PFC represents structured relationships across species and how this supports flexible behavior.
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Excited to share a new preprint, accepted as a spotlight at #NeurIPS2025!
Humans are imperfect decision-makers, and autonomous systems should understand how we deviate from idealized rationality
Our paper aims to address this! 👀🧠✨
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25951
a 🧵⤵️
Humans are imperfect decision-makers, and autonomous systems should understand how we deviate from idealized rationality
Our paper aims to address this! 👀🧠✨
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25951
a 🧵⤵️
Estimating cognitive biases with attention-aware inverse planning
People's goal-directed behaviors are influenced by their cognitive biases, and autonomous systems that interact with people should be aware of this. For example, people's attention to objects in their...
arxiv.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Excited to share a new preprint, accepted as a spotlight at #NeurIPS2025!
Humans are imperfect decision-makers, and autonomous systems should understand how we deviate from idealized rationality
Our paper aims to address this! 👀🧠✨
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25951
a 🧵⤵️
Humans are imperfect decision-makers, and autonomous systems should understand how we deviate from idealized rationality
Our paper aims to address this! 👀🧠✨
arxiv.org/abs/2510.25951
a 🧵⤵️
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
I will be recruiting 🌟PhD students🌟 for my newish lab! If you're interested in learning & memory mechanisms applied to individual, interactive & collective behavior using computational modeling, real-world experiments and fMRI, email me! RTs much appreciated 🙏 rouhanilab.com
Interactive Cognition Lab | USC
Interactive Cognition Lab at USC, led by principal investigator, Dr. Nina Rouhani.
rouhanilab.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I will be recruiting 🌟PhD students🌟 for my newish lab! If you're interested in learning & memory mechanisms applied to individual, interactive & collective behavior using computational modeling, real-world experiments and fMRI, email me! RTs much appreciated 🙏 rouhanilab.com
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Ever slam on the brakes after seeing a speed trap? Or better yet, slow down ahead in anticipation?
In our new paper w/ @anask07.bsky.social in @cp-iscience.bsky.social, we use #iEEG to study the neural basis of reactive and proactive control in medial and lateral PFC.
tinyurl.com/4bbwbffv
In our new paper w/ @anask07.bsky.social in @cp-iscience.bsky.social, we use #iEEG to study the neural basis of reactive and proactive control in medial and lateral PFC.
tinyurl.com/4bbwbffv
October 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Ever slam on the brakes after seeing a speed trap? Or better yet, slow down ahead in anticipation?
In our new paper w/ @anask07.bsky.social in @cp-iscience.bsky.social, we use #iEEG to study the neural basis of reactive and proactive control in medial and lateral PFC.
tinyurl.com/4bbwbffv
In our new paper w/ @anask07.bsky.social in @cp-iscience.bsky.social, we use #iEEG to study the neural basis of reactive and proactive control in medial and lateral PFC.
tinyurl.com/4bbwbffv
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
WE ARE HIRING!!
Official posting coming soon for a tenure track assistant professor job in Psychology at George Mason University. Focus on Computational Cognitive Neuroscience and AI.
I’m chairing the search committee, so DMs and emails welcome.
Official posting coming soon for a tenure track assistant professor job in Psychology at George Mason University. Focus on Computational Cognitive Neuroscience and AI.
I’m chairing the search committee, so DMs and emails welcome.
September 16, 2025 at 9:20 PM
WE ARE HIRING!!
Official posting coming soon for a tenure track assistant professor job in Psychology at George Mason University. Focus on Computational Cognitive Neuroscience and AI.
I’m chairing the search committee, so DMs and emails welcome.
Official posting coming soon for a tenure track assistant professor job in Psychology at George Mason University. Focus on Computational Cognitive Neuroscience and AI.
I’m chairing the search committee, so DMs and emails welcome.
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
🧠📈 Now accepting applications for the 2026 Shanahan Foundation Fellowship at the Interface of Data & Neuroscience!
Apply by December 1 to join the Fall 2026 cohort: alleninstitute.org/shanahan-fou...
Apply by December 1 to join the Fall 2026 cohort: alleninstitute.org/shanahan-fou...
Shanahan Foundation Fellowship
The Shanahan Foundation Fellowship at the Interface of Data and Neuroscience was created to provide freedom and flexibility to promising young scientists from diverse fields, as they work alongside ne...
alleninstitute.org
September 15, 2025 at 6:32 PM
🧠📈 Now accepting applications for the 2026 Shanahan Foundation Fellowship at the Interface of Data & Neuroscience!
Apply by December 1 to join the Fall 2026 cohort: alleninstitute.org/shanahan-fou...
Apply by December 1 to join the Fall 2026 cohort: alleninstitute.org/shanahan-fou...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
I'm excited to share that my new postdoctoral position is going so well that I submitted a new paper at the end of my first week! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A thread below
Sensory Compression as a Unifying Principle for Action Chunking and Time Coding in the Brain
The brain seamlessly transforms sensory information into precisely-timed movements, enabling us to type familiar words, play musical instruments, or perform complex motor routines with millisecond pre...
www.biorxiv.org
September 6, 2025 at 2:36 PM
I'm excited to share that my new postdoctoral position is going so well that I submitted a new paper at the end of my first week! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A thread below
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
I'm honored to serve as Expert Advisor for "The Alignment Project", an international initiative dedicated to ensuring AI systems are safe and beneficial. They are providing significant funding, compute, and collaboration opportunities for researchers---including those in cogsci/neuro. Please apply!
I am very excited that AISI is announcing over £15M in funding for AI alignment and control, in partnership with other governments, industry, VCs, and philanthropists!
Here is a 🧵 about why it is important to bring more independent ideas and expertise into this space.
alignmentproject.aisi.gov.uk
Here is a 🧵 about why it is important to bring more independent ideas and expertise into this space.
alignmentproject.aisi.gov.uk
The Alignment Project by AISI — The AI Security Institute
The Alignment Project funds groundbreaking AI alignment research to address one of AI’s most urgent challenges: ensuring advanced systems act predictably, safely, and for society’s benefit.
alignmentproject.aisi.gov.uk
August 20, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I'm honored to serve as Expert Advisor for "The Alignment Project", an international initiative dedicated to ensuring AI systems are safe and beneficial. They are providing significant funding, compute, and collaboration opportunities for researchers---including those in cogsci/neuro. Please apply!
Just out in Plos Computational Biology!
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Building momentum: A computational account of persistence toward long-term goals
Author summary Goals take time to accomplish and require commitment over extended periods of time. However, over time, some goals may become less attainable than others, necessitating switching betwee...
journals.plos.org
May 14, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Just out in Plos Computational Biology!
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Reminder that deadline for applying for our Encode: AI for (neuro)Science fellowship is coming up (30th!)
encode.pillar.vc/apply
encode.pillar.vc/apply
April 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reminder that deadline for applying for our Encode: AI for (neuro)Science fellowship is coming up (30th!)
encode.pillar.vc/apply
encode.pillar.vc/apply
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
Applications are open for the 2025 Flatiron Institute Junior Theoretical Neuroscience Workshop! A two-day workshop 7/10-7/11 in NYC for PhD students and postdocs. All travel paid. Apply by April 14th.🧠🗽🧑🔬http://jtnworkshop2025.flatironinstitute.org/
@flatironinstitute.org @simonsfoundation.org
@flatironinstitute.org @simonsfoundation.org
JTN - 2025
JTN - 2025
jtnworkshop2025.flatironinstitute.org
March 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Applications are open for the 2025 Flatiron Institute Junior Theoretical Neuroscience Workshop! A two-day workshop 7/10-7/11 in NYC for PhD students and postdocs. All travel paid. Apply by April 14th.🧠🗽🧑🔬http://jtnworkshop2025.flatironinstitute.org/
@flatironinstitute.org @simonsfoundation.org
@flatironinstitute.org @simonsfoundation.org
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
The actual thesis of this paper is very clear and well motivated by the engram literature! Worth a read if you're interested in memory!
But, I TBH, I am totally not on board with the idea of "concept" versus "memory" neurons.
Let's not pretend that these simplistic categories of cells exist...
But, I TBH, I am totally not on board with the idea of "concept" versus "memory" neurons.
Let's not pretend that these simplistic categories of cells exist...
March 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The actual thesis of this paper is very clear and well motivated by the engram literature! Worth a read if you're interested in memory!
But, I TBH, I am totally not on board with the idea of "concept" versus "memory" neurons.
Let's not pretend that these simplistic categories of cells exist...
But, I TBH, I am totally not on board with the idea of "concept" versus "memory" neurons.
Let's not pretend that these simplistic categories of cells exist...
Reposted by Sneha Aenugu
This is an incredibly cool study!
It links neural signaling of nutritive state to policy complexity. When nutrient-deprived, animals reduce the state-dependence of their policy (lower policy complexiy) and increase locomotor arousal (higher action stochasticity).
It links neural signaling of nutritive state to policy complexity. When nutrient-deprived, animals reduce the state-dependence of their policy (lower policy complexiy) and increase locomotor arousal (higher action stochasticity).
Policy complexity is expensive. How does the brain regulate its investment of cognitive capacity? Our newest paper is on BioRxiv! We examine hypothalamic orexin (and MCH!) -producing neurons for their role in regulating the complexity decision policies. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neurometabolic signaling and control of policy complexity
Cognition and adaptive behavior emerge from neural information processing. This must operate within finite metabolic constraints, since neural information processing is metabolically expensive. While ...
www.biorxiv.org
March 3, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This is an incredibly cool study!
It links neural signaling of nutritive state to policy complexity. When nutrient-deprived, animals reduce the state-dependence of their policy (lower policy complexiy) and increase locomotor arousal (higher action stochasticity).
It links neural signaling of nutritive state to policy complexity. When nutrient-deprived, animals reduce the state-dependence of their policy (lower policy complexiy) and increase locomotor arousal (higher action stochasticity).