Can humans and animals really use internal maps to navigate and take shortcuts?

Tolman famously argued "yes" - based largely on his Sunburst maze experiment.

However, our new review & meta-analysis suggests the evidence is far weaker than you might think.
🧵👇 https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.70365
1/

#neuroESC #navigation #neuroscience #neuroethology #SpatialCognition #AnimalBehaviour #shortcutting #cognitivemap #tolman

Hello Mastodon 👋

I study how brains navigate space - from 2D mazes to fully 3D environments. My focus is on hippocampal place cells, entorhinal grid cells, and head direction cells, combining behavior, electrophysiology, and computational models.

I’m here to share lab findings, discuss interesting papers, and explore how animals map and move through the world.

Occasionally, I’ll highlight moments when the brain does something unexpectedly clever (or confusing).

Excited to meet people in neuroscience and beyond. Always happy to chat about space, brains, or just interesting science in general. 🧠🌍

#neuroesc #navigation #neuroscience #neuroethology #introduction #SpatialCognition

Had a blast teaching the "Animals in Motion" course last week as part of @neuroinformatics Open Software Week!

All course materials—including hands-on coding exercises—are freely available as an online book:
🔗 https://animals-in-motion.neuroinformatics.dev/latest/

This should be a useful resource for anyone interested in using free, open-source tools to track animal motion from video and extract quantitative descriptions of behaviour from the resulting data.

Thanks to @SoftwareSaved and @SWC_Neuro for the support.

#neuroscience #ethology #neuroethology #opensource #openscience

We’re excited to welcome Dr Wen-Sung Chung ( University of Queensland) as plenary speaker at #ABL2025! 🙌
Discover how sexual dimorphism and neural plasticity shape the brains—and behaviours—of octopuses. A deep dive into cognition beyond the vertebrate world. 🐙

Learn more, register, submit an abstract : https://ablaoc25.sciencesconf.org/

#OctopusBehaviour #Neuroethology #Plasticity

We welcome the 2nd plenary speaker at #ABL2025. 🙌

Dr. Anna Stöckl (Universität Konstanz) reveals how insect pollinators interpret floral patterns to guide foraging. From hawkmoth vision to neural templates—this talk will bridge behaviour, neuroethology & sensory biology. 🦋🪻

#InsectVision #Neuroethology #Pollinators #Hawkmoths

#PostocJob: Postdoctoral Researcher in computational neurophysiology and neuroethology

"A fully-funded 24-month (with 36 additional months possible) postdoctoral position is now available in Dr Arthur Lefevre group at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences in Lyon, France.

Topic: Study of neural bases of acoustic communication and affiliation in freely moving and spontaneously behaving marmosets using neurophysiological data already acquired and/or to be acquired. Additionally, we will investigate the effects of oxytocin, a neurohormone that modulates social behavior, on communication and affiliation, as well as the underlying neural activity. [...]"

Deadline: July 2025

-> for more info, contact Dr. Arthur Lefevre on the linked website, or check out the full job advert in this pdf: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xdpuelsb2lawvfxj2md8c/Postdoctoral-Researcher-in-computational-neurophysiology-and-neuroethology.pdf?rlkey=be5ypcv90w733phg6umfslpic&st=xco6f3w7&dl=0

#Neuroscience #NeuroEthology #NeuroMarmoset

As part of this week-long event, I will be hosting a 2-day “Animals in Motion” workshop in London, with the generous support of @SoftwareSaved.

It’s for anyone who wants to get hands-on experience with using open-source software to track animals from video footage and analyse their motion.

Attendance is free of charge, but spots are limited. A small number of travel stipends are available. More info at https://neuroinformatics.dev/open-software-week/

#neuroscience #behavior #ethology #neuroethology #python

From: @neuroinformatics
https://mastodon.online/@neuroinformatics/114348660994777557

The International Society for Neuroethology has a grant for disadvantaged scientists investigating the mechanisms of animal behaviour. Apply for funds to help overcome any barriers you face!

Membership fees can be included in your application.

Details here: https://www.neuroethology.org/diversity-award/

#diversity #edi #neuroethology #science #funding

movement—our free, open-source Python package for analysing animal motion—just got an upgrade (v0.0.21) and it’s first blogpost. Good time to check it out.

#neuroscience #neuroethology #ethology #behavior

From: @neuroinformatics
https://mastodon.online/@neuroinformatics/113624043410144421