Preprint review: behavioural state shifts are predicted by fluctuations in arousal

Review of: Daniel Hulsey, Kevin Zumwalt, Luca Mazzucato, David A. McCormick, Santiago Jaramillo. Decision-making dynamics are predicted by arousal and uninstructed movements. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.02.530651 By Philippa Johnson In a recent lab meeting, we discussed a preprint by Hulsey et al. (2023), which investigates whether fluctuations in arousal can account for some of the variabilityContinue reading “Preprint review: behavioural state shifts are predicted by fluctuations in arousal”

Doughnut science: rethinking academia in a time of climate crisis

How to be an academic in a world on fire? As scientists concerned about the climate crisis, we set out to rethink the role and goals of the university in tackling the 21st century’s challenges. Inspired by Raworth’s Doughnut Economics, we propose seven new ways to thinking – not only to help us think, but alsoContinue reading “Doughnut science: rethinking academia in a time of climate crisis”

Individual choice repetition biases arise from persistent dynamics in parietal cortex

Across many decision-making tasks, people and animals systematically repeat (or alternate) their choices – even when the choices they make are intrinsically uncorrelated. This phenomenon (also known as ‘sequential effect’ or ‘choice hysteresis’) has been known for at least a century, and may be a stable individual trait. How do these behavioral biases arise fromContinue reading “Individual choice repetition biases arise from persistent dynamics in parietal cortex”

Hybrid meetings and distributed local meetups: the good, the bad and the ugly

The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled the scientific community into a world devoid of in-person conferences. Traditional ‘legacy’ conferences, which have long been the mainstay of academic networking and crucial for catching the latest science, have been largely replaced with virtual events. Moving conferences online is pandemic-proof, and brings myriad other advantages: reduced cost and travel-relatedContinue reading “Hybrid meetings and distributed local meetups: the good, the bad and the ugly”