Jonathan A. Michaels
@jonathanamichaels
How do we move? I study brains and machines at York University (Assistant Professor). Full-time human. Neural Control & Computation Lab www.ncclab.ca
My office continues to take shape. So happy to have this wonderful piece by Louis-Jan Pilaz up on the wall finally.
Was about to leave for a trip and heard flight was cancelled. @aircanada.bsky.social rebooked me on a flight 3 days from now that arrives 30 minutes before my return flight 🫠.
Lab outing rained out – no problem. Just need wonderful people + food!
The best meal: Samosa chaat and a cardamom chai. Change my mind.
Many of the scientific questions we're interested in tackling require studying learning over long periods of time across the brain. This is challenging – which is why we're excited to say we've been developing a system for chronic wireless recording using long Neuropixels probes in macaque monkeys.
We've finally started moving into our brand new neuroscience facility! 🥳 So excited to be getting into this beautiful space after a long construction period. Be on the lookout for our exciting science – and photos of my new office once I finish interior designing it 👀.
Amazing talk from @michellemonje.bsky.social on the neuroscience of cancer proliferation. Incredible opportunities for treatment.
Turns out a lot of people enjoy singing along with Sarah McLachlan
Come check out our posters at @ncmsociety.bsky.social next week, presented by Dan and Sujay! Happy being a part of a number of other collaborations being presented as well.
I'm not at #COSYNE this year, but here's looking back at COSYNE 8 years ago! With special guests @juangallego.bsky.social, @mattperich.bsky.social, and @kordinglab.bsky.social
Had a wonderful time as a keynote and debate speaker at Neuroscience Research Day at Western! Fantastic event.
Strikingly, this encoding persisted in the GPi even after rewards were withdrawn, suggesting that the basal ganglia could act as an interface where extrinsic rewards are transformed into 'intrinsic value', effectively unmasking latent audiomotor connections.
However, once tones were paired with reward, a profound reorganization occurred: robust encoding emerged across the motor network, particularly in PMd and globus pallidus interna (GPi).
We found that motor areas do not spontaneously respond to auditory patterns during passive listening, but care a lot about trial structure and reward.
Using high-density Neuropixels probes, we recorded from neural populations across the motor and auditory systems of a rhesus macaque – first during passive listening to see how these circuits respond to auditory patterns.
My copy of The Hobbit has a physical Thrór's map with moon letters (as Tolkien intended) that you can only see when held to the light.