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If an action results in error, each neuron requires an individualized teaching signal that guides change in its output. This is the credit assignment problem of learning. Are there neurons in the brain that can compute such a sophisticated teaching signal? Yes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Climbing fibers encode the gradient of a loss function for the cerebellumNeurons in the brain are often many synapses away from motoneurons, yet if a movement results in error, each distant neuron needs a teacher that considers its specific contribution to production of th...www.biorxiv.org

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW-6...

How the Brain Predicts the Future | Prof. Reza ShadmehrYouTube video by Wandering Thoughtswww.youtube.com

Today I received a note from a grad student who lives in Tehran. Her note gives you firsthand experience of what it’s like to live in a city that is being bombed, and what it’s like to be young and feel despair about your future. rezashadmehr.blogspot.com/2026/03/hope...

Hopeless in TehranEssays on neurosciencerezashadmehr.blogspot.com

80% of the neurons in our brain are in the cerebellum, and most of those are granule cells. What are these cells doing and why do we need so many of them? David DiGregorio will explain. The talks are open to all (contact me for link). Recorded talks: www.youtube.com/@shadmehrlab

NeuroBridges brings together students from the countries of the middle east to learn about the brain, and each other. Applications are now open. neurobridges.net/upcoming

Mark Goldman will present computational models of interacting cortical and nuclear plasticity and propose a metaplasticity mechanism that adaptively tunes spike-timing-dependent plasticity at the parallel fiber–Purkinje cell synapse. This is a zoom talk: all are welcome

Citing reduced federal funding, Johns Hopkins is exploring new low cost student housing.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness is an idol of the marketplace. One should direct them towards mutual affection...only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.”

Autism is a disorder that particularly affects the cerebellum. Synaptic protein abnormalities appear to underlie disrupted development, potentially resulting in cognitive symptoms. The recorded talks are available here: www.youtube.com/@shadmehrlab...

Neurobridges is a summer school that brings together students from the middle east, teaching them about synapses and circuits, but hoping to build understanding. Here is a little essay about some of the conversations that took place in 2025. rezashadmehr.blogspot.com/2026/01/neur...

The fastest inhibitory connection in the brain appears to be via a basket of axons electrically acting to inhibit Purkinje cells. The seminars are open to all (please contact me for link).

My group of explorers, aiming to chart the cerebellum in 2026.

Monogamy appears to coincide with the rise of cooperative society. But how monogamous are humans? DNA analysis suggests that humans are more monogamous than many other mammals, but unlike others, we live in groups in which multiple male-female pairs are monogamous and breed. tinyurl.com/mryrnufc

Human monogamy in mammalian contextAbstract. Monogamy has been argued to have played an important role in human evolution and, across animals more generally, evolutionary transitions to hightinyurl.com

We tend to think of neurons as either excitatory or inhibitory, but some neurons chemically inhibit their downstream targets while electrically exciting their neighbors. What is gained by having an inhibitory neuron excite its neighbor? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Some forms of episodic ataxia are caused by mutations in the gene that encodes a calcium channel. Currently, no medications exist to treat it. Heather Snell presents new results on a potential therapeutic target for episodic ataxia. The seminars are open to all (contact me for zoom link).

A study finds that cats meow harder to greet their male caregivers than female. Females are more verbally interactive, more skilled at interpreting cat meows. Apparently males require more meows to notice and respond to the needs of their cats. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Tenure track position in motor control at Northeastern University northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/...

Shadows of our lab mates as the sun sets over San Diego and SFN comes to an end.

At SFN in San Diego.

Our intelligence and cognitive abilities are perhaps due to an expansion of our cerebral cortex. But surprisingly, compared to highly intelligent birds, primates have many more neurons in their cerebellum as compared to the cerebral cortex. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...