Bria Long
@brialong.bsky.social
Interested in how we learn to derive visual meaning. Asst. Prof. at UCSD Psych. Mom x2, open science advocate. She/her.
brialong.com | vislearnlab.org
brialong.com | vislearnlab.org
Reposted by Bria Long
Excited about new work from my CCN keynote (38m): youtu.be/v3J-vJfxhOE?...
We often choose between Bayesian and neural net models of behavior. But what if there's a spectrum, and combining both makes better predictions? Introducing BBT w @akjagadish.bsky.social & Guangyuan
arxiv.org/abs/2608.22154
We often choose between Bayesian and neural net models of behavior. But what if there's a spectrum, and combining both makes better predictions? Introducing BBT w @akjagadish.bsky.social & Guangyuan
arxiv.org/abs/2608.22154
August 26, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Excited about new work from my CCN keynote (38m): youtu.be/v3J-vJfxhOE?...
We often choose between Bayesian and neural net models of behavior. But what if there's a spectrum, and combining both makes better predictions? Introducing BBT w @akjagadish.bsky.social & Guangyuan
arxiv.org/abs/2608.22154
We often choose between Bayesian and neural net models of behavior. But what if there's a spectrum, and combining both makes better predictions? Introducing BBT w @akjagadish.bsky.social & Guangyuan
arxiv.org/abs/2608.22154
Reposted by Bria Long
excited to be at #CCN2026! come talk to our very new lab during the poster sessions 🌱
we're introducing novel computational frameworks to model human 3D vision + developing theoretical and empirical strategies for understanding these abilities
say hello & let us know what you think!
we're introducing novel computational frameworks to model human 3D vision + developing theoretical and empirical strategies for understanding these abilities
say hello & let us know what you think!
August 4, 2026 at 4:18 PM
excited to be at #CCN2026! come talk to our very new lab during the poster sessions 🌱
we're introducing novel computational frameworks to model human 3D vision + developing theoretical and empirical strategies for understanding these abilities
say hello & let us know what you think!
we're introducing novel computational frameworks to model human 3D vision + developing theoretical and empirical strategies for understanding these abilities
say hello & let us know what you think!
Reposted by Bria Long
One current debate about infants vs AI: how much visual experience do they each need to learn to see?
Don’t miss the neat relevant evidence and calculation in @fkamps.bsky.social 's paper, and explained in 🧵 ⤵️.
Don’t miss the neat relevant evidence and calculation in @fkamps.bsky.social 's paper, and explained in 🧵 ⤵️.
New paper! We found basic scene selectivity arises across the scene network early in infancy (i.e., by ~3.5 months old), prior to independent navigation experience
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The cortical scene processing network emerges in infancy, prior to independent navigation experience | PNAS
Sighted people rely on vision to recognize and navigate the local environment. By
adulthood, human cortex contains at least three regions that resp...
www.pnas.org
August 5, 2026 at 6:35 PM
One current debate about infants vs AI: how much visual experience do they each need to learn to see?
Don’t miss the neat relevant evidence and calculation in @fkamps.bsky.social 's paper, and explained in 🧵 ⤵️.
Don’t miss the neat relevant evidence and calculation in @fkamps.bsky.social 's paper, and explained in 🧵 ⤵️.
Reposted by Bria Long
New paper by Alvin W. M. Tan, Kirsten Read, Sophia Gamboa, Janet Bang, and @vmarchman.bsky.social showing text in children's books is lexically and grammatically richer than spontaneous child-directed speech. ldr.lps.library.cmu.edu/article/id/9...
August 2, 2026 at 10:10 PM
New paper by Alvin W. M. Tan, Kirsten Read, Sophia Gamboa, Janet Bang, and @vmarchman.bsky.social showing text in children's books is lexically and grammatically richer than spontaneous child-directed speech. ldr.lps.library.cmu.edu/article/id/9...
Reposted by Bria Long
New preprint! How do children’s drawing abilities develop in contexts where they have relatively fewer drawing opportunities? In a study with 120 Kisumu, Kenya children, we find that children produce more recognizable drawings with age and with drawing experience.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
June 12, 2026 at 7:15 PM
New preprint! How do children’s drawing abilities develop in contexts where they have relatively fewer drawing opportunities? In a study with 120 Kisumu, Kenya children, we find that children produce more recognizable drawings with age and with drawing experience.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Bria Long
May 28, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Bria Long
Brilliant! In part b/c it holds up happiness as an illustration of what’s what 😉. But more seriously: IF YOUR SO CALLED THEORY DOESN‘T MAKE TESTABLE PREDICTIONS IT’S A FRAMEWORK. #TheoriesAreTheGoal
Excellent example of an influential framework-not-a-theory here:
experimentology.io/002-theories...
Excellent example of an influential framework-not-a-theory here:
experimentology.io/002-theories...
May 22, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Brilliant! In part b/c it holds up happiness as an illustration of what’s what 😉. But more seriously: IF YOUR SO CALLED THEORY DOESN‘T MAKE TESTABLE PREDICTIONS IT’S A FRAMEWORK. #TheoriesAreTheGoal
Excellent example of an influential framework-not-a-theory here:
experimentology.io/002-theories...
Excellent example of an influential framework-not-a-theory here:
experimentology.io/002-theories...
Reposted by Bria Long
Finally, today is the day: Josefine Zerbe will present and release our new multi-echo 7T fMRI dataset LAION-fMRI during #VSS2026, with >30 fMRI session per subject and unprecedented stimulus diversity. Come to Talk Room 1 (Scene perception) today at 5:15. Details will follow in a separate thread!
May 16, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Finally, today is the day: Josefine Zerbe will present and release our new multi-echo 7T fMRI dataset LAION-fMRI during #VSS2026, with >30 fMRI session per subject and unprecedented stimulus diversity. Come to Talk Room 1 (Scene perception) today at 5:15. Details will follow in a separate thread!
Reposted by Bria Long
Exciting analysis of objects in kids' everyday visual input (BabyView). Today's best categorization models still train on curated photos — not the long-tailed categories and non-canonical viewpoints kids actually see. A difference in kind, not just quantity, pointing to a fundamental algorithmic gap
Children acquire object category representations from their everyday experiences in the first few years of life.
What do the inputs to this learning process actually look like?
New preprint! arxiv.org/abs/2605.14990
What do the inputs to this learning process actually look like?
New preprint! arxiv.org/abs/2605.14990
Characterizing the visual representation of objects from the child's view
Children acquire object category representations from their everyday experiences in the first few years of life. What do the inputs to this learning process look like? We analyzed first-person videos ...
arxiv.org
May 16, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Exciting analysis of objects in kids' everyday visual input (BabyView). Today's best categorization models still train on curated photos — not the long-tailed categories and non-canonical viewpoints kids actually see. A difference in kind, not just quantity, pointing to a fundamental algorithmic gap
So excited about this new work—check it out and go see Jane’s talk on Sunday if you’re at #VSS2026!
Children acquire object category representations from their everyday experiences in the first few years of life.
What do the inputs to this learning process actually look like?
New preprint! arxiv.org/abs/2605.14990
What do the inputs to this learning process actually look like?
New preprint! arxiv.org/abs/2605.14990
Characterizing the visual representation of objects from the child's view
Children acquire object category representations from their everyday experiences in the first few years of life. What do the inputs to this learning process look like? We analyzed first-person videos ...
arxiv.org
May 16, 2026 at 1:51 AM
So excited about this new work—check it out and go see Jane’s talk on Sunday if you’re at #VSS2026!
Reposted by Bria Long
This is my favorite shot from Artemis II so far—absolutely stunning CREDIT:NASA
May 15, 2026 at 8:35 PM
This is my favorite shot from Artemis II so far—absolutely stunning CREDIT:NASA
Reposted by Bria Long
Memorability as an Emergent Property: How Representational Structure Creates Apparent Intrinsic Effects osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
May 13, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Memorability as an Emergent Property: How Representational Structure Creates Apparent Intrinsic Effects osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Bria Long
What does it mean for culture to “shape” cognition?
In our new TiCS paper, @benjaminpitt.bsky.social & I offer a typology of four possible effects: culture
can Privilege one cognitive process over others, Prune out disfavored ones, Produce new ones, or have no effect.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
In our new TiCS paper, @benjaminpitt.bsky.social & I offer a typology of four possible effects: culture
can Privilege one cognitive process over others, Prune out disfavored ones, Produce new ones, or have no effect.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
March 12, 2026 at 11:14 AM
What does it mean for culture to “shape” cognition?
In our new TiCS paper, @benjaminpitt.bsky.social & I offer a typology of four possible effects: culture
can Privilege one cognitive process over others, Prune out disfavored ones, Produce new ones, or have no effect.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
In our new TiCS paper, @benjaminpitt.bsky.social & I offer a typology of four possible effects: culture
can Privilege one cognitive process over others, Prune out disfavored ones, Produce new ones, or have no effect.
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Reposted by Bria Long
For a year and a half, @carorowland.bsky.social, @lehersingh.bsky.social, Marisa Casillas, Shanley Allen, and I have been meeting to discuss whether innateness is still a useful concept to think about in studying language acquisition.
Here's our take: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Here's our take: osf.io/preprints/ps...
April 27, 2026 at 4:47 PM
For a year and a half, @carorowland.bsky.social, @lehersingh.bsky.social, Marisa Casillas, Shanley Allen, and I have been meeting to discuss whether innateness is still a useful concept to think about in studying language acquisition.
Here's our take: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Here's our take: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Bria Long
Introducing Datapages, a new project from Mika Braginsky and me.
Datapages are open-source templates for creating interactive websites that make research datasets easy to find, explore, and reuse. No coding required for the basic setup.
babieslearninglanguage.blogspot.com/2026/04/data...
Datapages are open-source templates for creating interactive websites that make research datasets easy to find, explore, and reuse. No coding required for the basic setup.
babieslearninglanguage.blogspot.com/2026/04/data...
Datapages for reusable (and pretty!) data sharing
Blog about fatherhood, langauge, developmental psychology, and cognitive science.
babieslearninglanguage.blogspot.com
April 22, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Introducing Datapages, a new project from Mika Braginsky and me.
Datapages are open-source templates for creating interactive websites that make research datasets easy to find, explore, and reuse. No coding required for the basic setup.
babieslearninglanguage.blogspot.com/2026/04/data...
Datapages are open-source templates for creating interactive websites that make research datasets easy to find, explore, and reuse. No coding required for the basic setup.
babieslearninglanguage.blogspot.com/2026/04/data...
Reposted by Bria Long
New paper in Child Development!
When we enter others' homes, we learn about them from the placement of their belongings. This requires integrating multiple social factors (social context, pref). We find 6+yo succeed at integration & 'read the room' in this way!
academic.oup.com/chidev/artic...
When we enter others' homes, we learn about them from the placement of their belongings. This requires integrating multiple social factors (social context, pref). We find 6+yo succeed at integration & 'read the room' in this way!
academic.oup.com/chidev/artic...
Reading the room: Children integrate multiple social factors to predict and interpret objects' locations
Abstract. Adults infer social information from objects' locations by integrating multiple causal factors, which is often challenging for children. To test
academic.oup.com
April 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
New paper in Child Development!
When we enter others' homes, we learn about them from the placement of their belongings. This requires integrating multiple social factors (social context, pref). We find 6+yo succeed at integration & 'read the room' in this way!
academic.oup.com/chidev/artic...
When we enter others' homes, we learn about them from the placement of their belongings. This requires integrating multiple social factors (social context, pref). We find 6+yo succeed at integration & 'read the room' in this way!
academic.oup.com/chidev/artic...
Beautiful use of the BabyView dataset to train a visual learning model!
Children exhibit visual understanding from limited experience, orders of magnitude less than our best models.
We introduce the Zero-shot World Model (ZWM). Trained on a single child's visual experience, BabyZWM rapidly generates competence across diverse benchmarks with no task-specific training. 🧵
We introduce the Zero-shot World Model (ZWM). Trained on a single child's visual experience, BabyZWM rapidly generates competence across diverse benchmarks with no task-specific training. 🧵
April 14, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Beautiful use of the BabyView dataset to train a visual learning model!
Reposted by Bria Long
I'm hiring a new lab manager for my lab @ UCSD! For more info on the lab, check out our website: lillab.ucsd.edu
Target start date is June 1 (flexible) and application deadline is March 26. Please share with anyone you think might be a good fit!
Apply here: employment.ucsd.edu/laboratory-c...
Target start date is June 1 (flexible) and application deadline is March 26. Please share with anyone you think might be a good fit!
Apply here: employment.ucsd.edu/laboratory-c...
Laboratory Coordinator - 138788
Laboratory Coordinator - 138788 | Careers at UC San Diego
employment.ucsd.edu
March 12, 2026 at 10:46 PM
I'm hiring a new lab manager for my lab @ UCSD! For more info on the lab, check out our website: lillab.ucsd.edu
Target start date is June 1 (flexible) and application deadline is March 26. Please share with anyone you think might be a good fit!
Apply here: employment.ucsd.edu/laboratory-c...
Target start date is June 1 (flexible) and application deadline is March 26. Please share with anyone you think might be a good fit!
Apply here: employment.ucsd.edu/laboratory-c...
If you’re at CDS this weekend, stop by our posters! I’m sad to miss it this year but so proud of this fantastic group ✨
Exciting work from the Visual Learning Lab at UCSD will be at @cogdevsoc.bsky.social #CDS2026! Come chat with us about children's drawings, visual knowledge, and leveraging computational models for developmental research.
www.vislearnlab.org
www.vislearnlab.org
April 8, 2026 at 12:56 AM
If you’re at CDS this weekend, stop by our posters! I’m sad to miss it this year but so proud of this fantastic group ✨
Reposted by Bria Long
okay, so, what kind of data *d*o we learn from?
at the very least: visual sequences, depth, and self-motion cues. @brialong.bsky.social, @mcxfrank.bsky.social and Linda Smith have done incredible work characterizing these experiences with head-mounted cameras
(thank you Bria for the video! 🙇)
at the very least: visual sequences, depth, and self-motion cues. @brialong.bsky.social, @mcxfrank.bsky.social and Linda Smith have done incredible work characterizing these experiences with head-mounted cameras
(thank you Bria for the video! 🙇)
February 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM
okay, so, what kind of data *d*o we learn from?
at the very least: visual sequences, depth, and self-motion cues. @brialong.bsky.social, @mcxfrank.bsky.social and Linda Smith have done incredible work characterizing these experiences with head-mounted cameras
(thank you Bria for the video! 🙇)
at the very least: visual sequences, depth, and self-motion cues. @brialong.bsky.social, @mcxfrank.bsky.social and Linda Smith have done incredible work characterizing these experiences with head-mounted cameras
(thank you Bria for the video! 🙇)
Reposted by Bria Long
excited to share some recent work!
neural networks trained on multi-view sensory data are the first to match human-level 3D shape perception
we predict human accuracy, error patterns, and reaction time—all zero-shot, no training on experimental data
arxiv.org/abs/2602.17650
1/🧠
neural networks trained on multi-view sensory data are the first to match human-level 3D shape perception
we predict human accuracy, error patterns, and reaction time—all zero-shot, no training on experimental data
arxiv.org/abs/2602.17650
1/🧠
Human-level 3D shape perception emerges from multi-view learning
Humans can infer the three-dimensional structure of objects from two-dimensional visual inputs. Modeling this ability has been a longstanding goal for the science and engineering of visual intelligenc...
arxiv.org
February 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM
excited to share some recent work!
neural networks trained on multi-view sensory data are the first to match human-level 3D shape perception
we predict human accuracy, error patterns, and reaction time—all zero-shot, no training on experimental data
arxiv.org/abs/2602.17650
1/🧠
neural networks trained on multi-view sensory data are the first to match human-level 3D shape perception
we predict human accuracy, error patterns, and reaction time—all zero-shot, no training on experimental data
arxiv.org/abs/2602.17650
1/🧠
We are still hiring for our computational focus lab coordinator position!
If you have a computational / software engineering background and are looking for more research experience before applying to graduate school, this would be a great fit.
Read more about our lab here!
www.vislearnlab.org
If you have a computational / software engineering background and are looking for more research experience before applying to graduate school, this would be a great fit.
Read more about our lab here!
www.vislearnlab.org
March 19, 2026 at 6:21 PM
We are still hiring for our computational focus lab coordinator position!
If you have a computational / software engineering background and are looking for more research experience before applying to graduate school, this would be a great fit.
Read more about our lab here!
www.vislearnlab.org
If you have a computational / software engineering background and are looking for more research experience before applying to graduate school, this would be a great fit.
Read more about our lab here!
www.vislearnlab.org
Reposted by Bria Long
Our department is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor!! This is a joint-appointed position with Computational Social Sciences (css.ucsd.edu). It's 75+ degrees F and sunny today, just thought I'd mention apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04461
Assistant Teaching Professor in Computational Social Science and Cognitive Science
University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!
apol-recruit.ucsd.edu
February 27, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Our department is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor!! This is a joint-appointed position with Computational Social Sciences (css.ucsd.edu). It's 75+ degrees F and sunny today, just thought I'd mention apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04461
Reposted by Bria Long
