2026-05-20 19:30:37
Seeing and imagining are handled by the same brain cells https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2026/05/12/seeing-and-imagining-are-handled-by-the-same-brain-cells/
"Researchers make advances in understanding how human brains ar…
Seeing and imagining are handled by the same brain cells https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2026/05/12/seeing-and-imagining-are-handled-by-the-same-brain-cells/
"Researchers make advances in understanding how human brains ar…
Hey folx! You probably see a lot of stuff from other social networks mirrored to Mastodon, how about we do it the other way around?
Recently, I've starred to mirror my posts to Instagram, Reddit, and other platforms, and I've had quite the success. My biggest post on Instagram, which is just one screenshot of a Mastodon post, has 44.5k likes and 256k views. My
fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…
A computer model predicted which human brain implant channels would fail #invasive
fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…
A look at Russia's push to develop homegrown AI talent, as the country is hampered by scarce access to AI hardware and a brain drain of top technical talent (Nikita Ostrovsky/Time)
https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/russia-ai-putin-chip-us-china/
💢 MRI scans reveal how the brain processes toxic workplace abuse
#mri
How Hank Green Is Fighting Brain Rot by Slate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrDp8_Ao05U
@… Be careful and don't load yourself up with stuff too soon. The brain fog can become *permanent* and you don't want that 😬
A new spinning illusion. Once your brain figures it out, you can switch the spin direction on command. Reminds me of the old stereoscopic images from the 80s.
#illusions
Dad brains: How fatherhood rewires the male mind https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260417-fatherhood-how-the-male-brain-and-body-prepare-for-childcare
Brain rewires to stabilize walking during visual impairment https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-rewires-sensorimotor-walking-blindness-30721/
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study on the effects of visual status on walking-relate…
Now, unwelcome in my brain, has arisen this hideous tongue twister:
I'm not the gristle throbber
I'm the gristle throbber's son
And I'm only throbbing gristle
Till the gristle throbber cums.
I'm gonna take my brain out and give it a good wash and make it clean and smooth and shiny as it should be
Aldon Smith's brain donated to CTE Center as family's attorneys investigate his death at age 36 https://www.foxsports.com/articles/wcbk/aldon-smiths-brain-donated-to-cte-center-as-familys-attorneys-invest…
Rest area on I-55 had this ridiculously blatant #MountainDew knockoff. They even lifted the color scheme. My brain registered it as the real thing, until I looked again. I don’t think I’ve ever come closer to actually confusing one brand for another; wonder how many tired travelers have bought this thinking it was the real thing.
New Study Challenges What We Know About Consciousness and the Brain
https://scitechdaily.com/new-study-challenges-what-we-know-about-consciousness-and-the-brain/
do you think transgender robots have discourse between those that choose to modify their robot bodies and those who choose to transfer their brain-drives into a completely new robot body
"no you don't get it, I *like* the visible welding marks, it shows closeted bots that it's safe to be yourself!"
Morning all! Beautiful morning here in London - blue skies and sunshine. Unfortunately, I have to be in the office 🤪
A mix of client projects, writing, coaching sessions and later, a workshop on bringing values to life.
And then? Spanish class.
My poor brain will need a rest this evening... 🧠
Physical Intelligence says its new model, π0.7, can direct robots on tasks they weren't trained on, an "early sign" of generalization, surprising researchers (Connie Loizos/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/202…
No! No no brain, no brain. no brain. Toot toot toot toot [unintelligible] like-like-like-like YeAH toot. boost. toot. boost. toot. toot toot toot toot like-like-like-like mastodon no brain. mastodon no brain. boost-toot-boost-toot. never! never! never! brain. boost toot boost toot. Never think!
https://
The “neural fingerprint” of psychedelics was spotted among hundreds of brain scans of people on LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and ayahuasca,
pointing to a shared impact on the brain’s behaviour.
The finding emerged from a major study that combined 11 brain imaging datasets from around the world
in an effort to build a reliable picture of how the substances temporarily rewire the brain.
Dr Danilo Bzdok and his colleagues analysed more than 500 brain scans from 267 p…
Brain-computer interfaces in healthcare: building the picks and shovels company while the giants fight over gold #BCI
Some decisions are so hard!
Brain rot or possible survival?
Help me with this!
Europe must choose between AI and climate goals, data center lobby says.
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-choose-ai-climate-goals-data-center-chief-warn…
My brain swallowed it, then let it go for the next person. Or cat.
@… @…
Recovering from (minor) brain and spine injury, I'm hand writing the same text phrase in eight distinct scripts (five new to me), with consecutive writings in "dissimilar" scripts to force my brain and hands to think each time. My goal is to repeat the whole octet 1250 times (total 10K). 🍎🏋️♂️🧠
#wip #wipWednesday #health
💧 Hydraulic brain: Body motion linked to fluid movement in the brain
#brain
budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 112890 edges.
Tags: Biol…
Convicted Harvard scientist rebuilds career in China through controversial brain-computer interface lab https://thedebrief.org/convicted-harvard-scientist-rebuilds-career-in-china-through-controversial-brain-computer-i…
Family to have Smith's brain checked for CTE https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49081473/family-aldon-smith-having-brain-checked-cte
Chlorpyrifos: Pesticide tied to brain damage in children, chronic disease and other health problems #environment
Well, that's probably been the worst day for #Depression of the whole bloody year, but I did not get nothing done.
I finished an essay, and I think it's an important one.
https://www.
President, Extremely Normal Brain-Wise: Pope Weak On Crime, Also I'm Dr. Jesus Christ (Albert Burneko/Defector)
https://defector.com/president-extremely-normal-brain-wise-pope-weak-on-crime-also-im-dr-jesus-christ
http://www.memeorandum.com/260414/p150#a260414p150
🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #MorningShow
Flea:
🎵 Maggot Brain
#Flea
https://officialflea.bandcamp.com/track/maggot-brain
https://open.spotify.com/track/3poJZBl2yoeWbMMxX63YcE
Required reading for programmers
https://aeon.co/essays/your-brain-does-not-process-information-and-it-is-not-a-computer
budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 121755 edges.
Tags: Biol…
OH: if you have Kerberos brain it all makes sense #PyConUS
The brain's code seems to be in constant flux. Neuroscientists are baffled https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01554-0 "Neurons fire much more erratically than researchers thought." Required for "time stamping" of events for long-term memories?
One of the world's top centers for brain science is taking a huge gamble on a tiny, transparent fish.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus near Washington, D.C., has announcedan effort to use artificial intelligence and an unusual fish called Danionella to understand how the brain controls complex behaviors like social interaction.
Janelia plans to triple the space dedicated to fish to 6,000 square feet, which will make room for thousands of new t…
New research suggests brain-controlled hearing technology can help people single out a voice in a crowd, hopefully covering the largest deficiency of hearing aids.
https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-controlled-hearing-aid-60465/
Paper (open access):
Scientists reveal how seven days of fasting transforms the human body #nutrition
cintestinalis: Tadpole larva brain (C. intestinalis)
Entire connectivity matrix for the complete brain of a larva of Ciona intestinalis. Each directed edge represents a synaptic connection from pre-synaptic cell i to post-synaptic cell j (may not be a neuron). Edge weights represent the cumulative depth of presynaptic contacts in µm.
This network has 205 nodes and 2903 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted
"none of these legacy behaviours are rational. They arise out of that bundle of behaviours inherited from our two billion years of sexually selected ancestors... If our ancestors had not had these behaviours, we would not be here. Our ancestors were not, in the sense we mean here, rational... A purely rational being — a being created ab initio rational — would not have these behaviours.
No one is proposing to build an AI with a lizard brain. It won't happen."
Designing implants that don't scar the brain https://neurosciencenews.com/flexible-brain-implants-polyimide-biocompatibility-30538/ "Surprisingly, making probes 'ultra-thin' or allowing them to 'float' wirelessly didn't…
Neuroscientists long theorized that bilingual speakers must process different languages with separate patterns of brain activity.
In a new study, however, researchers found that these patterns were more alike than had been expected.
When deciding how to make a word singular or plural, for instance,
bilingual people exhibit strikingly similar brain activity regardless of whether they are speaking in their first or second language.
“It wasn’t obvious that it was going to…
cintestinalis: Tadpole larva brain (C. intestinalis)
Entire connectivity matrix for the complete brain of a larva of Ciona intestinalis. Each directed edge represents a synaptic connection from pre-synaptic cell i to post-synaptic cell j (may not be a neuron). Edge weights represent the cumulative depth of presynaptic contacts in µm.
This network has 205 nodes and 2903 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted
Aldon Smith's family to donate his brain for CTE research, investigating death https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7365633/2026/06/16/aldon-smith-cte-research-death/
🤯 The brain region associated with moral inconsistency
#brain
An interview with Galen Buckwalter, a BCI recipient in a Caltech brain implant study, on his recent ability to use the implant to produce musical tones (Emily Mullin/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/meet-the-man-making-music-with-his-brain-implant/
I seem to have written a wee essay about #ArtificialGeneralIntelligence #AGI
It's probably not in its final form yet, I'll probably revise a bit. Comments welcome.
(YouTube) The biology of brain-machine interface failure #BCI #NeuroTech
Ibogaine, a naturally occurring compound from a shrub native to Africa, is used to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and brain trauma.
Because it's illegal in the United States, Americans have been traveling to unregulated clinics, often in Mexico or the Caribbean, to take the drug.
Trump intends to sign the executive order as soon as this week, to allow its use in research
The administration doesn't plan to reclassify the drug …
Elon Musk's Neuralink Blindsight brain implant will grab public attention for a while, until attention gets diverted to the next hype.
budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 93708 edges.
Tags: Biolo…
Intermittent fasting triggers surprising changes in the brain #health
SciAm: U.S. scientists are being lured abroad - and they aren't looking back https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-scientists-are-being-lured-abroad-and-they-arent-looking-back/
fly_hemibrain: Fly hemibrain (2020)
A synaptic map of the hemibrain connectome of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using EM reconstruction techniques. Neurons are labeled by their type. Edges are annotated by the connection strength between the neurons.
This network has 21739 nodes and 4259624 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted, Metadata
Lucid dreaming is fascinating for its vividness and visual realism, but sound-guided mental imagery may have more immediate practical applications (for the blind). Can the human brain learn new tricks and even switch states as in awake vs asleep, now for veridical hallucinations?
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have shown that
bacteria can learn from past experiences,
store memories across generations
and adapt their behavior to changing environments
all without a brain or nervous system
https://www.cmu.edu…
Sabi, which is developing a brain-computer interface beanie that can decode internal speech into words, emerges from stealth with backing from Khosla and others (Emily Mullin/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/this-beanie-is-designed-to-read-your-thoughts/…
"Rejoice, for even though we do, verily, walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not all the phantasms we see in the valley are as dark as they appear."
This essay, like all the essays on my blog, is on #CreativeCommons Attribution/Share Alike licence.
Please feel free to republish it anywhere.
Review: The role of sensory experience in the maturation of prefrontal cortical circuits https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1808558/full
Motor imagery affects both cortical and spinal circuitry: a transcranial and trans-spinal magnetic stimulation study https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neural-circuits/articles/10.3389/fncir.2026.1809125/abstract
RE: https://mas.to/@seeingwithsound/116426357810275394
"I really think you should consider getting a brain implant for your vision."
"Absolutely not, I'm not putting a chip inside my head!"
Yes, this is an AI-generated vi…
"We are in a period where we face huge challenges on many fronts: the planet is burning, the species which provide the ecosystem services we depend on to survive are going extinct, we are fighting wars over resources. We need to focus on the real risks we face. #ArtificialGeneralIntelligence is not one of these. It may happen, but probably not soon. If it does happen, i…
Max Hodak's Science Corp. is preparing to place its first sensor in a human brain https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/14/max-hodaks-science-corp-is-preparing-to-place-its-first-sensor-in-a-human-brain/ biohybrid
"our energy systems are already massively in carbon debt. We cannot afford to borrow any more carbon from fossil reserves. To burn carbon now to build AGI on the vague hope that it may by some remote chance produce systems with more insight than we now have, at a time when our politicians are already failing to act on the very clear data being produced by their own scientists, it the purest folly"
#AGI
#Paradromics and University of Michigan complete first #Connexus BCI implantation for the FDA-approved Connect-One clinical study
"we are at the end of days. Our planet — which is, as far as we know, the only planet anywhere in the universe to support intelligent life — is literally burning as I write this, and it is burning because we are burning it. Building huge data centres to pursue the egocentric fantasies of kleptocrat pirates only accelerates that process"
#AGI
budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 80270 edges.
Tags: Biolo…
"We don't see with our eyes, we see with our brain" - Paul Bach-y-Rita https://www.seeingwithsound.com/BCI.html
#Paradromics: From brain implants to neuroprosthetics | Making sense of brain-computer interface terminology https://www.paradromics.com/insights/from-brain-implants-to-neuropr…
Why brain implants are more than a sci-fi fantasy #BCI
Would getting a Neuralink Blindsight brain implant for restoring vision be worth it? #BCI
cintestinalis: Tadpole larva brain (C. intestinalis)
Entire connectivity matrix for the complete brain of a larva of Ciona intestinalis. Each directed edge represents a synaptic connection from pre-synaptic cell i to post-synaptic cell j (may not be a neuron). Edge weights represent the cumulative depth of presynaptic contacts in µm.
This network has 205 nodes and 2903 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted
Myelin emerges as an active regulator of brain plasticity, not only a structural insulator https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/myelin-emerges-as-an-active-regulator-of-brain-plasticity-not-only-a-struct…
budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 121755 edges.
Tags: Biol…
Spatial transcriptomics on an expanded dataset at the brain-electrode interface: exploration of variability and identification of novel biomarkers https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1852774/full "…
The Alzheimer's-BCI connection nobody talks about https://bioniclab.substack.com/p/the-alzheimers-bci-connection-nobody "The focal brain injury from implantation appeared to accelerate disease progression in animals already on a genetic trajectory toward n…
Implanted brain-computer interface functionality during nighttime in late-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-44228-7 "When applied to night data, daytime decoders caused unintentional BCI activations in 100% of nights."
PhD position at University of Glasgow on ultra-high field brain imaging of mental imagery and aphantasia https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/fully-funded-phd-ultra-high-field-brain-imaging-of-imagery-and-aphantasia/?p196182…
What does sound do to your brain's gene expression, RNA?
Prenatal acoustic communication triggers adaptive vascular programming in the developing avian brain https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/229/11/jeb252287…
Neuroscientists take major step in development of brain-computer interfaces for patients with paralysis https://nieuws.kuleuven.be/en/content/2026/neuroscientists-take-major-step-in-development-of-br…
Brain-computer interfaces and patients' rights: some key principles, according to Science Corporation's Alex Feerst https://science.xyz/news/bci-principles/ What happens once the implant fails? Long-term support, thinking of Argus II, Dobelle?
#Cortigent about their Orion visual cortical prosthesis system (brain implant for restoring vision to the blind) https://www.cortigent.com/orion "It is intended to deliver meaningful perception of motion and light.&…
(YouTube) Nadine Dijkstra - Distinguishing imagination and reality in a generative brain #neuroscience
Doctoral student position in Electrical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden on developing next-generation neuroprosthetic systems ("brain implants") https://www.chalmers.se/om-chalmers/arbeta-hos-oss/lediga-tjanster/
After flying with virtual wings for one week, the brain learns to accept the impossible #noninvasive…
A congenitally blind woman who I have known for many years, stated yesterday: "Not many of us actually seem too interested in brain implants. Maybe it's more of a late blind thing, but even among people who have lost their sight, I don't hear much about brain implants."
(from China) 2026: How high can the brain-computer interface soar in the spotlight? #BCI #NeuroTech
China has approved the world's first invasive brain-computer chip - here's what's next https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/01/1138133/china-world-first-brain-chip/ (archived at
#Paradromics on brain-computer interfaces: China's recent developments and what they mean for the U.S. https://www.paradromics.com/blog/china-bci-developments
Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution may be the supplemental "glue" needed to make brain implants for restoring vision shine: textures and shading, undistorted visual feedback, fill-in for failing electrodes, etc https://www.artificialvision.com/neuralink.htm