Russell Epstein
@russellepstein.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist at UPenn. Interested in scenes, memory, space. Occasionally thinks about other things.
I am please to report that NEI has renewed our R01 "Neural mechanism of landmark-based navigation" for another 4 years. Hooray!!!!!
In this era, getting any NIH money at all is a miracle, so I am extremely grateful to NEI for supporting this and to the study section reviewers for seeing its value.
In this era, getting any NIH money at all is a miracle, so I am extremely grateful to NEI for supporting this and to the study section reviewers for seeing its value.
September 4, 2026 at 6:44 PM
I am please to report that NEI has renewed our R01 "Neural mechanism of landmark-based navigation" for another 4 years. Hooray!!!!!
In this era, getting any NIH money at all is a miracle, so I am extremely grateful to NEI for supporting this and to the study section reviewers for seeing its value.
In this era, getting any NIH money at all is a miracle, so I am extremely grateful to NEI for supporting this and to the study section reviewers for seeing its value.
New paper! @samiyousif.bsky.social and I opine on Cognitive Maps as a Medium for Thought....now out in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social
We discuss what cog maps are and how they might interact with a Language of Thought.
This was a fun one, spanning philosophy, cog sci, and rodent neurophysiology!
We discuss what cog maps are and how they might interact with a Language of Thought.
This was a fun one, spanning philosophy, cog sci, and rodent neurophysiology!
Excited about a new paper (w @russellepstein.bsky.social): "Cognitive maps as a medium for thought", in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social!
We discuss how maps are an important 'middle ground' rep. medium, and how they may interact with a 'language of thought'.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We discuss how maps are an important 'middle ground' rep. medium, and how they may interact with a 'language of thought'.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Cognitive maps as a medium for thought
Cognitive maps are essential for navigation, but to what extent are they involved in thinking more broadly? In this opinion article, we examine whethe…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 26, 2026 at 5:45 PM
New paper! @samiyousif.bsky.social and I opine on Cognitive Maps as a Medium for Thought....now out in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social
We discuss what cog maps are and how they might interact with a Language of Thought.
This was a fun one, spanning philosophy, cog sci, and rodent neurophysiology!
We discuss what cog maps are and how they might interact with a Language of Thought.
This was a fun one, spanning philosophy, cog sci, and rodent neurophysiology!
In Dec 2024, I had the great pleasure of participating in an Ernst Strüngmann Forum on the future of navigation research organized by @noranewcombe.bsky.social and Ken Cheng. The book from that meeting is now out...lots of great chapters to read...open access...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Challenges in Navigation Research
This open access book explores navigation across species using a multidisciplinary approach to address challenges in research and clinical applications.
link.springer.com
April 2, 2026 at 5:55 PM
In Dec 2024, I had the great pleasure of participating in an Ernst Strüngmann Forum on the future of navigation research organized by @noranewcombe.bsky.social and Ken Cheng. The book from that meeting is now out...lots of great chapters to read...open access...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Hey Vision Science [email protected] is a candidate for the VSS board. He will do an awesome job...you could not ask for a better representative. Consider giving him your vote.
I am standing for election to the VSS board. The slate of candidates [with 25% immodesty] is fantastic. Please consider engaging in the difficult decision process of identifying a just-noticeable-difference in great folks who are eager to serve vision science.
🗳️ The VSS Board of Directors Election is Now Open!
Cast your vote for two new board members (4-year terms).
✅ Eligibility: Must be a Regular or Postdoc 2026 Member
⏳ Deadline: April 24, 2026 (11:59 pm AoE)
Vote now: bit.ly/4do5zEO
#VSS2026 #VisionScience
Cast your vote for two new board members (4-year terms).
✅ Eligibility: Must be a Regular or Postdoc 2026 Member
⏳ Deadline: April 24, 2026 (11:59 pm AoE)
Vote now: bit.ly/4do5zEO
#VSS2026 #VisionScience
April 1, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Hey Vision Science [email protected] is a candidate for the VSS board. He will do an awesome job...you could not ask for a better representative. Consider giving him your vote.
Congratulations to @nancykanwisher.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 Ken Nakayama medal from @vssmtg.bsky.social! Nancy is not only a brilliant scientist, she has also been an inspiring mentor to several generations of vision scientists (including me).
March 20, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Congratulations to @nancykanwisher.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 Ken Nakayama medal from @vssmtg.bsky.social! Nancy is not only a brilliant scientist, she has also been an inspiring mentor to several generations of vision scientists (including me).
Come to the CRaNE conference in Atlanta in May. Some folks I know will be speaking about spatial navigation (one of them is me!)
Excited for @crane-navsci.bsky.social conference!
Our keynote speaker is @russellepstein.bsky.social, with a panel @noranewcombe.bsky.social @aliprestonphd.bsky.social and Daniel Dilks. This is a super intimate and interdisciplinary conference focused on spatial cognition.
Submissions are open!
Our keynote speaker is @russellepstein.bsky.social, with a panel @noranewcombe.bsky.social @aliprestonphd.bsky.social and Daniel Dilks. This is a super intimate and interdisciplinary conference focused on spatial cognition.
Submissions are open!
February 16, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Come to the CRaNE conference in Atlanta in May. Some folks I know will be speaking about spatial navigation (one of them is me!)
Our new paper in @sfnjournals.bsky.social shows different neural systems for integrating views into places--PPA integrates views *of* a location (e.g., views of a landmark), while RSC integrates views *from* a location (e.g., views of a panorama). Work by the bluesky-less Linfeng Tony Han.
#JNeurosci: Using fMRI, Han and Epstein explored how people integrate different kinds of views to form mental maps of places, revealing two sets of brain regions involved in integrating views of landmarks into existing mental maps of a virtual city.
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0187-25.2025
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0187-25.2025
January 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Our new paper in @sfnjournals.bsky.social shows different neural systems for integrating views into places--PPA integrates views *of* a location (e.g., views of a landmark), while RSC integrates views *from* a location (e.g., views of a panorama). Work by the bluesky-less Linfeng Tony Han.
Some nice publicity on our recent "Neural compass" paper, from @sfnjournals.bsky.social.
#JNeurosci: Lu et al. show that two brain regions—retrosplenial complex and superior parietal lobe—represent facing direction when people perform a naturalistic navigation task in a virtual-reality city. @russellepstein.bsky.social @gkaguirre.com @zhenganglu.bsky.social
vist.ly/4chuk
vist.ly/4chuk
November 3, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Some nice publicity on our recent "Neural compass" paper, from @sfnjournals.bsky.social.
This is a great Postdoc opportunity at UPenn, for recent Ph.D.s who want to collaborate with CogSci (psych, neuro, ling, philo, cs, etc.) faculty and have their own research direction.
Seeking applications from recent PhDs in neuro, psych, ling, philo, comp sci, or other cog sci discipline, for our MindCORE Fellowship.
MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort at Penn to understand human intelligence and behavior.
Apply by Dec 1: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/post-doctora...
MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort at Penn to understand human intelligence and behavior.
Apply by Dec 1: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/post-doctora...
October 28, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This is a great Postdoc opportunity at UPenn, for recent Ph.D.s who want to collaborate with CogSci (psych, neuro, ling, philo, cs, etc.) faculty and have their own research direction.
Penn faculty senate passes resolution urging the Penn admin to reject the compact, as MIT and Brown have already done.
October 16, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Penn faculty senate passes resolution urging the Penn admin to reject the compact, as MIT and Brown have already done.
It's really not clear to me how U.S. democracy gets out of this one alive. Dems would need +6 on the popular vote to have a 50/50 chance of controlling the House. That's a recipe for a one-party state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:09 PM
It's really not clear to me how U.S. democracy gets out of this one alive. Dems would need +6 on the popular vote to have a 50/50 chance of controlling the House. That's a recipe for a one-party state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
The administrations "invitation" to 9 universities is in fact just their latest attempt at extortion. I urge my @upenn.edu colleagues to sign the petition below.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
Just Say No to Trump's Compact for Academic Extortion
Yesterday, the University of Pennsylvania was one of nine targets of the Trump Administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." Through it, Trump asks once again for universitie...
actionnetwork.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The administrations "invitation" to 9 universities is in fact just their latest attempt at extortion. I urge my @upenn.edu colleagues to sign the petition below.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
actionnetwork.org/petitions/ju...
Interested in navigation, VR, fMRI, aging? Here's a great postdoc opportunity in @stevenmweisberg.bsky.social's new lab at U Texas Arlington.
🚨The SCANN Lab @ UTA is hiring a postdoctoral researcher!🚨
Topics: 🧭 spatial navigation, 🧠 fMRI, 🎮 VR, 👵 cognitive aging.
Start date: Nov 2025 (flexible).
Salary: NIH levels.
Details 👇
Topics: 🧭 spatial navigation, 🧠 fMRI, 🎮 VR, 👵 cognitive aging.
Start date: Nov 2025 (flexible).
Salary: NIH levels.
Details 👇
September 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Interested in navigation, VR, fMRI, aging? Here's a great postdoc opportunity in @stevenmweisberg.bsky.social's new lab at U Texas Arlington.
Our new paper Cognitive maps for hierarchical spaces in the human brain is out in Cerebral Cortex! Work by first-author Michael Peer.
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
September 22, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Our new paper Cognitive maps for hierarchical spaces in the human brain is out in Cerebral Cortex! Work by first-author Michael Peer.
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
academic-oup-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/cercor/artic...
Our new paper, “A neural compass in the human brain during naturalistic human navigation” is out in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! First-author @zhenganglu.bsky.social led the charge, with Josh Julian and collaborator @gkaguirre.com.
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
August 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Our new paper, “A neural compass in the human brain during naturalistic human navigation” is out in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! First-author @zhenganglu.bsky.social led the charge, with Josh Julian and collaborator @gkaguirre.com.
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
This is some very cool work that @ainsleybonin.bsky.social did at Colby College, working with Derek Huffman. If you are fortunate enough to be at CogSci, give it a look.
If you’re heading to SF for #CogSci2025 this week and are interested in mobile EEG or spatial memory, come check out my talk on Thursday! (Talks 11: EEG, 2:15pm, Salon 5).
July 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
This is some very cool work that @ainsleybonin.bsky.social did at Colby College, working with Derek Huffman. If you are fortunate enough to be at CogSci, give it a look.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders?
A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.
forward.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...
Supposedly AI is going to take over the world, but I just spent 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to get ChatGPT to change the axis labels of a chart. Which it kept failing to do, each time saying "now I've done what you asked!" without changing a thing. So I am skeptical.
July 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Supposedly AI is going to take over the world, but I just spent 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to get ChatGPT to change the axis labels of a chart. Which it kept failing to do, each time saying "now I've done what you asked!" without changing a thing. So I am skeptical.
This little document is immensely helpful.
Just sent this as an email to my department but figured I'd share more broadly in case it is useful. This describes the procedure happening now for science funding in Congress (@davidimiller.bsky.social can correct me if I got this wrong). Importantly, there are still actions that can be taken.
Science Funding Process
=====Written July 11 2025====== Hi all, Just wanted to share some information that is likely relevant to a lot of us, but not always easy to understand, about federal science budget procedure (feel f...
docs.google.com
July 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This little document is immensely helpful.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
Democracies do not use their military to try and intimidate their own citizens with “shows of presence”.
This is fascism.
This is fascism.
Military documents confirm that the LA operation today was a “show of presence” intended to send a message to LA residents about the power of the federal government.
After staging with armed soldiers and Border Patrol agents on horse, they packed up and left after a short walk.
After staging with armed soldiers and Border Patrol agents on horse, they packed up and left after a short walk.
July 7, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Democracies do not use their military to try and intimidate their own citizens with “shows of presence”.
This is fascism.
This is fascism.
Reposted by Russell Epstein
We’ve bombed Iran. And dismantled our joint terrorism task force. And sent a third of the FBI to help ICE. And gutted the National Security Council. And a drunk guy is in charge at the pentagon. And our intelligence allies probably won’t share intel with us. Because people couldn’t vote for a woman.
June 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
We’ve bombed Iran. And dismantled our joint terrorism task force. And sent a third of the FBI to help ICE. And gutted the National Security Council. And a drunk guy is in charge at the pentagon. And our intelligence allies probably won’t share intel with us. Because people couldn’t vote for a woman.
Best footnote ever.
Justice Jackson taking on Gorsuch's "pure textualism" and arguing for a more holistic reading of Congress' handiwork—worth reading in full. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
![The majority’s contention that I reject “ ‘pure textualism’ [a]s insufficiently pliable to secure the result [I] seek,” ante, at 10, stems from an
unfortunate misunderstanding of the judicial role. Our interpretative
task is not to seek our own desired results (whatever they may be). And,
indeed, it is precisely because of this solemn duty that, in my view, it is
imperative that we interpret statutes consistent with all relevant indicia
of what Congress wanted, as best we can ascertain its intent. A methodology that includes consideration of Congress’s aims does exactly that—
and no more. By contrast, pure textualism’s refusal to try to understand
the text of a statute in the larger context of what Congress sought to
achieve turns the interpretive task into a potent weapon for advancing
judicial policy preferences. By “finding” answers in ambiguous text, and
not bothering to consider whether those answers align with other sources
of statutory meaning, pure textualists can easily disguise their own preferences as “textual” inevitabilities. So, really, far from being “insufficiently pliable,” I think pure textualism is incessantly malleable—that’s
its primary problem—and, indeed, it is certainly somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority’s desired outcome.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreih3qdtlloz3yhggypbtwiveqdgzzfgapsnetvq7qsni7wfmyuovoi)
June 20, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Best footnote ever.
Democracy...use it or lose it. There are hundreds of events planned all across the country on June 14. Find one near you. Trump can't send the Marines to all of them. app.sosha.ai/s/lmwrRNh3
Join me on June 14
app.sosha.ai
June 9, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Democracy...use it or lose it. There are hundreds of events planned all across the country on June 14. Find one near you. Trump can't send the Marines to all of them. app.sosha.ai/s/lmwrRNh3
I signed this letter and I urge all my colleagues to do the same. I am very impressed by the bravery of the NIH staff who put their names to this. We should stand behind them. It's the least we can do.
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
www.standupforscience.net
June 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I signed this letter and I urge all my colleagues to do the same. I am very impressed by the bravery of the NIH staff who put their names to this. We should stand behind them. It's the least we can do.