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Dr Matt Parker

@parkerlab

Some days you’re a fish exploring new waters. Other days, you’re stuck in a maze making the same turn over and over. Either way, keep swimming. Neuroscientist and pharmacologist

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17.05.2024
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Latest posts by Dr Matt Parker @parkerlab

Next week I’ll be announcing a fully funded #BBSRC DTP #PhD studentship at @uniofsurrey.bsky.social, working with collaborators at Brunel. The project focuses on how genes and nutrition interact to shape neurodevelopment, using CRISPR, mass spec and vessel-on-a-chip models.

More details soon!!

02.12.2025 10:05 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Transparent and comprehensive statistical reporting is critical for ensuring the credibility, reproducibility, and interpretability of psychological research. This paper offers a structured set of guidelines for reporting statistical analyses in quantitative psychology, emphasizing clarity at both the planning and results stages. Drawing on established recommendations and emerging best practices, we outline key decisions related to hypothesis formulation, sample size justification, preregistration, outlier and missing data handling, statistical model specification, and the interpretation of inferential outcomes. We address considerations across frequentist and Bayesian frameworks and fixed as well as sequential research designs, including guidance on effect size reporting, equivalence testing, and the appropriate treatment of null results. To facilitate implementation of these recommendations, we provide the Transparent Statistical Reporting in Psychology (TSRP) Checklist that researchers can use to systematically evaluate and improve their statistical reporting practices (https://osf.io/t2zpq/). In addition, we provide a curated list of freely available tools, packages, and functions that researchers can use to implement transparent reporting practices in their own analyses to bridge the gap between theory and practice. To illustrate the practical application of these principles, we provide a side-by-side comparison of insufficient versus best-practice reporting using a hypothetical cognitive psychology study. By adopting transparent reporting standards, researchers can improve the robustness of individual studies and facilitate cumulative scientific progress through more reliable meta-analyses and research syntheses.

Transparent and comprehensive statistical reporting is critical for ensuring the credibility, reproducibility, and interpretability of psychological research. This paper offers a structured set of guidelines for reporting statistical analyses in quantitative psychology, emphasizing clarity at both the planning and results stages. Drawing on established recommendations and emerging best practices, we outline key decisions related to hypothesis formulation, sample size justification, preregistration, outlier and missing data handling, statistical model specification, and the interpretation of inferential outcomes. We address considerations across frequentist and Bayesian frameworks and fixed as well as sequential research designs, including guidance on effect size reporting, equivalence testing, and the appropriate treatment of null results. To facilitate implementation of these recommendations, we provide the Transparent Statistical Reporting in Psychology (TSRP) Checklist that researchers can use to systematically evaluate and improve their statistical reporting practices (https://osf.io/t2zpq/). In addition, we provide a curated list of freely available tools, packages, and functions that researchers can use to implement transparent reporting practices in their own analyses to bridge the gap between theory and practice. To illustrate the practical application of these principles, we provide a side-by-side comparison of insufficient versus best-practice reporting using a hypothetical cognitive psychology study. By adopting transparent reporting standards, researchers can improve the robustness of individual studies and facilitate cumulative scientific progress through more reliable meta-analyses and research syntheses.

Our paper on improving statistical reporting in psychology is now online 🎉

As a part of this paper, we also created the Transparent Statistical Reporting in Psychology checklist, which researchers can use to improve their statistical reporting practices

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

14.11.2025 20:43 👍 235 🔁 94 💬 8 📌 5
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10.07.2025 19:28 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Hi @reformuk.bsky.social when are you going to do something about Reform UK Cornwall and their disgusting Facebook account?

21.06.2025 05:46 👍 184 🔁 78 💬 18 📌 5

@wonglab.bsky.social‬ (Learning/ Behaviour)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00423-6

@parkerlab.bsky.social‬ (Husbandry/ Novel Tank Test)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-025-01548-x

Cell Biology

@kkostova.bsky.social‬ (Ribosomopathy)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.04.017 (11/38)

21.06.2025 15:35 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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MSCA opens €404.3 million call for Postdoctoral Fellowships Postdoctoral Fellowships offer researchers holding a PhD the opportunity to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral mobility.

Looking to apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoc Fellowship? Consider my lab at @uniofsurrey.bsky.social We work on behaviour and brain in zebrafish. PM me for a chat if interested!
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/node/1410

#MSCA #Postdoc #Neuroscience #Zebrafish #VR #Acad

08.05.2025 18:23 👍 5 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 1

Something we've been meaning to do for years - documenting horse facial expressions during social interactions using EquiFACS. Well done @kate-lewis.bsky.social! And thanks for the netFACS support @jmicheletta.bsky.social 🐴
@parkerlab.bsky.social

29.05.2025 19:36 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
An ethogram of facial behaviour in domestic horses: evolutionary perspectives on form and function Understanding cause and function of animal facial behaviour can provide key insights into the animal’s cognitive and emotional state. The Equine Facial Action Coding System (EquiFACS) has characterise...

Our new paper in PeerJ

An ethogram of facial behaviour in domestic horses: evolutionary perspectives on form and function

peerj.com/articles/193...

@peerj.bsky.social

28.05.2025 09:20 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
24.05.2025 07:06 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Housing and husbandry factors affecting zebrafish novel tank test responses: a global multi-laboratory study Lab Animal - This Article presents the results of a global multi-laboratory study assessing the effects of housing conditions and experimental settings on novel tank test responses in adult zebrafish.

Just out in Lab Animal: our new global multi-lab zebrafish study is live! Housing and husbandry variables can significantly alter zebrafish anxiety-like behaviour. This is a call for better reporting and #standardisation in #zebrafish research. @uniofsurrey.bsky.social

Open access: rdcu.be/enHLj

26.05.2025 10:33 👍 11 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 1
24.05.2025 07:06 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

"Ethics of animal behaviour and welfare research" [6 articles, 2023/2024] with @parkerlab.bsky.social - #AnimalEthics #ResearchEthics journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...

13.05.2025 01:53 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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MSCA opens €404.3 million call for Postdoctoral Fellowships Postdoctoral Fellowships offer researchers holding a PhD the opportunity to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral mobility.

Looking to apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoc Fellowship? Consider my lab at @uniofsurrey.bsky.social We work on behaviour and brain in zebrafish. PM me for a chat if interested!
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/node/1410

#MSCA #Postdoc #Neuroscience #Zebrafish #VR #Acad

08.05.2025 18:23 👍 5 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 1
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Pecksniff: 62 Labour MPs want closer EU ties! (But apparently 341 don’t) In which Mr Pecksniff lays before his readers for their approval certain observations and speculations reflecting on the political life

Why didn't 341 MPs sign a letter urging Keir Starmer to create new opportunities for young British people to work and travel in Europe? Do the Greens pose a danger to Labour from the left? This and other questions answered in this week's political diary ⤵️

26.04.2025 18:38 👍 142 🔁 38 💬 9 📌 0
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This weeks cover from @theneweuropean.bsky.social was spot on as always

01.03.2025 11:23 👍 4594 🔁 1495 💬 94 📌 57
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US Universities Reduce PhD Admissions in Response to Federal Funding Cuts Amid cuts to federal funding, US universities tighten budgets, forcing PhD students and early-career researchers to navigate an uncertain future.

PhDs and postdocs are in limbo while universities across the US scale back admissions and new hires while they assess the financial impact of proposed federal funding cuts. #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky

01.03.2025 11:57 👍 16 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0
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He nails it.

22.02.2025 15:28 👍 102028 🔁 24408 💬 1486 📌 927
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.

Our latest new study shows that stimulant & non-stimulant #ADHD meds affect lipid & amino acid metabolism in similar ways—challenging the idea that they work differently! Even amlodipine mimics their effects, further supporting it's potential

🔗 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

#zebrafish

22.02.2025 12:44 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Common drug taken by millions may banish ADHD symptoms, study suggests Currently, ADHD medication - while effective - can come with significant side effects including headaches, sleep disturbance and loss of appetite.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...

20.02.2025 15:19 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Blood pressure drug could be a safer alternative for treating ADHD symptoms, finds study | University of Surrey

Our new study found amlodipine reduces hyperactivity in ADHD-model #zebrafish & rats and is supported by genetic evidence linking #ADHD to its target pathways.

Could L-type calcium channels hold the key to non-stimulant ADHD treatments?

www.surrey.ac.uk/news/blood-p....

20.02.2025 14:17 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1

I hear this has generated some fury on X, so would be pleased if people could keep sharing as it is an attempt to be clear about the free speech implications of my open letter.

19.02.2025 11:14 👍 30 🔁 13 💬 2 📌 0
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Validation of L-type calcium channel blocker amlodipine as a novel ADHD treatment through cross-species analysis, drug-target Mendelian randomization, and clinical evidence from medical records Neuropsychopharmacology - Validation of L-type calcium channel blocker amlodipine as a novel ADHD treatment through cross-species analysis, drug-target Mendelian randomization, and clinical...

Check out our new #ADHD paper. Amlodipine reduces hyperactivity & impulsivity in #zebrafish & rats, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and alters neural activity. Human genetic data links ADHD to Ca+ targeted by amlodipine, with UK Biobank evidence supporting its potential benefits.
rdcu.be/d9TtB

14.02.2025 19:22 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1
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The Scientific Literature Can’t Save Us Now You can cite peer-reviewed research in support of almost any claim, no matter how absurd.

"The scientific literature is an essential ocean of knowledge, in which floats an alarming amount of junk."

Reflecting on RFK Jr.'s use of scholarly papers in his confirmation hearings.

13.02.2025 17:55 👍 52 🔁 21 💬 1 📌 10
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My PhD student is looking for Facebook users to complete her study. Please complete and/or share if you can: tinyurl.com/StudySOS

06.02.2025 12:16 👍 3 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

I am recruiting an #ERC funded PostDoc to work on the evolution of vertebral counts in cichlids. This is an experimental project & will be looking for candidates with experience generating reporter lines, live-imaging and experimental embryology.
Application deadline: 25th Feb.
tinyurl.com/33jbu8fa

05.02.2025 16:50 👍 41 🔁 52 💬 0 📌 7

Great work! Gold mine 👏👏

05.02.2025 21:24 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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A comprehensive spatio-cellular map of the human hypothalamus - Nature HYPOMAP integrates single-nucleus RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic data to create a comprehensive spatio-cellular map of the human hypothalamus.

I am excited to share our latest paper @Nature where we construct a hi-res spatial map of the human hypothalamus, the brain region central in appetite control. It is a collaboration between @IMS_MRL @Cambridge_Uni & @MPI_Metabolism
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

05.02.2025 17:11 👍 114 🔁 42 💬 5 📌 4
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I voted to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination to HHS.

I cannot in good conscience support someone who denies and will dilute our public health protections, sow distrust in science, and oversee massive cuts to health care programs for vulnerable Americans.

04.02.2025 17:09 👍 53324 🔁 6698 💬 2297 📌 399
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UK will not accept EU offer to join pan-European customs union ‘at present time’, minister says – UK politics live Housing minister shoots down idea floated by Maroš Šefčovič designed to help reset UK-EU discussions

UK will not accept EU offer to join pan-European customs union 'at present time', minister says

Heaven help us

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

23.01.2025 11:31 👍 1231 🔁 327 💬 248 📌 100