Computational neuroscience

Recent articles

Illustration of three-dimensional blocks with wavy edges assembled together like lego bricks.

Neural-network analysis posits how brains build skills

Discrete computational subunits may offer mix-and-match motifs for cognition.

By Alla Katsnelson
7 August 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of a fly with its life cycle represented on its left and a technological background on its right.

Computational and systems neuroscience needs development

Embracing recent advances in developmental biology can drive a new wave of innovation.

By Ben Scott
2 July 2024 | 6 min read
A hand holds multi-colored cubes.
Future of fMRI Microphone

Should we use the computational or the network approach to analyze functional brain-imaging data—why not both?

Emerging methods make it possible to combine the two tactics from opposite ends of the analytic spectrum, enabling scientists to have their cake and eat it too.

By Mac Shine
13 May 2024 | 7 min listen
Photograph of objects delicately balanced to keep a plank of wood level as it sits on a cylindrical block.

How to explore your scientific values and develop a vision for your field

As a new professor, I was caught off guard by one part of the job: my role as an evaluator.

By Grace Lindsay
3 May 2024 | 5 min listen
Headshots of Larry Abbott, Terry Senjowski and Haim Sompolinsky.

Theoretical and computational neuroscientists net 2024 Brain Prize

Larry Abbott, Terrence Sejnowski and Haim Sompolinsky split $1.45 million in recognition of their decades of work uncovering principles of brain structure and function.

By Gina Jiménez
5 March 2024 | 3 min read
An illustration of a diver assisting a scientist at a giant computer.

How scuba diving helped me embrace open science

Our lab adopted practices to make data- and code-sharing feel safer, including having the coding equivalent of a dive buddy. Trainees call the buddy system a welcome safety net.

By Ted Satterthwaite
19 February 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of a lab bench that is split in half between material experiments and computational models.

Experimentalists versus modelers — whose work has more lasting impact?

My informal analysis of some of neuroscience’s most cited papers from 1999 explores what drives scientific durability.

By Grace Lindsay
15 January 2024 | 6 min read
An abstract illustration of a figure from the shoulders up with multi-colored boxes on its face

What ‘drifting representations’ reveal about the brain

How neuronal activity patterns associated with a behavior can change, even when the behavior does not — something once seen as an experimental artifact — could offer new insights about neural function.

By Angie Voyles Askham
13 December 2023 | 8 min read
Research images of the human motor cortex

What happens when a histopathologist teams up with computational modelers?

Answers emerge in my chat with Nicola Palomero-Gallagher, a rare example of someone who connects the brain’s microscopic constituents and macroscopic features.

By Mac Shine
11 December 2023 | 7 min read
Illustrated portrait of David Sussillo.
Synaptic Microphone

FORCE learning and finding an out with David Sussillo

The senior research manager at Meta Reality Labs talks about neural networks and his time at the Milton Hershey School.

By Brady Huggett
1 December 2023 | 80 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Cell population in brainstem coordinates cough, new study shows

The work also adds to a growing body of evidence showing that mice, and their genetic toolbox, can be used to study cough.

By Calli McMurray
6 September 2024 | 5 min read
Capitol building
Spectrum Microphone

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 5 min listen
Illustration of ketamine blocking open ion channels in active NMDA receptors, quieting the cells and disrupting downstream signaling involved in depression.

Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects

The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.

By Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read