Valerie Jill Sydnor
@valeriejsydnor.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Scholar in the Pitt Lab of Neurocognitive Development 🧠 she/her
brain development | plasticity | environment | multi-modal MRI
trying to fall down rabbit holes to recreate Alice in Wonderland
brain development | plasticity | environment | multi-modal MRI
trying to fall down rabbit holes to recreate Alice in Wonderland
Pinned
I am oh so happy to share that my K99/R00 "Linking Adolescent Environmental Enrichment to Association Cortex Plasticity and Psychiatric Resiliency" was awarded by the NIMH!
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Last year, I was honoured to give the Huttenlocher Lecture at the @fluxsociety.bsky.social conference. Over the past year, I’ve been writing it into a paper:
The developing adolescent brain: Implications for youth justice and children in criminal proceedings
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The developing adolescent brain: Implications for youth justice and children in criminal proceedings
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 15, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Last year, I was honoured to give the Huttenlocher Lecture at the @fluxsociety.bsky.social conference. Over the past year, I’ve been writing it into a paper:
The developing adolescent brain: Implications for youth justice and children in criminal proceedings
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The developing adolescent brain: Implications for youth justice and children in criminal proceedings
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I am oh so happy to share that my K99/R00 "Linking Adolescent Environmental Enrichment to Association Cortex Plasticity and Psychiatric Resiliency" was awarded by the NIMH!
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
September 2, 2026 at 11:54 AM
I am oh so happy to share that my K99/R00 "Linking Adolescent Environmental Enrichment to Association Cortex Plasticity and Psychiatric Resiliency" was awarded by the NIMH!
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
And with that, I am on the job market! I can't wait to find the home of my future lab.
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Thrilled to share that this work is now published in Nature Human Behavior!!! 🥳🎉 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
September 1, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Thrilled to share that this work is now published in Nature Human Behavior!!! 🥳🎉 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
#TWiNPP
In this Hot Topics article, highlighting environmental enrichment as a promising yet underutilized approach for promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan @valeriejsydnor.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In this Hot Topics article, highlighting environmental enrichment as a promising yet underutilized approach for promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan @valeriejsydnor.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Environmental enrichment as a tractable approach to promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Environmental enrichment as a tractable approach to promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan
www.nature.com
July 21, 2026 at 2:23 PM
#TWiNPP
In this Hot Topics article, highlighting environmental enrichment as a promising yet underutilized approach for promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan @valeriejsydnor.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In this Hot Topics article, highlighting environmental enrichment as a promising yet underutilized approach for promoting psychiatric resilience across the lifespan @valeriejsydnor.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Incredibly cool science from @kara-mcgaughey.bsky.social on neural contributors to flexible decision making in the context of environmental uncertainty. I love this work!
New paper from my PhD out in @elife.bsky.social! 🎉
We asked: when the state of the world is changing, how does the brain adjust how much incoming evidence is accumulated? Turns out there isn't one answer—there are (at least) two. 🧵
We asked: when the state of the world is changing, how does the brain adjust how much incoming evidence is accumulated? Turns out there isn't one answer—there are (at least) two. 🧵
August 13, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Incredibly cool science from @kara-mcgaughey.bsky.social on neural contributors to flexible decision making in the context of environmental uncertainty. I love this work!
I am very happy for the opportunity to attend my first ACNP as a travel awardee. Looking forward to science, symposia, socializing, and San Diego sun!
A major thank you to the selection committee!
A major thank you to the selection committee!
Please join us in Congratulating the 2026 ACNP Travel Award Class! 👏🤩 Click Here ➡️ tinyurl.com/5bzaz8va for more information on Travel Awards. 📝
August 11, 2026 at 2:12 PM
I am very happy for the opportunity to attend my first ACNP as a travel awardee. Looking forward to science, symposia, socializing, and San Diego sun!
A major thank you to the selection committee!
A major thank you to the selection committee!
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
The brain’s sensorimotor-association axis may emerge as a result of competing sets of genetic blueprints—a dynamic process described in a paper published this month.
By Holly Barker
www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/cor...
By Holly Barker
www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/cor...
Cortical territories compete in developmental space race
Sensory and association regions are established through a reciprocal process, according to a new model of cortical development.
www.thetransmitter.org
July 30, 2026 at 3:36 PM
The brain’s sensorimotor-association axis may emerge as a result of competing sets of genetic blueprints—a dynamic process described in a paper published this month.
By Holly Barker
www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/cor...
By Holly Barker
www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/cor...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
What does synapse position buy a neuron? We trained a dendritic network to place its own synapses on a covariance task. It clustered correlated inputs onto shared branches, and shuffling that placement destroyed performance while every weight stayed intact.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.24503
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Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.24503
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Synaptic clustering emerges from learning and supports covariance discrimination
Functional synapse clusters (FSCs) are synapses with correlated presynaptic activity that are colocalized on the same neuronal dendritic branch. FSCs have been observed after learning in cortical and ...
arxiv.org
July 31, 2026 at 7:27 PM
What does synapse position buy a neuron? We trained a dendritic network to place its own synapses on a covariance task. It clustered correlated inputs onto shared branches, and shuffling that placement destroyed performance while every weight stayed intact.
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.24503
🧵-->
Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.24503
🧵-->
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Interesting finding that rats have a disproportionate expansion of deep cortical layers when compared to other mammalian species - an output of extended duration in deep-layer neurogenesis, mediated by prolonged canonical WNT activity - link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Interspecific diversity in the neuronal composition of the mammalian cortex arises from heterochrony in neurogenesis - The EMBO Journal
Mammals share a laminar cerebral cortex, with excitatory neuron subtypes organized in distinct layers. Although this framework is conserved, subtype balance varies markedly between species due to larg...
link.springer.com
August 3, 2026 at 9:59 AM
Interesting finding that rats have a disproportionate expansion of deep cortical layers when compared to other mammalian species - an output of extended duration in deep-layer neurogenesis, mediated by prolonged canonical WNT activity - link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Excited to share the lab's latest on leveraging what we're learning from developmental neuroscience about the role of parents in children's anxiety to optimize treatments for youth! Led by Elizabeth Kitt and now out in @natmentalhealth.nature.com 🧠 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
July 31, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Excited to share the lab's latest on leveraging what we're learning from developmental neuroscience about the role of parents in children's anxiety to optimize treatments for youth! Led by Elizabeth Kitt and now out in @natmentalhealth.nature.com 🧠 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Excellent science by @johnalexandra.bsky.social defining principles of thalamocortical connectivity development from a thalamic nucleus perspective! 🤩
Our new study, led by the amazing
@alex john asks how thalamic nuclei mature differently across childhood and adolescence, and how structural and functional development are linked.
doi.org/10.64898/202...
@alex john asks how thalamic nuclei mature differently across childhood and adolescence, and how structural and functional development are linked.
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Nucleus-level thalamic organization anchors multimodal signatures of thalamocortical maturation
The human thalamus is composed of multiple nuclei that differ in structure and function. From early development onwards, these nuclei form reciprocal, nucleus-specific connections with the cerebral co...
doi.org
July 27, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Excellent science by @johnalexandra.bsky.social defining principles of thalamocortical connectivity development from a thalamic nucleus perspective! 🤩
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
July is many things but also preprint month, this time with another dive into non-isocortex territory 🤿.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Selective convergence and graded divergence of hippocampal and amygdala subregions using functional connectivity
The hippocampus and amygdala are neighboring medial temporal lobe structures linked to memory and affect, yet how their subregions are jointly embedded within distributed isocortical systems remains u...
www.biorxiv.org
July 7, 2026 at 6:29 PM
July is many things but also preprint month, this time with another dive into non-isocortex territory 🤿.
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
🧠 New preprint!
How does the brain build specialized, efficient representations as we grow up? We used manifold learning to track the "intrinsic dimensionality" (ID) of brain activity in ~800 participants (aged 3mo–53yrs), as they performed naturalistic tasks and rested/slept.
How does the brain build specialized, efficient representations as we grow up? We used manifold learning to track the "intrinsic dimensionality" (ID) of brain activity in ~800 participants (aged 3mo–53yrs), as they performed naturalistic tasks and rested/slept.
July 27, 2026 at 1:03 PM
🧠 New preprint!
How does the brain build specialized, efficient representations as we grow up? We used manifold learning to track the "intrinsic dimensionality" (ID) of brain activity in ~800 participants (aged 3mo–53yrs), as they performed naturalistic tasks and rested/slept.
How does the brain build specialized, efficient representations as we grow up? We used manifold learning to track the "intrinsic dimensionality" (ID) of brain activity in ~800 participants (aged 3mo–53yrs), as they performed naturalistic tasks and rested/slept.
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
In this new preprint, @jocelynricard.bsky.social argues for a more intentional and principled approach to the measurement of neighborhood-level effects on brain development. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Area-level context and functional brain organization across the lifespan
The neighborhoods children grow up in are associated with cognitive and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. Yet how neighborhood-level factors are quantified, and how they relate to large-scal...
www.biorxiv.org
July 23, 2026 at 1:13 PM
In this new preprint, @jocelynricard.bsky.social argues for a more intentional and principled approach to the measurement of neighborhood-level effects on brain development. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
**Please repost** If you're enjoying Paper Skygest -- our personalized feed of academic content on Bluesky -- we'd appreciate you reposting this! We’ve found that the most effective way for us to reach new users and communities is through users sharing it with their network
August 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
**Please repost** If you're enjoying Paper Skygest -- our personalized feed of academic content on Bluesky -- we'd appreciate you reposting this! We’ve found that the most effective way for us to reach new users and communities is through users sharing it with their network
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Study in 30,000 kids shows that unpredictable early-life experience is a potent Adverse Childhood Event www.nature.com/articles/s44.... Just dropped in Nature MH, with an amazing team. 🧪🧠 And unpredictability is actionable! would love your thoughts. @cate-cholamine.bsky.social @drkoraly.bsky.social
Unpredictability is a childhood adversity that contributes to mental health problems - Nature Mental Health
In this population-based cohort study, Glynn et al. tested the contribution of childhood unpredictability to mental health outcomes in ~30,000 participants, examining the relative and additive roles o...
www.nature.com
July 21, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Study in 30,000 kids shows that unpredictable early-life experience is a potent Adverse Childhood Event www.nature.com/articles/s44.... Just dropped in Nature MH, with an amazing team. 🧪🧠 And unpredictability is actionable! would love your thoughts. @cate-cholamine.bsky.social @drkoraly.bsky.social
Environmental enrichment has positive neurobehavioral effects in rodents, yet is vaguely operationalized & understudied in humans. In our @npp-journal.bsky.social Hot Topic, we outline how human enrichment research may translate into approaches to fostering psychiatric resilience rdcu.be/ftwpC
July 21, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Environmental enrichment has positive neurobehavioral effects in rodents, yet is vaguely operationalized & understudied in humans. In our @npp-journal.bsky.social Hot Topic, we outline how human enrichment research may translate into approaches to fostering psychiatric resilience rdcu.be/ftwpC
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
A great new resource for future comparisons across model systems, species, and disease states, on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: a consensus atlas of human brain development, identifying cell type-specific maturation trajectories across the lifespan
🧪🧬🧠📈
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧬🧠📈
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A consensus atlas of human brain development defines cell type-specific maturation trajectories across the lifespan
Human neurodevelopment is a continuous process that begins prenatally and extends into postnatal life. Current transcriptomic datasets are limited, fragmented across analytical frameworks, precluding ...
www.biorxiv.org
July 18, 2026 at 7:17 AM
A great new resource for future comparisons across model systems, species, and disease states, on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: a consensus atlas of human brain development, identifying cell type-specific maturation trajectories across the lifespan
🧪🧬🧠📈
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧬🧠📈
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
What happens in your brain when you are under general anesthetic? A recent @nature.com paper reports that the human hippocampus is still responding to, predicting, and learning auditory stimuli and speech www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Plasticity and language in the anaesthetized human hippocampus - Nature
In the hippocampus, complex processing of sensory stimuli occurs even in the unconscious state.
www.nature.com
July 6, 2026 at 6:56 PM
What happens in your brain when you are under general anesthetic? A recent @nature.com paper reports that the human hippocampus is still responding to, predicting, and learning auditory stimuli and speech www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
I have always believed that ideas from basic systems neuroscience could eventually help people. But for years that felt more like hope than reality.
But look! This is one of the most personally satisfying papers my lab has produced because we’re getting there. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧵 1/
But look! This is one of the most personally satisfying papers my lab has produced because we’re getting there. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧵 1/
July 6, 2026 at 12:15 PM
I have always believed that ideas from basic systems neuroscience could eventually help people. But for years that felt more like hope than reality.
But look! This is one of the most personally satisfying papers my lab has produced because we’re getting there. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧵 1/
But look! This is one of the most personally satisfying papers my lab has produced because we’re getting there. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧪🧵 1/
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
New preprint! We show low arousal states promote hippocampal ripple genesis in sleep and wake.
This bridges rodent work, where ripples predominate during sleep, with human studies reporting ripples during active behavior, identifying low arousal as a common mechanism
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
This bridges rodent work, where ripples predominate during sleep, with human studies reporting ripples during active behavior, identifying low arousal as a common mechanism
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Arousal state modulates human hippocampal ripples
Hippocampal ripples are transient, high-frequency oscillations linked to memory replay and consolidation. Ripples are well-characterized in rodents to occur during periods of behavioral inactivity (i....
www.biorxiv.org
June 29, 2026 at 11:50 AM
New preprint! We show low arousal states promote hippocampal ripple genesis in sleep and wake.
This bridges rodent work, where ripples predominate during sleep, with human studies reporting ripples during active behavior, identifying low arousal as a common mechanism
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
This bridges rodent work, where ripples predominate during sleep, with human studies reporting ripples during active behavior, identifying low arousal as a common mechanism
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
More reporting from @maxkozlov.bsky.social on the political screening process that is slowing public investment in science to a crawl www.nature.com/articles/d41...
June 27, 2026 at 12:38 PM
More reporting from @maxkozlov.bsky.social on the political screening process that is slowing public investment in science to a crawl www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
Socioeconomic Status and Subdivisions of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in Children and Adolescents www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
June 26, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Socioeconomic Status and Subdivisions of the Amygdala and Hippocampus in Children and Adolescents www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
In our latest episode, Dr. Beatriz Luna explains how adolescent brain development drives impulsivity, risk-taking, and independence—and what this means for teen mental health and support.
🎧 Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/4Udn...
🎧 Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/4Udn...
December 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
In our latest episode, Dr. Beatriz Luna explains how adolescent brain development drives impulsivity, risk-taking, and independence—and what this means for teen mental health and support.
🎧 Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/4Udn...
🎧 Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/4Udn...
Reposted by Valerie Jill Sydnor
New work on the effects of psychedelics on hierarchical cortical propagations out in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Counter to our expectations, psychedelics attenuated bottom-up propagations into the Default Mode Network across substances and species. Thread below:
Counter to our expectations, psychedelics attenuated bottom-up propagations into the Default Mode Network across substances and species. Thread below:
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
June 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM
New work on the effects of psychedelics on hierarchical cortical propagations out in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Counter to our expectations, psychedelics attenuated bottom-up propagations into the Default Mode Network across substances and species. Thread below:
Counter to our expectations, psychedelics attenuated bottom-up propagations into the Default Mode Network across substances and species. Thread below: