Brian Sweis
@brianmsweis.bsky.social
MD, PhD | psychiatry | neuroscience | neuroeconomics | neuromodulation | assistant professor | residency program training director @MountSinaiPsych @SinaiBrain 🧠
Pinned
Brian Sweis
@brianmsweis.bsky.social
· Oct 29
For those heading to #SfN25, come check out our posters on Saturday Afternoon! The lab is growing & expanding in several new directions & collabs #neuroeconomics 🧠🐭🧠 @sinaibrain.bsky.social @sinaiccp.bsky.social @sfn.org @socforneuroecon.bsky.social @bwfund.bsky.social @animalsocaging.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Sweis
2. @brianmsweis.bsky.social ++ are building up insights into the neural circuits responsible for *regret* and seeing it through to their implications for psychiatric conditions.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Distinct forms of regret linked to resilience versus susceptibility to stress are regulated by region-specific CREB function in mice
Resilience versus susceptibility to stress confers sensitivity to distinct types of regret mediated by different brain regions.
www.science.org
September 26, 2026 at 11:33 AM
2. @brianmsweis.bsky.social ++ are building up insights into the neural circuits responsible for *regret* and seeing it through to their implications for psychiatric conditions.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
I'm honoured to be among this incredible group of scientists and immensely grateful for the support of @braincanada.bsky.social, which will allow my lab to address fundamental questions about how reward memories can be so long-lasting, influencing mental health conditions like addiction.
Brain Canada is thrilled to announce the new cohort of Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. This year, 26 researchers join this growing community, and each receive $100,000. 🎉 Congratulations to the recipients!
Find out more about this year’s Future Leaders ➡️ braincanada.ca/about/news-u...
Find out more about this year’s Future Leaders ➡️ braincanada.ca/about/news-u...
September 24, 2026 at 8:15 PM
I'm honoured to be among this incredible group of scientists and immensely grateful for the support of @braincanada.bsky.social, which will allow my lab to address fundamental questions about how reward memories can be so long-lasting, influencing mental health conditions like addiction.
Reposted by Brian Sweis
ONE WEEK AWAY! On Thursday, September 24, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries and host Dr. @bshev.bsky.social welcome @upenn.edu's Dr. @nicolecrust.bsky.social. Dr. Rust will present "From Subjective Feelings to Brain Mechanisms: Advancing the Science of Mood through Epistemic Iteration". ✨NOT TO MISS!
September 17, 2026 at 2:32 PM
ONE WEEK AWAY! On Thursday, September 24, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries and host Dr. @bshev.bsky.social welcome @upenn.edu's Dr. @nicolecrust.bsky.social. Dr. Rust will present "From Subjective Feelings to Brain Mechanisms: Advancing the Science of Mood through Epistemic Iteration". ✨NOT TO MISS!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Incredibly excited to host this event next week! Dr. Rust's work is both rigorous and inspiring
ONE WEEK AWAY! On Thursday, September 24, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries and host Dr. @bshev.bsky.social welcome @upenn.edu's Dr. @nicolecrust.bsky.social. Dr. Rust will present "From Subjective Feelings to Brain Mechanisms: Advancing the Science of Mood through Epistemic Iteration". ✨NOT TO MISS!
September 17, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Incredibly excited to host this event next week! Dr. Rust's work is both rigorous and inspiring
Reposted by Brian Sweis
TOMORROW! Not To Miss! On Thurs, Sept. 17th, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries & host Dr. @brianmsweis.bsky.social welcome @medschool.umaryland.edu's Dr. Marco Venniro: “From isolation to connection: a journey through addiction neuroscience”. Learn More about the Venniro Lab's work 🐁 www.vennirolab.org
September 16, 2026 at 1:14 PM
TOMORROW! Not To Miss! On Thurs, Sept. 17th, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries & host Dr. @brianmsweis.bsky.social welcome @medschool.umaryland.edu's Dr. Marco Venniro: “From isolation to connection: a journey through addiction neuroscience”. Learn More about the Venniro Lab's work 🐁 www.vennirolab.org
Reposted by Brian Sweis
COMING UP! Not To Miss! On Thurs, Sept. 17th, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries & host Dr. @brianmsweis.bsky.social welcome @medschool.umaryland.edu's Dr. Marco Venniro: “From isolation to connection: a journey through addiction neuroscience”. Learn More about the Venniro Lab's work: 🐁 www.vennirolab.org
September 14, 2026 at 12:25 AM
COMING UP! Not To Miss! On Thurs, Sept. 17th, 1pm, the #FBISeminarSeries & host Dr. @brianmsweis.bsky.social welcome @medschool.umaryland.edu's Dr. Marco Venniro: “From isolation to connection: a journey through addiction neuroscience”. Learn More about the Venniro Lab's work: 🐁 www.vennirolab.org
Reposted by Brian Sweis
First study out! Using a new cooperative paradigm and multi-agent inverse RL, we show that mice spontaneously adopt leader/follower roles, and the prefrontal cortex encodes these role dynamics and an egocentric social value map of the partner’s position. (1/3)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Asymmetric prefrontal representations for leader–follower dynamics - Nature
Mice spontaneously form leader and follower roles during cooperation, and the medial prefrontal cortex encodes these role dynamics and an egocentric social value map of the partner’s position.
www.nature.com
August 20, 2026 at 1:56 PM
First study out! Using a new cooperative paradigm and multi-agent inverse RL, we show that mice spontaneously adopt leader/follower roles, and the prefrontal cortex encodes these role dynamics and an egocentric social value map of the partner’s position. (1/3)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
How does the brain represent the value of knowledge? In our paper--out now at Nature Neuroscience--we identify a representation of intrinsic information value within neural population structures in the orbitofrontal cortex in mice. www.nature.com/articles/s41593-026-02377-y #neuroskyence 🧠🧪 (1/8)
Representations of the intrinsic value of information in mouse orbitofrontal cortex - Nature Neuroscience
Mice are motivated to seek information of no extrinsic value. Recording neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex reveals a representation of the value of information that is distinct from the value of ...
www.nature.com
July 30, 2026 at 4:09 PM
How does the brain represent the value of knowledge? In our paper--out now at Nature Neuroscience--we identify a representation of intrinsic information value within neural population structures in the orbitofrontal cortex in mice. www.nature.com/articles/s41593-026-02377-y #neuroskyence 🧠🧪 (1/8)
Congrats Lorenzo and team! 👏 excited to collaborate with you in the near future!
Out today on @nature.com! Connecting neural specialization, population geometry, and their functional implications across the cortical hierarchy. So grateful for this beautiful and fun collaboration with @shuqiw.bsky.social, S Muscinelli, L Paninski, and @stefanofusi.bsky.social!
Rarely categorical, highly separable representations along the cortical hierarchy - Nature
Cortical circuits prioritize diversity over categorical structure, supporting a computational regime geared towards high-dimensional, highly separable neural representations.
www.nature.com
July 15, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Congrats Lorenzo and team! 👏 excited to collaborate with you in the near future!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Hard to overstate the importance of this paper.
Acategoricality and mixed selectivity together kill a lot of sacred cows.
For starters, place cells aren't real, in that they are not a meaningful category.
They are just a thing we scrape out of the data. Scientists focus on them because...
Acategoricality and mixed selectivity together kill a lot of sacred cows.
For starters, place cells aren't real, in that they are not a meaningful category.
They are just a thing we scrape out of the data. Scientists focus on them because...
Scientists have long debated whether neurons are jacks of all trades or tend to specialize in one thing. Now @stefanofusi.bsky.social, @lorenzoposani.com & Liam Paninski present new evidence in @nature.com shedding light on how the brain performs complex tasks. tinyurl.com/yj3ew8en
July 15, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Hard to overstate the importance of this paper.
Acategoricality and mixed selectivity together kill a lot of sacred cows.
For starters, place cells aren't real, in that they are not a meaningful category.
They are just a thing we scrape out of the data. Scientists focus on them because...
Acategoricality and mixed selectivity together kill a lot of sacred cows.
For starters, place cells aren't real, in that they are not a meaningful category.
They are just a thing we scrape out of the data. Scientists focus on them because...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Our labs first paper! Some 😳 surprising effects. Turns out everything comes back to context 🤓
Ventral tegmental area acetylcholine generates appetitive and aversive incentive motivation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.09.737546v1
July 11, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Our labs first paper! Some 😳 surprising effects. Turns out everything comes back to context 🤓
Reposted by Brian Sweis
I am happy to share our latest manuscript, led by newly-minted PhD Justin Wang, identifying a neural population that selectively controls hedonic, but not homeostatic, feeding. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Ventral pallidal GABAergic neurons control hedonic feeding and obesity
Food intake is governed by two interacting drives. The homeostatic hunger drive regulates food intake to fulfill caloric needs while the hedonic drive promotes intake of palatable foods outside of cal...
www.biorxiv.org
July 9, 2026 at 8:49 PM
I am happy to share our latest manuscript, led by newly-minted PhD Justin Wang, identifying a neural population that selectively controls hedonic, but not homeostatic, feeding. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
EXCITING PAPER! In this review, Drs. Parul Jain & Daniela Schiller synthesize research across various domains to trace how relationships develop from initial impressions through repeated interactions to stable social bonds & networks. Neuron l @cellpress.bsky.social 👉
www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
June 25, 2026 at 8:50 PM
EXCITING PAPER! In this review, Drs. Parul Jain & Daniela Schiller synthesize research across various domains to trace how relationships develop from initial impressions through repeated interactions to stable social bonds & networks. Neuron l @cellpress.bsky.social 👉
www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
Thank you! I’m honored to receive this award! A special thank you to Mount Sinai, my mentors, mentees, colleagues, and family!
🎉 CONGRATULATIONS to @brianmsweis.bsky.social for being honored w/ a well-deserved Faculty Council Junior Award. 👏 The Icahn School of Medicine @mountsinainyc.bsky.social’s Faculty Council Awards celebrate faculty members for their clinical excellence, academic leadership & outstanding research. 💯
June 23, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Thank you! I’m honored to receive this award! A special thank you to Mount Sinai, my mentors, mentees, colleagues, and family!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
📝 New preprint (co-led with Hannah Hamling as her NYU honors thesis!) 📝
🧠 Do adolescents learn differently in volatile versus stable environments? 🧠
Yes, and they seem to adapt their learning computations to a greater extent than adults! 😮 🤔
Preprint for deets (+ 👁️ data)
osf.io/preprints/ps...
🧠 Do adolescents learn differently in volatile versus stable environments? 🧠
Yes, and they seem to adapt their learning computations to a greater extent than adults! 😮 🤔
Preprint for deets (+ 👁️ data)
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
June 16, 2026 at 11:54 PM
📝 New preprint (co-led with Hannah Hamling as her NYU honors thesis!) 📝
🧠 Do adolescents learn differently in volatile versus stable environments? 🧠
Yes, and they seem to adapt their learning computations to a greater extent than adults! 😮 🤔
Preprint for deets (+ 👁️ data)
osf.io/preprints/ps...
🧠 Do adolescents learn differently in volatile versus stable environments? 🧠
Yes, and they seem to adapt their learning computations to a greater extent than adults! 😮 🤔
Preprint for deets (+ 👁️ data)
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
A few years back we started a collaboration to try to work out the mechanisms engaged by DBS for depression. Published today we found that it changes functional networks (expected) but also remodels specific white matter tracts (unexpected). Read more here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Deep brain stimulation induces white matter remodeling and functional changes to brain-wide networks - Nature Neuroscience
In a nonhuman primate model, Fujimoto et al. show that deep brain stimulation promotes white matter remodeling and reorganizes brain-wide functional networks, detailing a mechanism through which this ...
www.nature.com
June 1, 2026 at 11:58 AM
A few years back we started a collaboration to try to work out the mechanisms engaged by DBS for depression. Published today we found that it changes functional networks (expected) but also remodels specific white matter tracts (unexpected). Read more here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
📣 Call for Applications: 2026 SRNDNA Pilot Grant
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
April 15, 2026 at 5:32 PM
📣 Call for Applications: 2026 SRNDNA Pilot Grant
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Less than a week left! Apply now!
📣 Call for Applications: 2026 SRNDNA Pilot Grant
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
We’re excited to announce the final round of SRNDNA pilot funding supporting research at the intersection of decision neuroscience & aging.
🗓️ Applications due June 1, 2026
🧠 Priority: ADRD-related projects
#DecisionNeuroscience #AgingResearch #ADRD
May 26, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Less than a week left! Apply now!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
✨ April is #GraduateStudentAppreciation Month!
🏐 Highlighted here, Emma Andraka. Mentored by Daniela Schiller & @brianmsweis.bsky.social, Emma is developing a cross-species task for elucidating decision-making processes & neurophysiology underlying social interactions in rodents & humans. AMAZING!
🏐 Highlighted here, Emma Andraka. Mentored by Daniela Schiller & @brianmsweis.bsky.social, Emma is developing a cross-species task for elucidating decision-making processes & neurophysiology underlying social interactions in rodents & humans. AMAZING!
April 6, 2026 at 4:11 PM
✨ April is #GraduateStudentAppreciation Month!
🏐 Highlighted here, Emma Andraka. Mentored by Daniela Schiller & @brianmsweis.bsky.social, Emma is developing a cross-species task for elucidating decision-making processes & neurophysiology underlying social interactions in rodents & humans. AMAZING!
🏐 Highlighted here, Emma Andraka. Mentored by Daniela Schiller & @brianmsweis.bsky.social, Emma is developing a cross-species task for elucidating decision-making processes & neurophysiology underlying social interactions in rodents & humans. AMAZING!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Want a dataset to test ideas on neural basis of decision making or how areas interact as we make choices? Check out our data published today @rudebecklab.bsky.social. >16,000 single neurons from 22 anatomically confirmed areas in macaques performing a decision task. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dataset of cortical and subcortical single neuron activity during value-based tasks in macaque monkey - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Dataset of cortical and subcortical single neuron activity during value-based tasks in macaque monkey
www.nature.com
April 4, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Want a dataset to test ideas on neural basis of decision making or how areas interact as we make choices? Check out our data published today @rudebecklab.bsky.social. >16,000 single neurons from 22 anatomically confirmed areas in macaques performing a decision task. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Excited to share our recent review, which highlights algorithmic and implementational degeneracy in studies of cognition: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Addressing degeneracy in rodent studies of cognition
In order to relate neural dynamics to cognitive computations, it is critical to determine whether subjects are employing behavioral strategies that ac…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Excited to share our recent review, which highlights algorithmic and implementational degeneracy in studies of cognition: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Thank you @drnancypadilla.bsky.social for hosting me! I hope this can be a helpful resource for students considering if the MD/PhD path is right for them!
Thinking about pursuing an MD-PhD? In this special episode, we sit down with Dr. Brian Sweiss (@brianmsweis.bsky.social) to break down what you actually need to know about physician scientist training!
🎧 Full interview below!
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#PhysicianScientist #MDPhD
🎧 Full interview below!
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#PhysicianScientist #MDPhD
Is an MD-PhD right for you? — Stories of WiN
Dr. Brian Sweiss on MD-PhD training programs
www.storiesofwin.org
March 30, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Thank you @drnancypadilla.bsky.social for hosting me! I hope this can be a helpful resource for students considering if the MD/PhD path is right for them!
Thank you @drnancypadilla.bsky.social for hosting me! I hope this can be a helpful resource for students considering if the MD/PhD path is right for them!
Inspired by mentoring students who aspire MD-PhDs, I decide to interview @brianmsweis.bsky.social who is very passionate and knowledgeable about physician scientist education. If you are a trainee considering this path, or mentoring a trainee who is considering this path, please listen!!
Thinking about pursuing an MD-PhD? In this special episode, we sit down with Dr. Brian Sweiss (@brianmsweis.bsky.social) to break down what you actually need to know about physician scientist training!
🎧 Full interview below!
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#PhysicianScientist #MDPhD
🎧 Full interview below!
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#PhysicianScientist #MDPhD
March 30, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Thank you @drnancypadilla.bsky.social for hosting me! I hope this can be a helpful resource for students considering if the MD/PhD path is right for them!
Reposted by Brian Sweis
Thrilled to share our new paper, which shows that the relative timing of cholinergic and dopamine release dynamically gates whether dopamine acts as an RPE for in vivo plasticity and reinforcement learning. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Acetylcholine demixes heterogeneous dopamine signals for learning and moving
Nature Neuroscience - Jang et al. measured dopamine and acetylcholine release in the striatum of rats performing a decision-making task and found that the relative timing of cholinergic and...
www.nature.com
March 25, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Thrilled to share our new paper, which shows that the relative timing of cholinergic and dopamine release dynamically gates whether dopamine acts as an RPE for in vivo plasticity and reinforcement learning. www.nature.com/articles/s41...