Massi(e)h Moayedi — مسیح مویدی

@aircanada.bsky.social’s new safety video is one large Disney parks ad. Kinda gross, given the tariffs and threats from the US.

Maybe read the room, AC.

What a lovely (and remarkably productive) week in London.

Great new paper led by @bringmannlaura.bsky.social, highlight the need to collect qualitative data in ESM / EMA research.

#PsychSciSky 🧪

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

This could be interpreted as an unmasking effect: in the absence of a robust opioidergic response, the contribution of eCBs becomes apparent.

Let us know what you think!

• When increases in beta-endorphin levels are high, then eCBs do not contribute to placebo analgesia

• When there is little
increase in placebo-induced beta-endorphin levels, then eCBs contribute to placebo analgesia.

When we modeled endocannabinoids and beta-endorphins together,
we found that beta-endorphins moderated the effect of FAAH substrates.

Changes in FAAH substrates were associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia.

There was no effect of 2-AG

Surprisingly, placebo-test-related changes in circulating beta-endorphins alone were not associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia.

Baseline FAAH substrates and 2-AG did not predict individual differences in placebo analgesia.

We also measured circulating beta-endorphins. Baseline beta-endorphins did not predict placebo analgesia.

We first investigated whether circulating endocannabinoids were associated with individual differences in placebo analgesia. As AEA, OEA, and PEA are all FAAH substrates, and circulating levels are collinear, we computed a composite measure with PCA - “FAAH substrates”

There are 2 endocannabinoid ligands: anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. There are also related N-acylethanolamines (OEA, PEA). These are also FAAH substrates - the enzyme that breaks down AEA.

Evidence shows that those with functional variants of FAAH have reduced pain sensitivity.

And we elicited robust placebo analgesia, but with individual differences - both responders and non-responders

Let me walk you through the findings:

First, we use a standard placebo analgesia paradigm

Check out our latest paper:

The Contribution of endocannabinoids to placebo analgesia

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

This is an ongoing collaboration with David Finn & @laurenatlas.bsky.social

Take away: beta-endorphins gate the contributions of endocannabinoids to placebo analgesia.

Be sure to cast your vote for the next President-Elect of the @canadianpain.bsky.social!

Replace any x.com link with xcancel.com and the same rest of the URL. Try it out. No need for an account, nor to add to X’s traffic.

Legitimate question for scientists:
What’s a reasonable window for a desk reject?
I’ve had hours to weeks…
I just had one that took 21 days at a journal with a pretty high IF. I think that’s way too long, but wanted to get others’ impression.

Dalhousie University is hiring. We’re recruiting up to 30 tenure and tenure-track faculty supported by Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative and a $1.7B federal investment. Curious about building your next chapter in Canada? Apply by Jan. 19: www.dal.ca/research-recruitment

Canada-Impact-Plus - Research - Western University

If you're (1) into nhp neurophysiology and/or biological motor control, (2) a foreign big shot and (3) interested in moving here, please reach out -- this new program looks extremely attractive (min. $8M over 8y)! www.uwo.ca/research/can...

Mind blown!

Did you know about EMERGE, this amazing resource on self-report scales? All items listed and psychometric properties assessed, in ONE place & user friendly to boot

emerge.ucsd.edu/emerge-searc...

I am so excited to share our newest preprint, inspired by @tinalonsdorf.bsky.social, “A multiverse approach to heat-evoked skin conductance analysis: Evaluating the influence of analytic pipeline on associations between skin conductance and pain osf.io/preprints/ps...

Hierarchical organization of mechano-nociceptive pathways revealed by activity labeling Noxious mechanical stimuli give rise to distinct percepts, from sharp cutaneous pain to diffuse visceral discomfort, yet the nociceptor ensembles that underlie these differences remain poorly defined....

Not all pain is created equal: stepping on a nail feels different from a stomachache. We know there are many nociceptor types, but a key question remains: how is mechanical pain encoded across the body by those sensory neurons? Our new work helps answer this. 1/8
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The hero who disarmed one of the terrorists in Sydney turned out to be 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmed — a fruit shop owner and father of two.

He was shot twice and is currently in hospital. He is scheduled to undergo surgery.

He had no experience with weapons of any kind.

Canada is finally getting high speed rail (maybe?)

But the route cuts out Kingston and leaves out London & Windsor. These could easily become engines of industry & exchange. What a missed opportunity!

#Canada #CanPoli #politics #highspeedrail

I was a ‘go, go, go’ academic. A fellowship abroad transformed my approach “I came back with a recalibrated sense of how I want to live and work,” this professor writes

Really great to see more of this culture

www.science.org/content/arti...

I’m offering the same! Have helped 8 ECRs and multiple CERC candidates (including one that will hopefully be successful) in the past year make the move to Canada! DM me with your questions or we can set up a zoom call!

Dear journals, collaborators, potential trainees, & colleagues: Please be patient with your nih friends. Those of us who are still around are doing everything in our power to focus on science & keep the long view in mind. But life is very much one day at a time, & catch up from shutdown is a beast 🫠

Join us for Fall 2026. In our group, you can run studies from human behavior and neuroimaging, to large-scale NHP ephys, and join them up with a robust computational foundation. Bonus: you can help build the reading list.

There's no reason to let them off the hook. One opinion piece for the sake of 'balance' does not undo the harm caused by the editorial board.

The issue is that academic institutions globally have become investment engines and basically corporations, rather than beacons of education and moral compasses that we pretend they are.

Ultimately, run a university like a company, and it will do what's best for shareholders, not society.