Simone Papa
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simonepapa.bsky.social
Simone Papa
@simonepapa.bsky.social
Neurobiology - Sapienza University | EMBL
Interests in:
- Visual Systems Neuroscience;
- Neurophysiology and functional neuroanatomy of the Visuomotor System;
- Computational Neuroscience (Modelling & Artificial Neural Networks).
Joined “Brain Rot, Digital Infodemia Consumes Attention”: a look at how the brain struggles with fragmented info while AI systems exploit attention.

A dive into how constant connectivity reshapes creativity, knowledge, and free thought. Attention, dopamine overload and memory effects.
#BrainJuice
November 16, 2025 at 4:06 PM
New research shows your brain doesn’t respond the same way throughout the day. Neural excitability and learning capacity follow daily rhythms shaped by adenosine, creating “windows” when the brain is most primed to adapt.
neurosciencenews.com/synaptic-pla...
#daily #neuroscience #adapt
Brain Learning Power Peaks at Specific Times of Day - Neuroscience News
A new study reveals that the brain’s responsiveness and capacity for learning shift with the time of day, governed by molecules like adenosine that link metabolism, sleep, and neural signaling.
neurosciencenews.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
#AI is shifting from chatbots to systems that act. Autonomous agents, edge models, multimodal AI, scientific FMs, generative robotics, and new hardware will remake every industry.

The question is no longer what AI can say, but what it will build, fix, and discover next (Aaron Lax)
November 14, 2025 at 9:51 PM
A rare neuron type that dies under chronic stress turns out to control brain blood flow and neural activity. Losing these cells sharply reduces circulation, suggesting stress may play a direct role in dementia-related brain changes.
neurosciencenews.com/stress-demen...
#dementia #stress #neuro
Stress Undermines Brain Circulation, Increases Dementia Risk - Neuroscience News
Researchers found that a rare class of neurons—type-one nNOS neurons—plays a central role in regulating brain blood flow and coordinating neural activity in mice.
neurosciencenews.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
A 2016 study created #bio-hybrid intelligence by guiding turtles with human EEG via a brain-computer interface, linking thought to instinct without implants.

Now applied to pigeons, rats, and robots, it explores co-adaptive human-machine systems and the future of bio-cognitive control (Aaron Lax)
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
A first-gen Ph.D. student shares how, growing up with parents denied higher education during China’s Cultural Revolution, she discovered research only at 20.

Despite initial fears of being behind, she closed the gap, a journey to be proud of.
scim.ag/4oVYFsZ
#CelebrateFirstGen
From homeless to Ph.D.: How I found my way into research
“For much of my scientific training I feared I was behind my peers,” this grad student writes
scim.ag
November 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
MIT researchers developed miBrains, 3D human brain tissue models integrating all major brain cell types.

Grown from donors’ stem cells, gene-editable, and scalable, they help study brain biology and diseases like Alzheimer’s in ways previous models couldn’t.
#miBrains #Alzheimer’s #Cells
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 PM
James Watson, a renowned molecular biologist and one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from his former employer. cnn.it/47LZuNU

#DNA #JamesWatson #Biology
James Watson, famous geneticist and Nobel Prize co-winner in the structure of DNA, dies at 97 | CNN
James Watson, a renowned molecular biologist and one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from his former empl...
cnn.it
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Today we honor Marie Skłodowska Curie, born #OnThisDay 1867: the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person awarded Nobels in two different scientific fields. A true pioneer in science and a lasting inspiration (TheNobelPrize)
#MarieCurie #NobelPrize #WomenInScience
November 7, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Just attended the second talk in a series on whether a neuroscientist could truly understand a microprocessor 🧠💻
Diving deeper into brain–chip connectomics and how this comparison reveals the limits and biases of our scientific approach.
Insightful and thought-provoking.
#microprocessor #brain
November 6, 2025 at 10:38 PM
🌐 What Can Be Built with the Right Network
When great minds connect, ideas turn into impact.
At #SingularitySystems, building where intellect meets innovation, where the impossible becomes inevitable.
The future belongs to those who build it together (Aaron Lax)
#Innovation #AI #Leadership
November 5, 2025 at 9:47 AM
🧠 Your Brain Is Plastic, every thought and action rewires it

Change isn’t impossible, it’s biological. 🌱Music, travel, laughter, sleep, and connection all shape new neural pathways,turning growth into a daily habit.
Image Credit - tjpower (ig)

#Neuroplasticity #BrainHealth #Mindset #MentalWellness
November 5, 2025 at 9:42 AM
🌍 Data Science - The Silent Engine Behind the Modern World (PikuDataIQ)

From your fitness app to Google Maps and Netflix, it’s not magic, it’s data science quietly shaping daily life. 📊
Blending math, ML & human logic, it turns data into decisions that power industries and cities⚙️

#DataScience #AI
November 4, 2025 at 3:38 PM
🐝 Using a cognitive bias paradigm, researchers in Science reveal positive affective contagion, a key element of empathy, in bumble bees.

Even insects can share emotional states, tracing the roots of social cognition deep in evolution. 🌿
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#Neuroscience #Behavior
Positive affective contagion in bumble bees
Affective contagion, a core component of empathy, has been widely characterized in social vertebrates but its existence in any invertebrate is unknown. Using a cognitive bias paradigm we demonstrate p...
scim.ag
November 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
🧠 Cognition as the real competitive edge.
A McKinsey article calls for shifting from technical to cognitive governance, embedding human mental models, bias awareness & ethics into #AI adoption (Eveline Ruehlin)

www.mckinsey.com/capabilities...
#GenAI #Bias #Cognitive #Ethics #FutureOfWork
November 4, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Mind and body speak the same language: every emotion becomes chemistry and sensation. Chronic stress keeps the body in alarm, fatigue, tension, pain (Jyoti Gupta).

The body isn’t failing; it’s communicating. Listening with breath, presence, and compassion restores healing🌿💫 #MindBodyConnection
November 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Does passion drive satisfaction amid precarity?
In Italy 82 % of #PhD students report being at least moderately satisfied, but only 68 % feel fulfilled by their work. Common concerns include low pay, mental-health issues, and uncertain career prospects.

Read more: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Are these the happiest PhD students in the world?
Brazil, Australia and Italy have the highest satisfaction scores in Nature’s global 2025 PhD survey — but are these nations really the best places to do a doctorate?
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Simone Papa
For anyone who didn’t click through yesterday’s video link - here is where I am on the really BIG piece - just finished the 12th 10x10 square and hung it in place - digital mockup on the right. For anyone attending SfN in San Diego come by my booth AON2 to see in person 🥰 #NeuroArt #SciArt #FiberArt
October 16, 2025 at 1:35 PM
🧠🍹 Took part in "Spremuta di Cervelli" on “Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor?” 🤖

We discussed how current neuroscience tools, may reveal patterns without fully explaining how complex systems like the brain, or even a processor, truly work.

#Neuroscience #AI #ScienceCommunication
November 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Are we ready for closed-loop neuromodulation in psychiatry?🧠
Adaptive brain stimulation that learns from real-time signals could transform treatments for depression, OCD, and PTSD, personalizing therapy while reducing side effects.
Smart, dynamic, and data-driven🚀
#Neuroscience #Psychiatry
November 2, 2025 at 4:15 PM
No tricks, just brains in 3D 🧠🧟‍♂️

This cleared human brain slice (~10×7×0.3 cm) was imaged at 0.17 µm/pixel on the 3Di HOTLS lightsheet microscope. Sharp, transparent, undead-level perfection (Alpenglow Biosciences).
#3Dtissueimaging #LightSheet #Halloween
November 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM
🕷️ Apologies in advance…
This fungus, Gibellula attenboroughii, turns spiders into zombies, taking over their nervous system and forcing them into the open before they die and spread spores. Found in 2021 in County Down. (National Trust)
#ZombieFungus #Mycology #Halloween
November 1, 2025 at 4:42 PM
🧠 The Neuromorphic Eye
Event-based vision redefines how machines see, sensing change, not frames.
With microsecond precision and sub-mW power, DVS enables drones, robots, and AI systems to perceive motion, light, and intent like living retinas.
#Neuromorphic #AI #Vision #Robotics #DVS
November 1, 2025 at 4:09 PM
AI meets security at the edge ⚙️🧠
Next-gen microcontrollers fuse robust cybersecurity with neuromorphic, brain-inspired intelligence—enabling adaptive, ultra-efficient, and secure devices for the edge era. #AI #MCU #EdgeComputing #Neuromorphic
www.linkedin.com/pulse/securi...
Security and Neuromorphic Microcontroller Units
1. Introduction: Framing the Future of Secure and Intelligent MCUs As microcontrollers move AI closer to sensor edges, two trends are shaping the future: embedding robust security features within MCUs...
www.linkedin.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:44 PM
BCI meets XR 🧠✨
A new review highlights how Brain–Computer Interfaces integrated with VR, AR & MR are reshaping rehab, entertainment, robotics, and smart cities, bringing human–machine interaction to a new frontier. #XR #BCI #VR #AR #Neurotech #SmartCities
www.linkedin.com/pulse/brainc...
Brain–Computer Interfaces and Extended Reality: Key Technologies Shaping the Future of Smart Cities
A scientific review highlights the transformative potential of BCI technologies integrated with VR, AR, and MR for rehabilitation, entertainment, navigation, robotics, and environmental control within...
www.linkedin.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:41 PM