Veronica Chelu

Falling asleep follows a predictable bifurcation dynamic - Nature Neuroscience Li et al. propose a conceptual framework to study the phenomenon of falling asleep based on electroencephalogram data. They show that a tipping point marks the brain’s nonlinear wake-to-sleep transiti...

My co-authors have yet to move to Bluesky, so I'm pleased to announce our latest work has just been published in @nature.com Neuroscience. Amazing work led by Junheng Li, revealing that falling asleep follows a predictable bifurcation pattern #neuroskyence #sleep
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Tomorrow, Sept 19 | 3:30 PM, at #CCNP2025 (ccnp.ca) in Montreal, I’ll be co-chairing the symposium “Psychedelics & Psychiatry” 🍄🧠 with @swubat.bsky.social.

We’ll explore how psychedelics reshape brain circuits & behavior, bridging preclinical & clinical perspectives.

The best part was the hands-on experience and teamwork—studying neural signatures of how the brain familiarizes with stimuli over time. Visualizing the data, I saw neural dynamics bloom into flowers 🌸 & spirals 🌀 across brain areas—so exciting! 🧠✨

🧵Recently wrapped up two incredible weeks of intense team 🧠 science on San Juan Island 🌲🌊 @ the Dynamic Brain Workshop by @alleninstitute.org Easily the best learning experience I’ve ever had—huge thanks to the organizers, and deep gratitude for the community, ideas, & teamwork 🙏

RNNs making decisions The goal of this CCN workshop is to host a scientific discussion on the study of decision-making using recurrent neural networks. The selected speakers will cover all aspects of decision-making, from ...

Looking forward to presenting my research on Excitatory-Inhibitory Dynamics in Adaptive Decision-Making @ the 'RNNs Making Decisions' workshop later today (sites.google.com/view/rnnsmak...) and a poster Wed, Aug 13 @ #CCN2025

🙏 @jorgefmejias.bsky.social @molanomazon.bsky.social

RNNs making decisions The goal of this CCN workshop is to host a scientific discussion on the study of decision-making using recurrent neural networks. The selected speakers will cover all aspects of decision-making, from ...

We start strong on Monday at 15h, when we organize the Satellite Workshop 'RNNs making decisions' together with @molanomazon.bsky.social. Speakers @summerfieldlab.bsky.social, @veronicachelu.bsky.social, @seanfw.bsky.social and others: sites.google.com/view/rnnsmak...

RNNs making decisions The goal of this CCN workshop is to host a scientific discussion on the study of decision-making using recurrent neural networks. The selected speakers will cover all aspects of decision-making, from ...

If you are planning to attend #CCN2025 in Amsterdam next week and are interested in recurrent network models of decision making, please join our Satellite Workshop on Monday at 3pm. We'll have @summerfieldlab.bsky.social , @veronicachelu.bsky.social and many more! sites.google.com/view/rnnsmak...

Seriously, though, the actual principle needs to be: only request letters of reference for shortlisted candidates. The amount of unnecessary work created by forcing every single applicant for everything in academia to get 2-3 letters of reference is mind boggling. What a waste of everyone's time...

Many thanks to the organizers @alexkwan.bsky.social @vyazovskiy.bsky.social @melissaherman.bsky.social @viditavaidya.bsky.social

Had a fantastic time at the Neurobiology of Psychedelics GRC. Only a week yet feels like it could have been months. New community, new lab, novel and diverse ideas and perspectives, unpublished brand new research, a lot of growth. Easily one of my favourites #GRCPsychedelics

I had a great time at #GCRpsychedelics, discussing our data on the non-hallucinogenic derivative of LSD, alongside a stellar panel of researchers! Very grateful to @alexkwan.bsky.social
and @vladvysotsky.bsky.social for inviting me and putting together a very exciting program!

Somehow we got almost all the students and postdocs in one photo!!

Until next time #GRCPsychedelics 🫡

Bunny at night

Bunny in the day

Sunset (no bunny in sight)

Crystal rocking the mic in front of her slides

Had a lovely time at #GRCpsychedelics

Only took pics of bunnies, sunsets, and @cllantz.bsky.social

Already looking forward to 2027!

The inaugural #GRCPsychedelics was a success! I am honored to have been one of a few chosen to receive a travel award and be able to share the stage with the leaders in the field. 🙏 to the organizers! @alexkwan.bsky.social @vyazovskiy.bsky.social @melissaherman.bsky.social @viditavaidya.bsky.social

So happy the first #GRCPsychedelics was such a success. It was great to see everyone and share all the amazing science and community. Thank you to all the speakers and congratulations to the travel awardees!!

Had a blast at the first ever #GRCPsychedelics - thanks so much to Chairs @alexkwan.bsky.social @vyazovskiy.bsky.social & Vice Chairs @melissaherman.bsky.social @viditavaidya.bsky.social for bringing our community together 🫶

Per usual, I took no pics - but luckily Missy had it covered for me 😂

Likewise! Thanks a lot for all the insightful discussions !! ☺️

Fun unexpected dinner experience at the end of #GRCPsychedelics 🦞

Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain
By Mark F. Bear, Michael A. Paradiso, Barry W. Connors changed my perspective. Wonderful book!! Recommend for a good introductory foundation to neuroscience.

Excited to attend Neurobiology of Psychedelics GRC this week! Looking forward to deep dives into the mechanism of action of psychedelics and how they modulate neuroplasticity, cognitive flexibility, and adaptive decision-making—across behavior and neural dynamics. 🧠🍄
#GRCPsychedelics

Very hot indeed 🥵 !! But Japan is beautiful nonetheless. I escaped to Enoshima and Hakone for a couple of day trips. I was in Kyoto just before the lectures started, and during the course managed to explore a bit of Tokyo in the evenings, when it's a just a little bit less hot. Loved it!!

Just got back from Tokyo, where I learned many fascinating things about synaptic plasticity, dynamics of decision-making, the role of astrocytes in neural computation, just to name a few @ RIKEN Center for Brain Science during the summer program on Neural Circuits: Coding, Computation & Cognition 🧠

Had a lot fun last week @ IRCN,
@ University of Tokyo during the Neuro-inspired Computation Course 2025 🧠🤖✨

Back from @psychedelicscience.bsky.social by @mapsorg.bsky.social in Denver, Colorado—energized by the convergence of neuroscience, psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and data-driven approaches to psychedelic research. Grateful to be part of this evolving conversation. #PS2025 #MAPS 🧠✨🌀🍄

NEW: Veronica Chelu ( @veronicachelu.bsky.social‬ ) from @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social‬ shows how excitatory-inhibitory dynamics in recurrent neural networks can affect decision making and reinforcement learning. Watch the video:

youtu.be/NnKmVObJJUQ

#NeuroAI2025 #ML #neuroscience #NeuroAI

tl;dr 🧩 We investigate two canonical motifs—excitatory recurrence & inhibitory feedback—across 3 levels:
1️⃣ Mean-field: E/I stabilizes or amplifies choice competition
2️⃣ RL agent: E/I modulates flexibility in reversals
3️⃣ E/I-RNNs: E/I partitioning & inhibitory connectivity shape adaptive learning

Excitatory-Inhibitory Dynamics in Adaptive Decision-Making with Veronica Chelu YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University

🧵Grateful for the opportunity to present @harvard.edu's Frontiers in NeuroAI Symposium @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social on how decision-selective E/I dynamics shape adaptive learning & decision-making
🎥 Talk youtu.be/NnKmVObJJUQ
📄 Abstract tinyurl.com/yxvtn39v
🖼️ Poster tinyurl.com/mu3r24vx

Excitatory-Inhibitory Dynamics in Adaptive Decision-Making with Veronica Chelu YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University

Next was a short talk by @veronicachelu.bsky.social on modeling neural system excitatory-inhibitory dynamics at the @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnKm... (3/14)

Just landed in Dublin 🇮🇪 for @rldmdublin2025.bsky.social ! Looking forward to presenting my research on “Excitatory/Inhibitory Dynamics in Adaptive Decision-Making” and chatting about all things neuroscience, RL, and decision-making. Hope to see you around! #RLDM2025