Alexey Tolchinsky
@tolchinsky.bsky.social
Clinical psychologist and researcher investigating anxiety disorders, Acute PTSD, dissociations, OCD, Affective Neuroscience, neuropsychoanalysis, application of nonlinear dynamical systems to psychology
https://montgomerycountypsychologist.com
https://montgomerycountypsychologist.com
Pinned
Bluesky
ta.bsky.social
Our paper is published. Co-authored with @drmichaellevin.bsky.social , Chris Fields, @lancelotdacosta.bsky.social ta.bsky.social, Daniel Friedman, Rachael Murphy, David Pincus
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
this work presents a computational model of dissociations
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
New preprint:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum
While computational capacity limits of the universe and carbon-based life have been estimated, a stricter bound for aneural organisms has not been established. Physarum polycephalum, a unicellular, mu...
arxiv.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
New preprint:
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19976
"Morphological computational capacity of Physarum polycephalum"
Suyash Bajpai, Aviva Lucas-DeMott, @msahsorin.bsky.social, Philip Kurian
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity - Nature
BARseq interrogates the expression of 104 cell-type marker genes in 10.3 million cells over nine mouse forebrain hemispheres to reveal the role of peripheral inputs on cortical area development.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
new paper with @robertchisciure.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era - Synthese
This paper formalizes biological intelligence as search efficiency in multi-scale problem spaces, aiming to resolve epistemic deadlocks in the basal “cognition wars” unfolding in the Diverse Intellige...
link.springer.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:31 AM
new paper with @robertchisciure.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"Cognition all the way down 2.0: neuroscience beyond neurons in the diverse intelligence era"
🧪
about 25% of patients in a PVS (Persistent Vegetative State) are conscious. I recall reading about the devices to measure that in @standehaene.bsky.social's book (GWS based). Christof Koch also worked on that and provided the statistics.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GjW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GjW...
Christof Koch x Bernardo Kastrup | Can AI Be Conscious? A Neuroscientist & A Philosopher Discuss
YouTube video by Accelerator Media
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:14 AM
about 25% of patients in a PVS (Persistent Vegetative State) are conscious. I recall reading about the devices to measure that in @standehaene.bsky.social's book (GWS based). Christof Koch also worked on that and provided the statistics.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GjW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GjW...
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
A new permanent R&T position at Lecturer level was just advertised at my favourite department @rhulpsychology.bsky.social (yes, I am biased but for very good reasons). Consider applying if you are looking for an academic home. And please spread the word !
🚨We are looking for a scholar to join us as a lecturer (teaching & research contract, full-time, permanent), starting 1 April 2026! The application deadline is 1 December 2025.
jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
Job Opportunity at Royal Holloway University of London: Lecturer in Psychology (Research & Teaching)
Full-time, PermanentApplications are invited for a post of Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, starting 1 April 2026. The post is open to ambitious, researc...
jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk
November 4, 2025 at 2:22 PM
A new permanent R&T position at Lecturer level was just advertised at my favourite department @rhulpsychology.bsky.social (yes, I am biased but for very good reasons). Consider applying if you are looking for an academic home. And please spread the word !
Important paper in Lancet on SSRIs documenting the effects on weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, liver functioning.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The effects of antidepressants on cardiometabolic and other physiological parameters: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
We found strong evidence that antidepressants differ markedly in their physiological
effects, particularly for cardiometabolic parameters. Treatment guidelines should
be updated to reflect differences...
www.thelancet.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Important paper in Lancet on SSRIs documenting the effects on weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, liver functioning.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
a bit of reality about the much-advertised hip&cool, earth-shattering, mind-blowing... rebranding of psychoanalysis (and a simplification of it) presented as something brand-new.
www.thecut.com/article/trut...
www.thecut.com/article/trut...
The Truth About IFS, the Therapy That Can Break You
Internal Family Systems is a widely popular trauma treatment. Some patients say it’s destroyed their lives.
www.thecut.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:27 PM
a bit of reality about the much-advertised hip&cool, earth-shattering, mind-blowing... rebranding of psychoanalysis (and a simplification of it) presented as something brand-new.
www.thecut.com/article/trut...
www.thecut.com/article/trut...
@anilseth.bsky.social Talks about this vibe of inevitability people have when talking about AI becoming human-like. Is it inevitable? The future is not written. We can decide where to go. Wise he is.
November 1, 2025 at 8:17 PM
@anilseth.bsky.social Talks about this vibe of inevitability people have when talking about AI becoming human-like. Is it inevitable? The future is not written. We can decide where to go. Wise he is.
very interesting presentation by @laurennross.bsky.social. I agree with the question asked at 57 minutes; @chrisfields38.bsky.social will correct me if I'm wrong. The entire presentation talks about classical, not quantum physics.
November 1, 2025 at 11:55 AM
very interesting presentation by @laurennross.bsky.social. I agree with the question asked at 57 minutes; @chrisfields38.bsky.social will correct me if I'm wrong. The entire presentation talks about classical, not quantum physics.
@laurennross.bsky.social reminds us of an important distinction between predictions/descriptions/classifications and a scientific explanation. Being able to predict something reliably does not mean we can explain it. Her example - bull's eye rash predicts Lyme, but does not explain it. "
October 31, 2025 at 1:35 PM
@laurennross.bsky.social reminds us of an important distinction between predictions/descriptions/classifications and a scientific explanation. Being able to predict something reliably does not mean we can explain it. Her example - bull's eye rash predicts Lyme, but does not explain it. "
useful lesson from Feynman.
Learning (tools of deeper understanding) - Simplify, Teach, Review, Play, and turn mistakes into tools.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMJ...
Learning (tools of deeper understanding) - Simplify, Teach, Review, Play, and turn mistakes into tools.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMJ...
How to Force YOUR MIND to LEARN ANYTHING you WANT | Feynman's SECRET
YouTube video by Feynman's Mind
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
useful lesson from Feynman.
Learning (tools of deeper understanding) - Simplify, Teach, Review, Play, and turn mistakes into tools.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMJ...
Learning (tools of deeper understanding) - Simplify, Teach, Review, Play, and turn mistakes into tools.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMJ...
Embodiment and life
Citations from @anilseth.bsky.social:
"We perceive the world around us, and ourselves within in, with, through, and because of our living bodies."
"It might be life, not information processing that breathes fire into the equations of consciousness."
Citations from @anilseth.bsky.social:
"We perceive the world around us, and ourselves within in, with, through, and because of our living bodies."
"It might be life, not information processing that breathes fire into the equations of consciousness."
October 30, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Embodiment and life
Citations from @anilseth.bsky.social:
"We perceive the world around us, and ourselves within in, with, through, and because of our living bodies."
"It might be life, not information processing that breathes fire into the equations of consciousness."
Citations from @anilseth.bsky.social:
"We perceive the world around us, and ourselves within in, with, through, and because of our living bodies."
"It might be life, not information processing that breathes fire into the equations of consciousness."
There is a divergence of opinions on substrate neutrality. In @drmichaellevin.bsky.social TAME work, material-independence is vital (for a model of the mind), in @anilseth.bsky.social's view "whatever brains do [function], it is unlikely to be substance neutral"
October 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
There is a divergence of opinions on substrate neutrality. In @drmichaellevin.bsky.social TAME work, material-independence is vital (for a model of the mind), in @anilseth.bsky.social's view "whatever brains do [function], it is unlikely to be substance neutral"
@anilseth.bsky.social said in a recent presentation:
"What we have in real brains are things where there's a great integration across scales of description, we don't have a clean separation between wetware and mindware"
True that :-)
"What we have in real brains are things where there's a great integration across scales of description, we don't have a clean separation between wetware and mindware"
True that :-)
October 29, 2025 at 10:13 AM
@anilseth.bsky.social said in a recent presentation:
"What we have in real brains are things where there's a great integration across scales of description, we don't have a clean separation between wetware and mindware"
True that :-)
"What we have in real brains are things where there's a great integration across scales of description, we don't have a clean separation between wetware and mindware"
True that :-)
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
And the grifters are right behind, snake oil supplements in hand…
An AP investigation found that more than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses this year, part of a campaign to enshrine a conspiracy theory-driven agenda into law. https://to.pbs.org/43dxCkD
Anti-science bills hit statehouses, attacking longstanding public health protections
More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year.
to.pbs.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:32 PM
And the grifters are right behind, snake oil supplements in hand…
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions www.nature.com/articles/d41... (a response to Peter's paper advocating heritable polygenic genome editing)
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions
Pitfalls of heritable genome editing undermine theoretical benefits.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions www.nature.com/articles/d41... (a response to Peter's paper advocating heritable polygenic genome editing)
One in four teenage respondents had experienced online sextortion.
By dr. Alex Rodrigues, Psy.D.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
By dr. Alex Rodrigues, Psy.D.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Stopping Sextortion: An Emergency Kit for If Your Child is Sexually Exploited Online
The following article starts with a brief introduction of sextortion and its associated harms before highlighting actionable steps for the caregiver who discovers their child is being sexually exploit...
substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
One in four teenage respondents had experienced online sextortion.
By dr. Alex Rodrigues, Psy.D.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
By dr. Alex Rodrigues, Psy.D.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Alexey Tolchinsky
People with a history of #cancer are less likely to develop #dementia and those with #Alzheimer are less likely to develop cancer. Understanding this relationship, say scientists, could lead to new treatments.
Really enjoyed writing my first piece for The Observer
www.theguardian.com/science/2024...
Really enjoyed writing my first piece for The Observer
www.theguardian.com/science/2024...
Are cancer survivors less likely to develop Alzheimer’s?
Research shows that patients with a history of cancer are less likely to develop dementia and those with Alzheimer’s are less likely to develop cancer
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2024 at 9:20 PM
People with a history of #cancer are less likely to develop #dementia and those with #Alzheimer are less likely to develop cancer. Understanding this relationship, say scientists, could lead to new treatments.
Really enjoyed writing my first piece for The Observer
www.theguardian.com/science/2024...
Really enjoyed writing my first piece for The Observer
www.theguardian.com/science/2024...
putting "mental" back in mental disorders
Follow up on a paper by Joseph LeDoux and colleagues
(and citing J. Shedler's work)
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
Follow up on a paper by Joseph LeDoux and colleagues
(and citing J. Shedler's work)
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
It’s Time for Psychology to Lead, Not Follow | Alexey Tolchinsky, Psy.D.
Putting "mental" back in mental disorders
What a relief and pleasure to see a prominent neuroscientist saying that
Joseph LeDoux and colleagues' paper and lecture about it in Vancouver.
Taschereau-...
www.linkedin.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
putting "mental" back in mental disorders
Follow up on a paper by Joseph LeDoux and colleagues
(and citing J. Shedler's work)
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
Follow up on a paper by Joseph LeDoux and colleagues
(and citing J. Shedler's work)
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
Why communications that don't account for the mental states of the recipient and the speaker are socially inefficient?
Because they are de-contextualized. Context matters in some circumstances and it matters a lot in social interactions.
Because they are de-contextualized. Context matters in some circumstances and it matters a lot in social interactions.
October 18, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Why communications that don't account for the mental states of the recipient and the speaker are socially inefficient?
Because they are de-contextualized. Context matters in some circumstances and it matters a lot in social interactions.
Because they are de-contextualized. Context matters in some circumstances and it matters a lot in social interactions.