Tim Viney
@vineytj.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford.
Research Fellow, Wolfson College, Oxford.
Spatial memory, cell types, amyloids, dementia, brain rhythms.
Papers: https://tinyurl.com/5yarxuf3
Research Fellow, Wolfson College, Oxford.
Spatial memory, cell types, amyloids, dementia, brain rhythms.
Papers: https://tinyurl.com/5yarxuf3
In case you are interested in learning how to record and label head direction cells, read our protocol article, online now:
@shanjiang.bsky.social et al.
Protocol for identifying HD cells in mice using in vivo extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labeling
www.cell.com/star-protoco...
@shanjiang.bsky.social et al.
Protocol for identifying HD cells in mice using in vivo extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labeling
www.cell.com/star-protoco...
Protocol for identifying head direction cells in mice using in vivo extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labeling
Head direction (HD) cells are required for spatial orientation. Protocols that combine
functional identification with anatomical recovery of single HD neurons remain technically
demanding. We present ...
www.cell.com
September 16, 2026 at 8:25 PM
In case you are interested in learning how to record and label head direction cells, read our protocol article, online now:
@shanjiang.bsky.social et al.
Protocol for identifying HD cells in mice using in vivo extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labeling
www.cell.com/star-protoco...
@shanjiang.bsky.social et al.
Protocol for identifying HD cells in mice using in vivo extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labeling
www.cell.com/star-protoco...
Reposted by Tim Viney
An acortical mouse — born without hippocampus and most of its neocortex — learns the Manhattan Maze: a 30× improvement in 5 hours, 18 rewards!
Now a question for everyone: How can an acortical brain do this? Leave a comment!
Preprint w/
@mameister4.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Now a question for everyone: How can an acortical brain do this? Leave a comment!
Preprint w/
@mameister4.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 10, 2026 at 4:26 PM
An acortical mouse — born without hippocampus and most of its neocortex — learns the Manhattan Maze: a 30× improvement in 5 hours, 18 rewards!
Now a question for everyone: How can an acortical brain do this? Leave a comment!
Preprint w/
@mameister4.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Now a question for everyone: How can an acortical brain do this? Leave a comment!
Preprint w/
@mameister4.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Tim Viney
The hippocampal CA3 region may not be one uniform network after all. A new preprint identifies two distinct populations of pyramidal neurons, offering a new framework for understanding how memory circuits are organized. #neuroskyence
By Alissa de Chassey
www.thetransmitter.org/memory/textb...
By Alissa de Chassey
www.thetransmitter.org/memory/textb...
Study reveals hidden diversity in hippocampal CA3
A new preprint identifies two distinct populations of CA3 neurons, challenging the view that the hippocampal region is a single network.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM
The hippocampal CA3 region may not be one uniform network after all. A new preprint identifies two distinct populations of pyramidal neurons, offering a new framework for understanding how memory circuits are organized. #neuroskyence
By Alissa de Chassey
www.thetransmitter.org/memory/textb...
By Alissa de Chassey
www.thetransmitter.org/memory/textb...
Reposted by Tim Viney
Researchers in Dept. of Pharmacology have created a short animation to help newly diagnosed families understand Niemann-Pick diseases, and connect them with support organisations worldwide.
Multilingual versions available.
View the animation➡️ https://plattlab.nsms.ox.ac.uk/npc-diseases-english/
Multilingual versions available.
View the animation➡️ https://plattlab.nsms.ox.ac.uk/npc-diseases-english/
August 4, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Researchers in Dept. of Pharmacology have created a short animation to help newly diagnosed families understand Niemann-Pick diseases, and connect them with support organisations worldwide.
Multilingual versions available.
View the animation➡️ https://plattlab.nsms.ox.ac.uk/npc-diseases-english/
Multilingual versions available.
View the animation➡️ https://plattlab.nsms.ox.ac.uk/npc-diseases-english/
Reposted by Tim Viney
We're hiring!
Looking for a postdoc interested in circuit mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.
#postdoc #neuroscience #alzheimers #dementia #neurodegeneration #electrophysiologist #systemsneuroscience #postdocjobs #invivo #mousemodel #newyork
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...
Looking for a postdoc interested in circuit mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.
#postdoc #neuroscience #alzheimers #dementia #neurodegeneration #electrophysiologist #systemsneuroscience #postdocjobs #invivo #mousemodel #newyork
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...
Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. hiring Research Scientist I - Center for Dementia Research in Orangeburg, NY | LinkedIn
Posted 12:00:00 AM. Job DescriptionDr. Abid Hussaini is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Scientist to…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
August 2, 2026 at 9:36 PM
We're hiring!
Looking for a postdoc interested in circuit mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.
#postdoc #neuroscience #alzheimers #dementia #neurodegeneration #electrophysiologist #systemsneuroscience #postdocjobs #invivo #mousemodel #newyork
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...
Looking for a postdoc interested in circuit mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.
#postdoc #neuroscience #alzheimers #dementia #neurodegeneration #electrophysiologist #systemsneuroscience #postdocjobs #invivo #mousemodel #newyork
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...
Reposted by Tim Viney
Sensing your body (‘Interoception’) is everywhere in theories of mental health.
But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣
🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣
🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
July 23, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Sensing your body (‘Interoception’) is everywhere in theories of mental health.
But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣
🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
But when we tested how well hundreds of people sensed their heart and lungs, the link to symptoms was almost nowhere to be found. 💣
🚨New @natmentalhealth.nature.com paper 🚨🎉 asks why 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Tim Viney
MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86
news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro...
#neuroscience
news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro...
#neuroscience
MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86
Susumu Tonegawa, a renowned MIT professor of biology and neuroscience and a Nobel laureate, has died at the age of 86. His discovery of how the immune system generates many different antibodies earned...
news.mit.edu
July 15, 2026 at 9:32 PM
MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86
news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro...
#neuroscience
news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro...
#neuroscience
Brain cells critical for mouse navigation found to be highly specialised
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06...
@oxneuro.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06...
@oxneuro.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk
June 10, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Brain cells critical for mouse navigation found to be highly specialised
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06...
@oxneuro.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-06...
@oxneuro.bsky.social @medsci.ox.ac.uk
New paper out in Current Biology.
We define thalamic head direction (HD) cells based on the combination of neurochemical identity, physiology, sensorimotor responses, and connectivity, suggesting cell types.
Great work led by Sara Hijazi and Shan Jiang from the lab.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
We define thalamic head direction (HD) cells based on the combination of neurochemical identity, physiology, sensorimotor responses, and connectivity, suggesting cell types.
Great work led by Sara Hijazi and Shan Jiang from the lab.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Diversity and sensorimotor specialization of head direction cells in the mouse thalamus
Hijazi and Jiang et al. identify distinct head direction (HD) cell subpopulations
in the mouse anterodorsal thalamic nucleus, based on the combination of firing patterns,
connectivity, and neurochemic...
www.cell.com
June 10, 2026 at 10:23 PM
New paper out in Current Biology.
We define thalamic head direction (HD) cells based on the combination of neurochemical identity, physiology, sensorimotor responses, and connectivity, suggesting cell types.
Great work led by Sara Hijazi and Shan Jiang from the lab.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
We define thalamic head direction (HD) cells based on the combination of neurochemical identity, physiology, sensorimotor responses, and connectivity, suggesting cell types.
Great work led by Sara Hijazi and Shan Jiang from the lab.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Tim Viney
Thalamic recordings show a rhythm that’s strong in wake and REM and absent in deep sleep: An electrophysiological signature of conscious states.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
Thalamic oscillations distinguish natural states of consciousness in humans - Nature Human Behaviour
Chowdhury et al. report the discovery of a 19–45-Hz thalamic oscillation that is present during human wakefulness and REM sleep, but not NREM sleep.
www.nature.com
May 28, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Thalamic recordings show a rhythm that’s strong in wake and REM and absent in deep sleep: An electrophysiological signature of conscious states.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
I don't know how many people see this when they look at trees during the winter, but mistletoe always reminds me of amyloid plaques - mistletoe is a parasite and each 'plaque' can vary in size. This is how I think of the 3D structure of amyloid plaques in the brain
February 10, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I don't know how many people see this when they look at trees during the winter, but mistletoe always reminds me of amyloid plaques - mistletoe is a parasite and each 'plaque' can vary in size. This is how I think of the 3D structure of amyloid plaques in the brain
Reposted by Tim Viney
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting roughly 50 million people around the world.
Researchers at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated ⬇️
#InternationalEpilepsyDay
Researchers at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated ⬇️
#InternationalEpilepsyDay
Epilepsy and the brain
Experts at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated, as well as promoting awareness of the condition to reduce stigma and improve quality of life for people with epil...
www.ox.ac.uk
February 9, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting roughly 50 million people around the world.
Researchers at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated ⬇️
#InternationalEpilepsyDay
Researchers at Oxford are looking at how epilepsy can be prevented, diagnosed and treated ⬇️
#InternationalEpilepsyDay
Reposted by Tim Viney
Now online! Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2
Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2
Peripheral cancer inhibits amyloid pathology and rescues cognition of Alzheimer’s disease through secretion of cystatin-c (Cyst-C), which binds amyloid oligomers and activates TREM2 in microglia and enables microglia to degrade pre-existing plaques.
dlvr.it
January 23, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Now online! Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2
Reposted by Tim Viney
Coincidence of thalamic HD signal and retrosplenial visual input is detected in the Presubiculum! 🎯 This may be the neuronal basis for landmark anchoring of the HD signal. Pleased to announce the VOR is now available elifesciences.org/articles/92443 Congrats first author Louis Richevaux 🙌
Projection-specific integration of convergent thalamic and retrosplenial signals in the presubicular head direction cortex
Nonlinear dendritic integration in single presubicular neurons provides a mechanism for combining vestibular-based head-direction signals and visual landmark signals to anchor the brain’s internal com...
elifesciences.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Coincidence of thalamic HD signal and retrosplenial visual input is detected in the Presubiculum! 🎯 This may be the neuronal basis for landmark anchoring of the HD signal. Pleased to announce the VOR is now available elifesciences.org/articles/92443 Congrats first author Louis Richevaux 🙌
Reposted by Tim Viney
1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Moon halo (22°) tonight in UK. Apparently this illusion is created by millions of hexagonal ice crystals in upper atmosphere
December 3, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Moon halo (22°) tonight in UK. Apparently this illusion is created by millions of hexagonal ice crystals in upper atmosphere
***Publication alert***
"Pathological tau alters head direction signaling and induces spatial orientation"
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Pathological tau alters head direction signaling and induces spatial orientation"
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
November 21, 2025 at 11:59 PM
***Publication alert***
"Pathological tau alters head direction signaling and induces spatial orientation"
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
"Pathological tau alters head direction signaling and induces spatial orientation"
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposting some comments via the Science Media Centre on the UK government's ambition of phasing out animal testing in the UK.
I think it is important for scientists to explain to policymakers and the public about pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics - complex interactions between drugs and the body
I think it is important for scientists to explain to policymakers and the public about pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics - complex interactions between drugs and the body
expert reaction to Government strategy on animal testing and new alternative methods
www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react...
www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-react...
expert reaction to Government strategy on animal testing and new alternative methods | Science Media Centre
Scientists comment on a new Government strategy on animal testing in the UK. Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost for Research and Enterprise at Imperial College London, said: “New technologies are…
www.sciencemediacentre.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposting some comments via the Science Media Centre on the UK government's ambition of phasing out animal testing in the UK.
I think it is important for scientists to explain to policymakers and the public about pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics - complex interactions between drugs and the body
I think it is important for scientists to explain to policymakers and the public about pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics - complex interactions between drugs and the body
Reposted by Tim Viney
This is really interesting. These bacteria form biofilms, which are essentially amyloids
Strep ❤️
Viridans streptococci DNA found in ~42% of coronary plaques, forming biofilms ignored by macrophages
Once fragments escape, TLR2 senses them—potentially triggering an inflammatory response that disrupts plaque stability and increases heart attack risk
www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...
Viridans streptococci DNA found in ~42% of coronary plaques, forming biofilms ignored by macrophages
Once fragments escape, TLR2 senses them—potentially triggering an inflammatory response that disrupts plaque stability and increases heart attack risk
www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...
October 24, 2025 at 5:25 PM
This is really interesting. These bacteria form biofilms, which are essentially amyloids
Reposted by Tim Viney
New blogpost on my concerns about Wellcome LEAP new $50m program on autism/microbiome links. deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-le...
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
A LEAP into the future, or off a cliff: Wellcome LEAP's new $50M program
A few days ago, I saw this post on LinkedIn: How does the gut microbiome shape early brain development? That’s what FORM, a new $50 million...
deevybee.blogspot.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New blogpost on my concerns about Wellcome LEAP new $50m program on autism/microbiome links. deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-le...
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
This is a strange and surprising finding. Need to study the electron micrographs in the suppl material carefully (without the colourful shading) to learn more. Note that neurons can have cilia, I wonder if this is what they have detected e.g. recent review here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
Nanotubes everywhere between neurons! A bit skeptical about these "dendrite-dendrite nanotubes" from a phalloidin staining in culture, but let's read on… www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 8, 2025 at 8:21 AM
This is a strange and surprising finding. Need to study the electron micrographs in the suppl material carefully (without the colourful shading) to learn more. Note that neurons can have cilia, I wonder if this is what they have detected e.g. recent review here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...
After many months of work on the revision, we have a paper accepted today (pending minor revisions). Also had a paper rejected at the same time (but going to ignore this email for today!)
October 2, 2025 at 6:51 PM
After many months of work on the revision, we have a paper accepted today (pending minor revisions). Also had a paper rejected at the same time (but going to ignore this email for today!)
Reposted by Tim Viney
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91
Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour
The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said.
The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had passed away of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91