Monosov Lab
@monosovlab.bsky.social
Studying the algorithms and circuits of decision making, emotion, and biological and artificial learning at Johns Hopkins
Pinned
Monosov Lab
@monosovlab.bsky.social
· Jul 17
OSF
doi.org
Ecology of curiosity framework for adaptive and maladaptive human–AI ecosystems
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Deeply incredible. Congrats
Happy to share the version of record of our locus coeruleus paper here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Prior thread on some of our discoveries in this study:
bsky.app/profile/jere...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Prior thread on some of our discoveries in this study:
bsky.app/profile/jere...
September 16, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Deeply incredible. Congrats
Reposted by Monosov Lab
In brain-computer interfacing, clever and adaptive decoders help brains learn complex tasks faster. These can impact the nature of solutions learned by the brain. Our new paper is one of the first attempts to study this effect. W/ @neuroamyo.bsky.social and team
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Assistive algorithms influence neural representations in motor brain-computer interfaces - Nature Communications
Assistive algorithms are widely used in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), but their effects on neural representations remain unclear. Here, the authors show that adaptive BCIs lead the brain to learn ...
www.nature.com
September 15, 2026 at 3:42 PM
In brain-computer interfacing, clever and adaptive decoders help brains learn complex tasks faster. These can impact the nature of solutions learned by the brain. Our new paper is one of the first attempts to study this effect. W/ @neuroamyo.bsky.social and team
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New preprint! 🧠 How do reward, risk & information preferences relate to psychopathology?
How do they vary across decisions about gains vs. losses?
1,954 people! Hundreds of economic choices each + transdiagnostic assessment of mental health symptoms online.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
How do they vary across decisions about gains vs. losses?
1,954 people! Hundreds of economic choices each + transdiagnostic assessment of mental health symptoms online.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A dimensional link between gain-loss economic preferences and psychopathology
Human decision-makers differ in how they value and trade off reward, risk, and information when evaluating future gains and losses, and these preferences are central to well-being. However, how multi-...
www.biorxiv.org
September 15, 2026 at 7:28 PM
New preprint! 🧠 How do reward, risk & information preferences relate to psychopathology?
How do they vary across decisions about gains vs. losses?
1,954 people! Hundreds of economic choices each + transdiagnostic assessment of mental health symptoms online.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
How do they vary across decisions about gains vs. losses?
1,954 people! Hundreds of economic choices each + transdiagnostic assessment of mental health symptoms online.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Excited to speak at CalTech and hear the exciting work from others: wellbeing-agency.jp/symposium2026/
The 2nd International Symposium for Well-being and Agency
wellbeing-agency.jp
August 4, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Excited to speak at CalTech and hear the exciting work from others: wellbeing-agency.jp/symposium2026/
Reposted by Monosov Lab
Where does curiosity come from? Neuroscientist @jenbussell.bsky.social wants to know. She found that mice, like us, seek information with no external benefit. Her new Nature Neuroscience research links this desire for knowledge to cells in the brain's orbitofrontal cortex.
See tinyurl.com/3xjt8e5c
See tinyurl.com/3xjt8e5c
July 30, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Where does curiosity come from? Neuroscientist @jenbussell.bsky.social wants to know. She found that mice, like us, seek information with no external benefit. Her new Nature Neuroscience research links this desire for knowledge to cells in the brain's orbitofrontal cortex.
See tinyurl.com/3xjt8e5c
See tinyurl.com/3xjt8e5c
Ecology of curiosity framework for adaptive and maladaptive human–AI ecosystems
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
July 17, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Ecology of curiosity framework for adaptive and maladaptive human–AI ecosystems
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
--a generalist article with psychology and neuroscience (this is a companion to the Arxiv I recently posted)
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Monosov Lab
Our paper "Neural timescales from a computational perspective" is finally out in @natneuro.nature.com:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
Neural timescales from a computational perspective - Nature Neuroscience
This review integrates computational approaches to provide a unified view on how data analysis methods, biophysical mechanistic models and machine learning approaches can help to uncover the origins a...
www.nature.com
July 7, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Our paper "Neural timescales from a computational perspective" is finally out in @natneuro.nature.com:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
Go Julia Pai, Fatih Sogukpinar et al.
Heavily revised work on astrocytes role in learning. Incredibly grateful for the team's hard work on this. Extended biology and theory now added!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Heavily revised work on astrocytes role in learning. Incredibly grateful for the team's hard work on this. Extended biology and theory now added!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ventral striatal astrocytes contribute to reinforcement learning
Astrocytes influence synaptic plasticity and neuronal function through astrocytic calcium dynamics (ACD). However, astrocytes’ contribution to cognitive operations like reinforcement learning (RL) rem...
www.biorxiv.org
July 3, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Go Julia Pai, Fatih Sogukpinar et al.
Heavily revised work on astrocytes role in learning. Incredibly grateful for the team's hard work on this. Extended biology and theory now added!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Heavily revised work on astrocytes role in learning. Incredibly grateful for the team's hard work on this. Extended biology and theory now added!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New beautiful normative/theory paper from Ethan Bromberg-Martin with Josh Merel
Why are we curious? What is the origin of our non instrumental seeming information preference?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Why are we curious? What is the origin of our non instrumental seeming information preference?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Why do we seek information about the future? On the origins of subjective value without instrumental value
Why do we want to know the future? Humans and many animals pay for information to predict uncertain rewards, even when they cannot control them. The reason for this conserved yet seemingly paradoxical...
www.biorxiv.org
June 13, 2026 at 2:37 AM
New beautiful normative/theory paper from Ethan Bromberg-Martin with Josh Merel
Why are we curious? What is the origin of our non instrumental seeming information preference?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Why are we curious? What is the origin of our non instrumental seeming information preference?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
back at revising this beast on astrocytes and learning....
How do non-neuronal CNS cells called astrocytes contribute to cognition & computation?
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ventral striatal astrocytes contribute to reinforcement learning
Astrocytes influence synaptic plasticity and neuronal function through astrocytic calcium dynamics (ACD). However, astrocytes contribution to cognitive operations like reinforcement learning (RL) rema...
www.biorxiv.org
May 5, 2026 at 1:37 AM
back at revising this beast on astrocytes and learning....
happy 2 see Dr Okihide Hikosaka elected to NAS
Okihide has done an amazing amount of true discovery
Think big contributions to understanding of mechanisms of saccadic control, chunking and skill formation, reinforcement learning, and more!
Also a great mentor and friend.
Okihide has done an amazing amount of true discovery
Think big contributions to understanding of mechanisms of saccadic control, chunking and skill formation, reinforcement learning, and more!
Also a great mentor and friend.
April 29, 2026 at 1:28 AM
happy 2 see Dr Okihide Hikosaka elected to NAS
Okihide has done an amazing amount of true discovery
Think big contributions to understanding of mechanisms of saccadic control, chunking and skill formation, reinforcement learning, and more!
Also a great mentor and friend.
Okihide has done an amazing amount of true discovery
Think big contributions to understanding of mechanisms of saccadic control, chunking and skill formation, reinforcement learning, and more!
Also a great mentor and friend.
Congratulations to my great students Arman Hatami and Romina Aalishah on their new study of machine unlearning and forgetting accepted.
arxiv.org/abs/2604.15166
This has had clear implications for ML and neuroscience (albeit from different angles), and we continue this work in both disciplines….
arxiv.org/abs/2604.15166
This has had clear implications for ML and neuroscience (albeit from different angles), and we continue this work in both disciplines….
Class Unlearning via Depth-Aware Removal of Forget-Specific Directions
Machine unlearning aims to remove targeted knowledge from a trained model without the cost of retraining from scratch. In class unlearning, however, reducing accuracy on forget classes does not necess...
arxiv.org
April 17, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Congratulations to my great students Arman Hatami and Romina Aalishah on their new study of machine unlearning and forgetting accepted.
arxiv.org/abs/2604.15166
This has had clear implications for ML and neuroscience (albeit from different angles), and we continue this work in both disciplines….
arxiv.org/abs/2604.15166
This has had clear implications for ML and neuroscience (albeit from different angles), and we continue this work in both disciplines….
I am deeply grateful to the Bloomberg Endowment for supporting both our research and broader vision! We hope that our work will contribute to next generation of psychiatry treatments, bci, and ai development.
Welcome internationally recognized neuroscientist, Ilya Monosov, who joins @jhu.edu as the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Curiosity and Intelligence.
hub.jhu.edu/2026/04/03/n...
hub.jhu.edu/2026/04/03/n...
April 5, 2026 at 3:18 AM
I am deeply grateful to the Bloomberg Endowment for supporting both our research and broader vision! We hope that our work will contribute to next generation of psychiatry treatments, bci, and ai development.
Great Bita
approval to study psilocybin/COMP360 assisted therapy for PTSD
we shall see if it is more effective than MDMA
www.lucid.news/legislation-...
we shall see if it is more effective than MDMA
www.lucid.news/legislation-...
Legislation, Industry, and the Future of Psilocybin for PTSD - Lucid News
The FDA acceptance of Compass Pathway’s Investigational New Drug Application for their COMP360 compound as a possible therapy for PTSD introduces a new area of possible therapies using psilocybin.
www.lucid.news
February 13, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Great Bita
! New paper from the lab !
How does novelty impact value-based decision making ?
What are the circuits and what mechanisms do they implement?
Congratulations to Dr. Takaya Ogasawara and team
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
How does novelty impact value-based decision making ?
What are the circuits and what mechanisms do they implement?
Congratulations to Dr. Takaya Ogasawara and team
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Temporal-orbitofrontal pathway regulates choices across physical reward and visual novelty
Novelty can directly impact valuation of future outcomes, affecting how we choose
among rewards such as food or money. This is the case even when novelty is objectively
valueless. Here, Ogasawara et a...
www.cell.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:54 PM
! New paper from the lab !
How does novelty impact value-based decision making ?
What are the circuits and what mechanisms do they implement?
Congratulations to Dr. Takaya Ogasawara and team
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
How does novelty impact value-based decision making ?
What are the circuits and what mechanisms do they implement?
Congratulations to Dr. Takaya Ogasawara and team
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Reposted by Monosov Lab
Nature research paper: Integrator dynamics in the cortico-basal ganglia loop for flexible motor timing
go.nature.com/4oX2rmq
go.nature.com/4oX2rmq
Integrator dynamics in the cortico-basal ganglia loop for flexible motor timing - Nature
How the mouse frontal cortex and striatum interact to implement integrator dynamics controlling movement timing is explored.
go.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Nature research paper: Integrator dynamics in the cortico-basal ganglia loop for flexible motor timing
go.nature.com/4oX2rmq
go.nature.com/4oX2rmq
How do non-neuronal CNS cells called astrocytes contribute to cognition & computation?
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ventral striatal astrocytes contribute to reinforcement learning
Astrocytes influence synaptic plasticity and neuronal function through astrocytic calcium dynamics (ACD). However, astrocytes contribution to cognitive operations like reinforcement learning (RL) rema...
www.biorxiv.org
October 21, 2025 at 1:28 AM
How do non-neuronal CNS cells called astrocytes contribute to cognition & computation?
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
See our preprint
Headed by my students Julia Pai and Fatih Sogukpinar, also working with Hiratani, Pignatelli, Papouin, Frank, and Ching labs. This was a huge effort
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Some professional news : My team is moving to Johns Hopkins University this Summer. I am deeply grateful to Washington University for supporting us since 2014. It has been an amazing journey full of brilliant colleagues and friends.
May 5, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Some professional news : My team is moving to Johns Hopkins University this Summer. I am deeply grateful to Washington University for supporting us since 2014. It has been an amazing journey full of brilliant colleagues and friends.
New work!
How does perceptual novelty impact the value of (physical) rewards: what are the underlying algorithms and neural mechanisms?
The answers may help to construct smarter AIs and to understand how and why novelty seeking breaks in psychiatric disorders.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How does perceptual novelty impact the value of (physical) rewards: what are the underlying algorithms and neural mechanisms?
The answers may help to construct smarter AIs and to understand how and why novelty seeking breaks in psychiatric disorders.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Temporal-orbitofrontal pathway regulates choices across physical reward and visual novelty
Perceptually novel objects have profound impacts on our daily decisions. People often pay to try novel meals over familiar ones, or to see novel visual scenes at art exhibits and travel destinations. ...
www.biorxiv.org
April 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
New work!
How does perceptual novelty impact the value of (physical) rewards: what are the underlying algorithms and neural mechanisms?
The answers may help to construct smarter AIs and to understand how and why novelty seeking breaks in psychiatric disorders.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How does perceptual novelty impact the value of (physical) rewards: what are the underlying algorithms and neural mechanisms?
The answers may help to construct smarter AIs and to understand how and why novelty seeking breaks in psychiatric disorders.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
First blue sky post is to celebrate! Incredibly proud of Dr Julia Pai. Fantastic defense and pioneering project on non-neuronal cells in Reinforcement Learning! Now almost off to her next chapter. Paper in prep!
January 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM
First blue sky post is to celebrate! Incredibly proud of Dr Julia Pai. Fantastic defense and pioneering project on non-neuronal cells in Reinforcement Learning! Now almost off to her next chapter. Paper in prep!