Just out on @thetransmitter: 18 teams analyzed the same #Neuropixels dataset and obtained strongly divergent answers.
Even for #SharpWaveRipple detection, the apparent consensus masked major differences: Some teams detected almost no ripples, others up to 10 per minute. Functional connectivity and spike-spike interaction analyses diverged even more.
#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #electrophysiology #Neurophysiology
In #mouse #cortex and #striatum, the probes support localized circuit manipulation and parallel identification of multiple cell types.
๐ง ๐ฆ Itโs finally there: #NeuropixelsOpto which integrates high-density #electrophysiology and #optogenetics on the same probe.
The just presented prototype combines 960 recording sites w 14 blue & 14 red light emitters on a 70 ยตm-wide shank, enabling spatially addressable #optogenetic activation, silencing and #optotagging during large-scale recordings.
๐ง New #preprint by Komi et al. (2025): Neural #manifolds that orchestrate walking and stopping. Using #Neuropixels recordings from the lumbar spinal cord of freely walking rats, they show that #locomotion arises from rotational #PopulationDynamics within a low-dimensional limit-cycle #manifold. When walking stops, the dynamics collapse into a postural manifold of stable fixed points, each encoding a distinct pose.
๐ง Using #Neuropixels recordings + deep-learning dynamics (FINDR), Luo et al. (2025) show that rat #decisionmaking switches from input-driven to autonomous network regimes mid-trial. After this nTc point, new sensory evidence no longer affects choice. Highlights fronto-striatal division of labor and constrains #AttractorModels.
๐ง New preprint by Kashefi et al. (2025): High-density #Neuropixels recordings in monkeys reveal compositional #NeuralDynamics in #MotorCortex. A posture subspace anchors fixed points, rotational dynamics link them to generate movement, and a uniform shift tracks trial state. Recurrent models show this geometry emerges only when controlling a full arm, suggesting posture-dependent control as a core principle:
๐ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.04.674069v1
๐ง New landmark study โA #brain-wide map of #NeuralActivity during complex #behaviourโ by the #InternationalBrainLaboratory (Angelaki et al., 2025): >600,000 #neurons across 279 regions in 139 mice, unified across 12 labs with #Neuropixels probes.
#DecisionMaking isnโt confined to single hubs but distributed across the brain, incl. #sensory, #motor & #reward areas, showing how #cognitive processes emerge from brain-wide #dynamics.
๐ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
#Neuroscience ๐งช
The sound of cells in the brain just doesnโt get old! Itโs how I fell in love with #neuroscience ๐ง ๐งช๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ฌ
Celebrating small victories - first #neuropixels recordings in the lab. Congrats to the team that made it happen!
#PostdocJob from the #RuedigerLab at #UCL, London:
"Iโm excited to share that we have an opening for a postdoctoral position in my lab at University College London. This role is funded by the Wellcome Trust and offers a unique chance to join our team as we work to understand how cortical and subcortical visual circuits work together to turn visual signals into learned actions in mice.
In this role, you will:
โข Design and perform innovative experiments in head-fixed and freely moving mice
โข Use advanced techniques like #Neuropixels recordings and two-photon calcium imaging to monitor and analyze brain activity
โข Collaborate closely with a diverse team of experimentalists and computational neuroscientists
โข Contribute to the preparation and dissemination of our research findings through publications and conference presentations
This is a fantastic opportunity to make original contributions to our growing research group. If you have a strong background in in vivo physiology, mouse behavioral studies, and relevant data analysis - and youโre eager to expand your skills while playing a key role in our projects - Iโd love to hear from you.
For further details, including the full job description, please check out:
Job Ad
I look forward to the possibility of you joining our team.
Sarah"
#NeuroESC #JournalClub
Reading Mental exploration of future choices during immobility theta oscillations
If you've read it, will you let me know what you think?
The authors look at #ThetaSequences in a working memory task in a radial arm maze. They find theta during immobility (makes sense, e.g. we saw that in our two-goals task). They also find that theta sequences might preferentially represent the next goal (also makes sense, e.g. Hippocampal theta sequences reflect current goals)!
I have only done a quick reading so far, but am confused by a few points:
the decoded algorithm itself includes a ' position transition matrix' which seems like it would bias decoding towards realistic trajectories that the rat is about to do??? (but I probably missed something)
also, this study is very related to this other paper, which is not discussed or even cited (๐ ):
Assembly Responses of Hippocampal CA1 Place Cells Predict Learned Behavior in Goal-Directed Spatial Tasks on the Radial Eight-Arm Maze #CsisvariLab
Let me know what you think!
Mental exploration enables flexible evaluation of potential future choices, guiding decision-making without requiring direct real-world iterations. Although the hippocampus is known to be active while imagining the future, the precise mechanisms that support mental exploration of future choices remain unclear. In the hippocampus, the theta rhythm (4-12 Hz) is prevalent during movement and supports memory coding during real-world exploration by organizing neuronal activity patterns into short virtual path segments (theta sequences) around the ratโs location. We observed these theta-related neural activity patterns during movement in a hippocampus-dependent working memory task and also, unexpectedly, theta oscillations and theta-related neural activity during immobility. Compared to standard theta sequences during movement, theta sequences during immobility differed in that they occurred at a shifted theta phase and preferentially represented remote locations, in particular the next choice in the working memory task. Coding for future locations was also observed during awake sharp wave ripple, but these short-lasting events occurred rarely and were biased toward frequently visited locations. Therefore, our findings suggest that recurring bouts of theta oscillations during immobility, which are also observed in primates and humans, support the cognitive demands of mental exploration in the hippocampal network and facilitate ongoing predictions of future choices. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Fabrizio Musacchio
Fabrizio Musacchio
Theresa Desrochers
El Duvelle Neuro