Stoyo Karamihalev
@stoyo.bsky.social
Neuroscientist at the Gogolla lab, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. Trying to understand emotions. Doing optical things in the insula.
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Going against the gut: Q&A with yours truly on the autism-microbiome theory www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/goi...
Going against the gut: Q&A with Kevin Mitchell
A new review of 15 years of studies on the connection between the microbiome and autism reveals widespread statistical and conceptual errors.
www.thetransmitter.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Going against the gut: Q&A with yours truly on the autism-microbiome theory www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/goi...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
✨ New preprint ✨ What if we could watch AND control thousands of individual neurons in behaving mice—with stable access over months? 🧠⚡ Our work introduces transgenic all-optical tools that make this possible - and a resulting surprising discovery! 🔭💡
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/13 🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/13 🧵
Large-scale cellular-resolution read/write of activity enables discovery of cell types defined by complex circuit properties
The complexity of the mammalian brain’s vast population of interconnected neurons poses a formidable challenge to elucidate its underlying mechanisms of coordination and computation. A key step forwar...
www.biorxiv.org
November 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
✨ New preprint ✨ What if we could watch AND control thousands of individual neurons in behaving mice—with stable access over months? 🧠⚡ Our work introduces transgenic all-optical tools that make this possible - and a resulting surprising discovery! 🔭💡
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/13 🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/13 🧵
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
This honestly should be required reading for anyone undertaking (or evaluating) exploratory studies... ⬇️👍 (It's proper funny too 😅)
Which reminds me of this old classic on the Noise Miners.
“'Noise mining is a funny thing,' he said. 'When you first see a bit of noise, it doesn’t look so impressive. But as you work it out of the rock, it gets more and more refined.' This process, he explained, is called 'shucking.'"
“'Noise mining is a funny thing,' he said. 'When you first see a bit of noise, it doesn’t look so impressive. But as you work it out of the rock, it gets more and more refined.' This process, he explained, is called 'shucking.'"
October 30, 2025 at 10:05 AM
This honestly should be required reading for anyone undertaking (or evaluating) exploratory studies... ⬇️👍 (It's proper funny too 😅)
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
I saw David (Anderson) present this at a meeting. It's incredible - the idea that we can finally record the neural correlates of emotions like "hanger" in the brain. Congrats to this team!
The neuroscience of hanger: "When confronted with food and an intruder, hangry mice alternated between feeding and fighting" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A line attractor maintains aggressiveness during feeding in “hangry” mice
Aggression evolved to protect resources such as food from competitors, but animals must balance fighting and feeding so that they facilitate rather than hinder re-establishment of energy homeostasis. ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I saw David (Anderson) present this at a meeting. It's incredible - the idea that we can finally record the neural correlates of emotions like "hanger" in the brain. Congrats to this team!
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Exciting new work from former team members Eric Romero, Cwyn Solvi, Fei Peng and colleagues makes the cover of Science: affective contagion in bumblebees! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 24, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Exciting new work from former team members Eric Romero, Cwyn Solvi, Fei Peng and colleagues makes the cover of Science: affective contagion in bumblebees! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Correction for multiple comparisons should be ubiquitous www.nature.com/articles/s41... 👍👏
Correction for multiple comparisons should be ubiquitous - Nature Human Behaviour
Nature Human Behaviour - Correction for multiple comparisons should be ubiquitous
www.nature.com
October 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Correction for multiple comparisons should be ubiquitous www.nature.com/articles/s41... 👍👏
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
October 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Come be my newest colleague! Scripps neuro is an energetic and supportive department, and uniquely benefits from proximity to our intimidatingly awesome chem and drug discovery programs. Happy to chat about my experiences here so far!
During these uncertain times, I’m very happy to see that my institution, @scripps.edu has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position. Any field in Chemistry or Biology is welcome. I’d especially love to see fellow neuroscientists apply. Please repost!
apply.interfolio.com/174756
apply.interfolio.com/174756
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Come be my newest colleague! Scripps neuro is an energetic and supportive department, and uniquely benefits from proximity to our intimidatingly awesome chem and drug discovery programs. Happy to chat about my experiences here so far!
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
All-optical experiments are great but @neurorussell.bsky.social found that opsin desensitization due to cross-talk between the imaging laser and the opsin causes major issues. These can be ameleorated with long inter-stimulus intervals & short imaging doses. All here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Desensitization of opsin responses during all-optical interrogation depends on imaging parameters
Significance The combination of two-photon calcium imaging and two-photon optogenetic stimulation, termed all-optical interrogation, provides spatial and temporal precision when recording and manipula...
www.biorxiv.org
October 12, 2025 at 12:27 PM
All-optical experiments are great but @neurorussell.bsky.social found that opsin desensitization due to cross-talk between the imaging laser and the opsin causes major issues. These can be ameleorated with long inter-stimulus intervals & short imaging doses. All here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A parabrachial hub for need-state control of enduring pain - Nature
Activity in a set of parabranchial neurons in the mouse brain is increased during chronic pain, predicts coping behaviour, and can be modulated by circuits activated by survival threats.
www.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Characteristic facial features in mice simultaneously encode not only currently used decision variables but also independent and unexpressed ones, and these features partially originate from neural activity in the secondary motor cortex
@fannycazettes.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@fannycazettes.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Facial expressions in mice reveal latent cognitive variables and their neural correlates - Nature Neuroscience
The face reveals more than just emotion. Cazettes, Reato and colleagues show that subtle facial movements reveal hidden cognitive states, reflecting the brain’s ongoing computations and offering a noninvasive window into unexpressed thoughts and decisions.
www.nature.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Characteristic facial features in mice simultaneously encode not only currently used decision variables but also independent and unexpressed ones, and these features partially originate from neural activity in the secondary motor cortex
@fannycazettes.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@fannycazettes.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
In this episode of “Brain Inspired,” @braininspired.bsky.social talks to @antihebbiann.bsky.social, who argues that molecular signaling, like protein expression, controls innate brain responses to varying environmental contexts.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
Ann Kennedy explains the theoretical neuroscience of survival behaviors
The Scripps neuroscientist calls for a broader theoretical neuroscience approach in her area of research, which focuses on how the subcortex bridges life and cognition.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 24, 2025 at 3:55 PM
In this episode of “Brain Inspired,” @braininspired.bsky.social talks to @antihebbiann.bsky.social, who argues that molecular signaling, like protein expression, controls innate brain responses to varying environmental contexts.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
And we are live!
Excited to announce the 2025 Multi-Agent Behavior Challenge on cross-lab supervised action recognition in mice 🐁🐀🖱️
Running on Kaggle until December 15th, with a $50,000 prize pool going to the top five submissions!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Excited to announce the 2025 Multi-Agent Behavior Challenge on cross-lab supervised action recognition in mice 🐁🐀🖱️
Running on Kaggle until December 15th, with a $50,000 prize pool going to the top five submissions!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
September 18, 2025 at 6:24 PM
And we are live!
Excited to announce the 2025 Multi-Agent Behavior Challenge on cross-lab supervised action recognition in mice 🐁🐀🖱️
Running on Kaggle until December 15th, with a $50,000 prize pool going to the top five submissions!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Excited to announce the 2025 Multi-Agent Behavior Challenge on cross-lab supervised action recognition in mice 🐁🐀🖱️
Running on Kaggle until December 15th, with a $50,000 prize pool going to the top five submissions!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
One of the things I really like about Kaggle is that people there are super into sharing their analysis notebooks along the way.
Less than a day online, and already there are eight notebooks to explore!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Less than a day online, and already there are eight notebooks to explore!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
September 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
One of the things I really like about Kaggle is that people there are super into sharing their analysis notebooks along the way.
Less than a day online, and already there are eight notebooks to explore!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Less than a day online, and already there are eight notebooks to explore!
www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
@nicolecrust.bsky.social poses fundamental questions about emotions, and the terms we use to describe them, to other experts in this "Big picture" debate. #neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
Emotion research has a communication conundrum
In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13…
www.thetransmitter.org
September 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
@nicolecrust.bsky.social poses fundamental questions about emotions, and the terms we use to describe them, to other experts in this "Big picture" debate. #neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
September 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Excited to share our latest paper - now out in @science.org - we showed how oxytocin modulates maternally-directed behavior in young mice (P15).
September 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Excited to share our latest paper - now out in @science.org - we showed how oxytocin modulates maternally-directed behavior in young mice (P15).
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
September 7, 2025 at 10:57 AM
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Kevin wrote the book on this stuff (literally; it’s titled “Innate”). He neither oversimplifies things or overcomplexifies them. Speaking as a brain researcher with decades of experience who has also read and thought about these issues a lot, this thread capture’s what’s what.
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
September 7, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Kevin wrote the book on this stuff (literally; it’s titled “Innate”). He neither oversimplifies things or overcomplexifies them. Speaking as a brain researcher with decades of experience who has also read and thought about these issues a lot, this thread capture’s what’s what.
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
New Open dataset alert:
🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience!
N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks!
🧵below
🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience!
N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks!
🧵below
September 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
New Open dataset alert:
🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience!
N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks!
🧵below
🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience!
N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks!
🧵below
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
My new essay for @thetransmitter.bsky.social. Why is understanding emotion so challenging? The debates around what counts as an "emotion" shed insight.
These disputes are multidimensional, principled and fascinating. Here, I unpack them.
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
These disputes are multidimensional, principled and fascinating. Here, I unpack them.
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
Emotion research has a communication conundrum
In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13…
www.thetransmitter.org
September 5, 2025 at 11:15 AM
My new essay for @thetransmitter.bsky.social. Why is understanding emotion so challenging? The debates around what counts as an "emotion" shed insight.
These disputes are multidimensional, principled and fascinating. Here, I unpack them.
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
These disputes are multidimensional, principled and fascinating. Here, I unpack them.
www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Finding correlates of the same signal in different brain areas is not evidence against specialisation, it is evidence for interconnection.
When I flush my toilet, the level in the tank and the flow rate in the supply pipe become perfectly correlated. Yet these toilet areas have distinct functions.
When I flush my toilet, the level in the tank and the flow rate in the supply pipe become perfectly correlated. Yet these toilet areas have distinct functions.
Sad day for peope who still believe brain areas are the primary organizational units of function in the brain.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour - Nature
The International Brain Laboratory presents a brain-wide electrophysiological map obtained from pooling data from 12 laboratories that performed the same standardized perceptual decision-making task i...
www.nature.com
September 4, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Finding correlates of the same signal in different brain areas is not evidence against specialisation, it is evidence for interconnection.
When I flush my toilet, the level in the tank and the flow rate in the supply pipe become perfectly correlated. Yet these toilet areas have distinct functions.
When I flush my toilet, the level in the tank and the flow rate in the supply pipe become perfectly correlated. Yet these toilet areas have distinct functions.
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
Excited to share our new preprint on the brain-wide organization of intrinsic timescales at single neuron resolution. Work w/ @roxana-zeraati.bsky.social, @intlbrainlab.bsky.social, Anna Levina, @engeltatiana.bsky.social : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 2, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Excited to share our new preprint on the brain-wide organization of intrinsic timescales at single neuron resolution. Work w/ @roxana-zeraati.bsky.social, @intlbrainlab.bsky.social, Anna Levina, @engeltatiana.bsky.social : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
New preprint + thread 🧵
#Psychedelics induce the formation of new synapses, but where do they connect?
Our rabies tracing study reveals that #psilocybin shifts connectivity across specific cortical networks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/12
#Psychedelics induce the formation of new synapses, but where do they connect?
Our rabies tracing study reveals that #psilocybin shifts connectivity across specific cortical networks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/12
August 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
New preprint + thread 🧵
#Psychedelics induce the formation of new synapses, but where do they connect?
Our rabies tracing study reveals that #psilocybin shifts connectivity across specific cortical networks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/12
#Psychedelics induce the formation of new synapses, but where do they connect?
Our rabies tracing study reveals that #psilocybin shifts connectivity across specific cortical networks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/12
Reposted by Stoyo Karamihalev
I still get chills
Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts
Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE
see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts
Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE
see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
August 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I still get chills
Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts
Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE
see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts
Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE
see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...