Neuroscience

Andrew Huberman joins Patrick O’Shaughnessy to discuss the frontier of neurotechnology and sustained human performance. Their conversation considers the convergence of AI and biotechnology, gene-based methods for changing neural activity and motivation, and the relationships between visual behaviour, arousal and sleep. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University.

Madeleine Finlay interviews Boston University neuroscientist Steve Ramirez about locating, activating and removing rodent memories, and possible applications in humans.

Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove and Brianne Barker discuss a newly identified mechanism for RNA-guided DNA recognition and genetic control that may predate CRISPR pathways. They also examine research proposing that features of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology could have originated as a host response to infection in the brain, including evidence concerning phosphorylated tau and herpesvirus activity. The episode connects ancient molecular recognition mechanisms with questions about antiviral defence.

Neurobiologist Tom Clandinin joins Nicholas Weiler to explore how interacting genetic, cellular and metabolic systems maintain brain health over a lifetime, and how their breakdown contributes to neurodegeneration. The discussion moves beyond single explanations such as inflammation or waste clearance to a systems-level study of brain resilience. Clandinin describes a collaborative programme combining large-scale genetic perturbations in flies and mice with molecular, circuit and behavioural measurements. Computational models will connect these observations across cell types, predict interactions and guide experiments toward potential ways to strengthen the aging brain’s maintenance systems.

Lead research on distributed neural computation and brain evolution using the acoel Hofstenia miamia. The project combines circuit imaging, activity recordings, neural perturbations, behavioural analysis and computational methods to explain how repeated circuit units produce coordinated, adaptive behaviour. This is a full-time, four-year appointment in London, starting from £47,500 annually with benefits. The institute states that this role is eligible for UK visa sponsorship. Applications close on 11 October 2026 at 23:59, according to the current employer advert.

The Meletis laboratory in Neuroscience offers a postdoctoral scholarship in Solna to study neuron subtypes and circuits underlying motivation and decision-making, including mouse models of stress and mood disorders. Work combines genetic and viral labelling, in vivo imaging or optogenetics, and freely moving or head-fixed behavioural experiments in circuits such as the basal ganglia, hypothalamus and dopamine system. Single-cell profiles and connectivity maps support the research. Apply through Varbi by 13 October 2026 with a CV, publication list and one-page research summary.

A 23-month postdoctoral appointment at 0.8 FTE in Pieter Medendorp’s sensorimotor research group at the Donders Institute. The project investigates perception, movement and decisions under uncertainty through behavioural experiments and computational models. Work combines multisensory integration, Bayesian modelling and optimal control with virtual reality, wearable sensors and motion platforms, including natural navigation, orienting and reaching. The preferred start is 1 December 2026. Responsibilities may include student supervision and teaching.

Develop antibody-based approaches to Alzheimer’s disease at the Queensland Brain Institute. The project investigates tau-targeting monoclonal antibodies through protein production, cell-based experiments and mouse studies. Responsibilities include analysing results, preparing publications, contributing to funding applications and supporting junior researchers. This full-time appointment runs for up to 12 months, with an immediate start preferred. Annual base pay is AUD 85,373–113,660, plus 17% superannuation.

Neurobiologist Tom Clandinin joins Nicholas Weiler to explore how interacting genetic, cellular and metabolic systems maintain brain health over a lifetime, and how their breakdown contributes to neurodegeneration. The discussion moves beyond single explanations such as inflammation or waste clearance to a systems-level study of brain resilience. Clandinin describes a collaborative programme combining large-scale genetic perturbations in flies and mice with molecular, circuit and behavioural measurements. Computational models will connect these observations across cell types, predict interactions and guide experiments toward potential ways to strengthen the aging brain’s maintenance systems.

Andrew Huberman joins Patrick O’Shaughnessy to discuss the frontier of neurotechnology and sustained human performance. Their conversation considers the convergence of AI and biotechnology, gene-based methods for changing neural activity and motivation, and the relationships between visual behaviour, arousal and sleep. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University.

Navigation and memory require coordination between map-like allocentric representations and body-centered egocentric actions. Aaron Wilber examines how the parietal–retrosplenial–anterior thalamic–hippocampal network performs these transformations, and how disrupted coordination contributes to spatial deficits in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Rat sequence-task experiments reveal bidirectional hippocampal–parietal interactions across route-centered, place and egocentric representations. Because that task does not isolate reference-frame use, the laboratory developed a freely available task separating egocentric, allocentric and transformation conditions. Validation indicates that parietal cortex and anterior thalamus are required for transformation; ongoing work examines population states associated with each condition. The talk then connects impaired hippocampal–cortical communication during sleep to navigation deficits in 3xTg-AD mice, reporting recovery of circuit function and cognition after early, circuit-targeted 40 Hz entrainment. Related investigations examine this network during waking navigation. In TgF344-AD rats, egocentric impairments appear before transformation deficits, addressing the shortage of rodent studies of reference-frame coordination in Alzheimer’s disease.

Arno Onken examines transformer models for predicting responses in the retina and visual cortex. These models learn complex neural-response patterns from large datasets and can transfer learned representations between settings, but fitting and interpreting them differs from linear–nonlinear and convolutional approaches. The talk discusses the opportunities and difficulties this creates for understanding sensory processing. It includes ViV1T, a transformer trained on natural movies that revealed previously uncharacterised response properties in mouse primary visual cortex. The work illustrates how predictive models can generate hypotheses and guide animal experiments. Onken also considers the substantial data and computing requirements and the difficulty of interpreting what the models have learned.