Björn Brembs

"Because so much of one's scientific future is shaped by early experiences, it is critical that beginning scientists select their mentors wisely. Unfortunately, what constitutes a "good" choice is not always obvious. Here I offer some personal advice to help young scientists make these tough decisions wisely." - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet

Selecting a mentor for my next postdoc is indeed proving tricky! - Jo Young

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 105, No. 14. (8 April 2008), pp. 5579-5584. 10.1073/pnas.0710168105 Biogenic amines, such as serotonin and dopamine, can be important in reinforcing associative learning. This function is evident as changes in memory performance with manipulation of either of these signals. In the insects, evidence begins to argue for a common role of dopamine in negatively reinforced memory. In contrast, the role of the serotonergic system in reinforcing insect associative learning is either unclear or controversial. We investigated the role of both of these signals in operant place learning in . By genetically altering serotonin and dopamine levels, manipulating the neurons that make serotonin and dopamine, and pharmacological treatments we provide clear evidence that serotonin, but not dopamine, is necessary for place memory. Thus, serotonin can be critical for memory formation in an insect, and dopamine is not a universal negatively reinforcing... - Björn Brembs

I'm echoing the sentiments of this YouTube commenter: "I just watched this for 7 minutes and never got to see the ant be freed. >:( " ! - Peter Murray

lol :-) Mean scientists :-) - Björn Brembs

That was wonderful in so many levels - Marcos de Carvalho

J. Neurosci., Vol. 29, No. 46. (18 November 2009), pp. 14496-14505. The default mode network (DMN) comprises a set of regions that exhibit ongoing, intrinsic activity in the resting state and task-related decreases in activity across a range of paradigms. However, DMN regions have also been reported as task-related increases, either independently or coactivated with other regions in the network. Cognitive subtractions and the use of low-level baseline conditions have generally masked the functional nature of these regions. Using a combination of activation likelihood estimation, which assesses statistically significant convergence of neuroimaging results, and tools distributed with the BrainMap database, we identified core regions in the DMN and examined their functional heterogeneity. Meta-analytic coactivation maps of task-related increases were independently generated for each region, which included both within-DMN and non-DMN connections. Their functional properties were assessed... - Björn Brembs

Isn't spontaneous activity the bedrock of free will (reignited the debate):-) And because default n/w is what are our brains do 99% of the time and mine have been doing for as long as I have been born:;-) - Sandeep Gautam

So, they fail. Natural selection. What's the problem? (Can you tell I don't teach?) - Bill Hooker

We're actually emulating the review process a little bit. These cases got a "reject with possibility to re-submit" :-) - Björn Brembs

"Despite many attempts to link the volume of an animal's brain with the depth of its intelligence, scientists now propose that it's the complexity of connections between brain cells that matters most. Studying those connections -- a more manageable task in a little brain than in a big one -- could help researchers understand how bigger brains, including those of humans, work." - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet

Data Integration in the Life Sciences (2009), pp. 47-54. Although many applications have attempted to provide integrative access to distributed datasets, domain scientists largely continue to harvest research data in a conventional way, by consulting each resource independently, because such applications do not fully meet users’ needs. This paper describes OpenFlyData ( http://openflydata.org/ ), a simple user-led service providing Drosophila researchers with integrated access to distributed information. This is an exemplar lightweight solution to the problems of data integration, in which accurate and explicit data modelling enables high precision information retrieval. Jun Zhao, Alistair Miles, Graham Klyne, David Shotton - Björn Brembs

J. Neurosci., Vol. 25, No. 19. (11 May 2005), pp. 4766-4778. Genetically encoded fluorescent probes of neural activity represent new promising tools for systems neuroscience. Here, we present a comparative in vivo analysis of 10 different genetically encoded calcium indicators, as well as the pH-sensitive synapto-pHluorin. We analyzed their fluorescence changes in presynaptic boutons of the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction. Robust neural activity did not result in any or noteworthy fluorescence changes when Flash-Pericam, Camgaroo-1, and Camgaroo-2 were expressed. However, calculated on the raw data, fractional fluorescence changes up to 18% were reported by synapto-pHluorin, Yellow Cameleon 2.0, 2.3, and 3.3, Inverse-Pericam, GCaMP1.3, GCaMP1.6, and the troponin C-based calcium sensor TN-L15. The response characteristics of all of these indicators differed considerably from each other, with GCaMP1.6 reporting high rates of neural activity with the largest and fastest... - Björn Brembs

gCaMp3, newly reported in N Methods is pretty amazing, performance-wise... - Noah Gray

I'm just about done submitting an ERC starting grant. If we get funded, we'll screen all of the available ones for the best performance in characterizing resting-state activity in fly brains (aka fMRI for flies). - Björn Brembs

Trends in Neurosciences, Vol. 29, No. 3. (March 2006), pp. 160-166. T Knopfel, J Diezgarcia, W Akemann - Björn Brembs

Brain Research, Vol. 942, No. 1-2. (28 June 2002), pp. 101-108. In freely moving rats and monkeys, H-reflex amplitude displays a marked circadian variation without change in background motoneuron tone. In rats, the H-reflex is largest around noon and smallest around midnight. The present study evaluated in rats the effects on this rhythm of calibrated contusions of mid-thoracic spinal cord and mid-thoracic transection of specific spinal cord pathways. In 33 control rats, rhythm amplitude averaged 29.0(±2.6 S.E.)% of H-reflex amplitude. Contusion injuries at T8–9 that destroyed 53–88% of the white matter significantly reduced the rhythm to 18.9(±2.4)% of H-reflex amplitude. Transection of the ipsilateral lateral column, which contains the rubrospinal, vestibulospinal, and reticulospinal tracts, or bilateral transection of the dorsal column ascending tract did not affect rhythm amplitude or phase. In contrast, bilateral transection of the main corticospinal tract significantly reduced... - Björn Brembs

J Neurophysiol, Vol. 90, No. 5. (1 November 2003), pp. 3572-3578. The brain shapes spinal cord function throughout life. Operant conditioning of the H-reflex, the electrical analog of the spinal stretch reflex (SSR), is a relatively simple model for exploring the spinal cord plasticity underlying this functional change and may provide a new method for modifying spinal cord reflexes after spinal cord injury. In response to an operant conditioning protocol, rats can gradually increase (i.e., up-training mode) or decrease (i.e., down-training mode) the soleus H-reflex. This study explored the effects of midthoracic transection of the ipsilateral lateral column (LC) (rubrospinal, vestibulospinal, and reticulospinal tracts), the dorsal column corticospinal tract (CST), or the dorsal column ascending tract (DA) on maintenance of an H-reflex increase that has already occurred. Rats were implanted with EMG electrodes in the right soleus muscle and a nerve-stimulating cuff on the right... - Björn Brembs

Experimental Brain Research, Vol. 144, No. 1. (1 May 2002), pp. 88-94. Abstract Operant conditioning of the H-reflex, the electrical analog of the spinal stretch reflex, in freely moving rats is a relatively simple model for studying long-term supraspinal control over spinal cord function. Motivated by food reward, rats can gradually increase (i.e., up-condition) or decrease (i.e., down-condition) the soleus H-reflex. Earlier work showed that corticospinal tract transection prevents acquisition and maintenance of H-reflex down-conditioning while transection of other major spinal cord tracts does not. This study explores the effects on acquisition of up-conditioning of the right soleus H-reflex of mid-thoracic transection of: the right lateral column (LC, five rats) (containing the rubrospinal, vestibulospinal, and reticulospinal tracts); the entire dorsal column (DC, six rats) [containing the main corticospinal tract (CST) and the dorsal ascending tract (DA)]; the CST alone (five... - Björn Brembs

Nat Rev Neurosci, Vol. 7, No. 7. (01 July 2006), pp. 563-574. Eve Marder, Jean-Marc Goaillard - Björn Brembs

Neuropsychologia, Vol. In Press, Corrected Proof The default mode of brain function hypothesis and the presence of spontaneous intrinsic low-frequency signal fluctuations during rest have recently attracted attention in the neuroscience community. In this study we asked two questions: First, is it possible to attenuate intrinsic activity in the self-referential, default mode of brain function by directing the brains resources to a goal-oriented and attention-demanding task? Second, what effect does a sustained attention-demanding overt task performance have on the two intrinsically active networks in the brain, those being the task-negative, default-mode and the anticorrelated, task-positive network? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor spontaneous intrinsic activity during rest and sustained performance of a sequential two-back working memory task. We compared intrinsic activity during rest and the two-back task to the signal increases and decreases observed in an... - Björn Brembs

"In a letter to the EPA, the 26 public sector scientists complained that crop developers are curbing their rights to study commercial biotech crops. "No truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions involving these crops [because of company-imposed restrictions]," they wrote." - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet

Find the article PDF on the author's website: http://www.emilywaltz.com/Biotech... - Björn Brembs

Spread the word! - Björn Brembs

Signed! Now spreading the word! - Jan Wessnitzer

Nature, Vol. 462, No. 7270. (11 November 2009), pp. 169-170. The FOXP2 gene is implicated in the development of human speech and language. A comparison of the human and chimpanzee FOXP2 proteins highlights the differences in function in the two species. Some genes find instant favour in scientific culture and, like popular celebrities, remain under the close watch of their devoted following. FOXP2 has many of the qualities of an in-vogue gene — relevance to human disease, evolutionary significance and a prominent role in brain development. Martin Dominguez, Pasko Rakic - Björn Brembs

I think you're underemphasizing some cultural factors: namely, it is FAR more socially acceptable for men to abandon their children 12h/day than it is for women. Likewise, it is FAR more socially acceptable for women to say "I'm giving up on [career] to have kids" than for men. My personal opinion is that until men step up to a fair share of childcare, nothing changes. - D0r0th34

@Björn I could make a number of comments to the nature of 'society' response to this, but given they relate to instances in my current job this is probably not the place (not relating to me in terms of childcare btw). My partner otoh, has indicated he is eager to take on any childcare responsibilities when/if the time comes (and thus considers this extremely seriously) - however, I suspect he is in a reasonable minority. Hopefully this will change. - Anna Croft

Neurology, Vol. 73, No. 19. (10 November 2009), pp. 1532-1537. Background: Handwriting skills, which are crucial for success in school, communication, and building children's self-esteem, have been observed to be poor in individuals with autism. Little information exists on the handwriting of children with autism, without delineation of specific features that can contribute to impairments. As a result, the specific aspects of handwriting in which individuals with autism demonstrate difficulty remain unknown. Methods: A case-control study of handwriting samples from children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was performed using the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment. Samples were scored on an individual letter basis in 5 categories: legibility, form, alignment, size, and spacing. Subjects were also tested on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV and the Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle (Motor) Signs. Results: We found that children with ASD do... - Björn Brembs

"During the second world war, the physicist Enrico Fermi asked General Leslie Groves of the US Army how many generals might be called "great" and why. Groves replied that any general who won five major battles in a row might be called great, and that about three in every hundred would qualify. Fermi countered that if opposing forces are roughly equal, the odds are one in two that a general will win one battle, one in four that he will win two battles in a row, one in eight for three battles, one in 16 for four battles, and one in 32 for five battles in a row. "So you are right, General, about three in a hundred. Mathematical probability, not genius."1" - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet

Anyone ever heard of this site? - Björn Brembs

Thanks for the advice, but I guess instead of inadvertently raising a non-issue with them, I'd prefer to wait and see if something ever happens. I'll keep it in mind for the future, though, thanks again! - Björn Brembs

"I’m doing a regular weekly visualisation for the excellent Guardian Datablog, the front-end for an amazing library of statistics and data, lovingly hand-gathered by The Guardian." - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet

"I remember the first grant I wrote as a young assistant professor more than 25 years ago. It was an incredibly dense, 45-page tome. This was before NIH had page limits for grants, which were probably instituted after program officers saw my application. I had no real idea how to write a good application and just included all of my best ideas with lots of details so that the reviewers would know how smart I was. Only later, when I started reviewing applications myself and had to wade through a couple of dense, technical proposals, did I realize the pain that I had inflicted. I found myself far more impressed by scientists who could convey a complex idea in a few words than those who tried to overwhelm me with detail. Lesson one in grantsmanship." - Björn Brembs from Bookmarklet