Puja Parekh, Ph.D.'s Avatar

Puja Parekh, Ph.D.

@pujaparekh

Asst. Prof in Neuroscience at UT Dallas studying motivated behavior and effects of stress on 🐭🧠

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24.11.2024
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Latest posts by Puja Parekh, Ph.D. @pujaparekh

The savings we're getting here by annihilating decades of American science will pay for whole minutes of the operation to create decades of death, immiseration, and chaos in Iran.

02.03.2026 11:45 πŸ‘ 890 πŸ” 261 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1

Why are automated readers for news sites using AI voices that mispronounce (Americanize) foreign names? It sounds ridiculous.

28.02.2026 14:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

meanwhile >80 billion land animals are killed to eat and we are encouraged by HHS to eat even more animal flesh

26.02.2026 16:59 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Effort-Based Decision-Making and Its Discontents - Dr. Michael Treadway
Effort-Based Decision-Making and Its Discontents - Dr. Michael Treadway YouTube video by motcogmeet

ICYMI: Here's a link to today's talk from Michael Treadway: youtu.be/ZlaTDXc5ZOU @sebastianshorn.bsky.social @kendraseaman.bsky.social @colleencfrank.bsky.social @zitamayer.bsky.social @kimberlychiew.bsky.social @srndna.bsky.social @cvlneuro.bsky.social

25.02.2026 18:39 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself Automating knowledge production and teaching weakens the ecosystem of students and scholars that sustains universities, raising existential questions about their mission.

β€œCognitive psychology has shown that students grow intellectually through doing the work of drafting, revising, failing, trying again, grappling with confusion and revising weak arguments. This is the work of learning how to learn.”
#AI #HigherEd #EduSky
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theconversation.com/the-greatest...

21.02.2026 01:30 πŸ‘ 54 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3
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Full dopamine coding of basic economic subjective value: Utility and weighted probability Behavioral choices of uncertain rewards suggest that agents construct subjective reward value by combining the basic value components of utility and w…

I like to think about brain areas as well behaved (b/c they do what you tell them too, like V1) vs naughty (b/c 🀷, like PFC).

I'm delighted to learn that midbrain dopamine neurons are well behaved machines that convert objective value into subjective value.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

20.02.2026 09:56 πŸ‘ 50 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0
Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature
Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Trump’s propaganda czar Brendan Carr and Trump-controlled CBS refused to let Colbert air his interview with James Talarico. You can watch the interview here, and it already has 1.4M views. youtu.be/oiTJ7Pz_59A?...

17.02.2026 17:37 πŸ‘ 5729 πŸ” 2653 πŸ’¬ 257 πŸ“Œ 195
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πŸ† GSRNet Breakthrough Award 2027 – Nominations Open

We invite nominations recognizing outstanding contributions to stress & resilience research.

Help us highlight scientific excellence!

πŸ“… Deadline: June 30, 2026
πŸ”— Details: stress-and-resilience-meeting27.epfl.ch/awards/
#GSRNet2027 #ResearchAward

18.02.2026 12:52 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

And as always, data fully available to check out for exploration and visualization! Feedback and comments welcome if you are checking it out to make this as user-friendly and accessible to the community as possible!

18.02.2026 13:16 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Please share: I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab in Oslo!

For this project, we will investigate the role of striatal interneurons during action selection, using a combination of behavior, in vivo voltage imaging, and slice ephys.

www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

#NeuroJobs #NeuroSkyence

13.02.2026 14:34 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 38 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
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Calling all PFC and PFC-adjacent neuroscientists--registration for the GRC Frontal Cortex - "Frontal Cortex in Function, Dysfunction, & Therapies" is open! Check out the amazing lineup of speakers for this year's program, feat. keynotes by Geoff Schoenbaum & Helen Mayberg
www.grc.org/frontal-cort...

13.02.2026 20:37 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3
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Decision-Making in the Aging Brain: An Update of the Evidence Base for the β€œAffect-Integration-Motivation” Framework Shaped by accumulating experience, shifting goals, and neurobiological development, decision-making changes across the adult human lifespan. The Affect-Integration-Motivation (AIM) framework has serve...

Hot off the presses! Our new chapter β€œDecision-Making in the Aging Brain: An Update of the Evidence Base for the β€œAffect-Integration-Motivation” Framework” in
"Neuroeconomics: Core Topics and Current Directions"

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

04.02.2026 05:32 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ“Œ The 2027 Global Stress & Resilience Meeting is now confirmed!
πŸ—“οΈ Feb 3–5, 2027
πŸ“ EPFL, Lausanne (Switzerland)

Calls will be launched soon for:
β€’ Proposals for the scientific program
β€’ The GSRNet Breakthrough Award
β€’ The Junior Investigators Awards

Stay tuned for more details!
#GSRNet2027

04.02.2026 09:23 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics?
1) Write NSF
2) Write your Congressperson
3) CC us at grfp@grant-witness.us so we can compile + follow up

Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter

02.02.2026 17:58 πŸ‘ 159 πŸ” 199 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 17

Hey, Texas! Very, very important. Please spread the word!

01.02.2026 05:20 πŸ‘ 258 πŸ” 170 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3
NOT-OD-26-020: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Temporary Extension to Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) Eligibility Period NOT-OD-26-020. OD

🧡Good news out of #NIH today.
(1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.

30.01.2026 19:34 πŸ‘ 63 πŸ” 61 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Plows cost money but a 50deg day is free

28.01.2026 00:43 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Experiencing the culture shock of living in a place that does absolutely nothing about snow. Haven’t seen a single plow. Roads are a continuous sheet of ice.

27.01.2026 16:13 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Nadine Gogolla also has a comprehensive map of mouse IC inputs and outputs if you haven’t checked that. Can’t remember about ACC specifically.

27.01.2026 02:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Structural Connectivity of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex, Claustrum, and the Anterior Insula of the Mouse - PubMed The claustrum is a narrow subcortical brain structure that resides between the striatum and insular cortex. The function of the claustrum is not fully described, and while our previous work supports a role for the claustrum in top-down cognitive control of action, other evidence suggests the claustr …

Some here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30534060/

26.01.2026 23:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

As someone who is literally waiting for one button to be pressed to give me $2.1m of NSF funds six months late: I’d rather shut my lab down than have another person killed by ICE - in the street or in custody, citizen or non-citizen

26.01.2026 05:34 πŸ‘ 164 πŸ” 29 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 3

As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today.

ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE.

24.01.2026 18:00 πŸ‘ 29191 πŸ” 8238 πŸ’¬ 307 πŸ“Œ 197

They shot Renee Good in the face.
They kidnapped Liam Ramos.
They just executed a man on the street.

Unmask them. Prosecute them. No more secret police.

24.01.2026 18:18 πŸ‘ 1935 πŸ” 663 πŸ’¬ 56 πŸ“Œ 27

If you are an undergrad studying science, here is a great opportunity to spend the summer at Johns Hopkins doing molecular and cellular research in neuroscience. This could be the launch of your career, so check it out.

21.01.2026 14:02 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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🚨Registration for the N American stress meeting is now open!!🚨

Really excited to be part of it and host the event in the @crchum.bsky.social in MontrΓ©al this June!

www.stress2026.com/registration

15.01.2026 14:18 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 4
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Check out our Spring 2026 lineup!

13.01.2026 21:11 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Concern about animal models ?. β€œNo change at the moment” at NIMH. FOA will now have opportunity for human or in silico. Koob clarified: no more NOFO that are exclusively animal models.

12.01.2026 19:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

NIMH Acting Director: they hit 21% RPG success rate for FY25, NOFOs are over, grants dot gov is the only place for FOA. Name checks GWAS study for depression and emphasizes value of a diverse sample. #acnp2026

12.01.2026 18:26 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left β€œWe can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.

Powerful piece in STAT this morning from some NIH staff members who have resigned

www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...

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10.01.2026 12:24 πŸ‘ 521 πŸ” 266 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 18
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Another fantastic junior faculty writing retreat in the books, complete with raclette night! Grateful for these (and other) amazing dept colleagues. @katesadlerphd.bsky.social @dianatavf.bsky.social

09.01.2026 21:05 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0