Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
minelarinel.bsky.social
Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
@minelarinel.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Tye Lab at Salk Institute | #BiInSci | she/her 🇹🇷🌈🧠
Pinned
My PhD paper (and my first research article👀) is out in
@cp-iscience.bsky.social!🎉
Is gut-brain communication present in early development, and if so, how are these signals encoded in the brain? We tackled this question using larval zebrafish 🐟
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Gut distension evokes rapid neural dynamics in vagal and hindbrain populations of larval zebrafish
Interoception; Gut-brain; Calcium imaging; Zebrafish
www.cell.com
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Congratulations Minel Arinel @minelarinel.bsky.social and the Naumann lab at Duke for this epic work on development of gut-brain communication!
My PhD paper (and my first research article👀) is out in
@cp-iscience.bsky.social!🎉
Is gut-brain communication present in early development, and if so, how are these signals encoded in the brain? We tackled this question using larval zebrafish 🐟
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Gut distension evokes rapid neural dynamics in vagal and hindbrain populations of larval zebrafish
Interoception; Gut-brain; Calcium imaging; Zebrafish
www.cell.com
June 25, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Fintastic thread on cool paper 😎
My PhD paper (and my first research article👀) is out in
@cp-iscience.bsky.social!🎉
Is gut-brain communication present in early development, and if so, how are these signals encoded in the brain? We tackled this question using larval zebrafish 🐟
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Gut distension evokes rapid neural dynamics in vagal and hindbrain populations of larval zebrafish
Interoception; Gut-brain; Calcium imaging; Zebrafish
www.cell.com
June 19, 2026 at 7:34 PM
My PhD paper (and my first research article👀) is out in
@cp-iscience.bsky.social!🎉
Is gut-brain communication present in early development, and if so, how are these signals encoded in the brain? We tackled this question using larval zebrafish 🐟
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Gut distension evokes rapid neural dynamics in vagal and hindbrain populations of larval zebrafish
Interoception; Gut-brain; Calcium imaging; Zebrafish
www.cell.com
June 18, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
New paper hot off the (pre-)press! We dig into the evolutionary origins of neural computations for behavioral control across mice, monkeys, and humans: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6....

As our lab's first foray into comparative analysis of neural dynamics, I’m super excited about this work! 1/18
March 10, 2026 at 5:43 PM
one last PhD poster in the city where my next adventure starts… see you soon SD 🌊💙 #SfN25 @sfn.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Wonderful news! Congrats, Dr. Arinel 🎉 #PhDone
I’m officially Dr. Minel Arinel!! Grateful for every person who got me here, family, friends, mentors, and the zebrafish who made it all possible 🐟✨
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I’m officially Dr. Minel Arinel!! Grateful for every person who got me here, family, friends, mentors, and the zebrafish who made it all possible 🐟✨
November 15, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I'm excited (and a little emotional) to be giving my PhD dissertation seminar as I wrap up my time in the Duke Neurobiology program 🧠🐟

📅 Monday, Nov 10 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time
📍 Bryan Research Building, Room 103

If you'd like to attend virtually, please feel free to DM me for the Zoom link! ✨
November 3, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Just found out I received the @sfn.org #TPDA Trainee Professional Development Award FOR THE SECOND TIME!! 🧠🎉 Grateful for the continued support and excited to connect with the neuroscience community at #SfN25!
August 16, 2025 at 9:24 PM
August 10, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
@natrevneuro.nature.com just published a beautiful cover for the issue that includes the recent review on analogies in the visual system of vertebrates and invertebrates (@ryosuketanaka.bsky.social). Read it here doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Science and Art, what could be better?
July 23, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Gut stretch evokes rapid neural dynamics in vagal and hindbrain populations of larval zebrafish https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.21.665834v1
July 22, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
These AWIS members have learned that listening is a crucial skill for leaders. Read their stories and be inspired to truly hear those around you. buff.ly/zvPhbEX #WomenInSTEM
July 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Grateful to be featured in the @awisnational.bsky.social Member Spotlight and their recent piece on Listening and Leadership. Honored to share space with so many brilliant women in STEM 💙

🔗 Member Spotlight: awis.org/project/awis...
🔗 Listening and Leadership feature: awis.org/resource/lis...
AWIS Member Spotlight: Minel Arinel
Minel Arinel is a sixth-year PhD student in Neurobiology at Duke University, passionate about developing alternative therapeutics for psychiatric disorders.
awis.org
July 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
✨ New publication! ✨

Our mini-review on the #gut-brain and #heart-brain axes in #reward processing is out in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience! 🧠

We dig into how body-to-brain signals shape emotion and motivation and why it matters for mental health.

Read it here:
🔗 doi.org/10.3389/fnin...
Frontiers | The gut and heart’s role in reward processing
Reward processing, which ensures survival, has evolved to also shape emotions, learning, and overall well-being. While traditional models of reward have focu...
doi.org
July 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Whole-brain, all-optical interrogation of neuronal dynamics underlying gut interoception in zebrafish https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.26.645305v1
March 31, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Research is investigating the medicinal applications of #psilocybin, with studies showing how #psychedelics can promote neuronal plasticity.

This ‘fundamental’ study into the effects of #psilocin on human neurons: buff.ly/f7cNemV
March 23, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Scripps Research scientists have created a diAcCA, a stabilized form of carnosic acid—an antioxidant in rosemary and sage—potentially improving memory, fortifying neuronal connections & reducing brain inflammation— a promising therapeutic for Alzheimer’s.
Compound found in common herbs inspires potential anti-inflammatory drug for Alzheimer’s disease
ow.ly
March 18, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Danio derives from the Bengali word “Dhani,” which translates to “of the rice fields.” #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
March 15, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
Proud to have contributed to @jiaxuanqi.bsky.social's masterpiece out @nature.com! She shows that dopamine transients track the learned quality of song during juvenile learning and that dopamine release is driven not just by VTA firing, but by a local cholinergic mechanism! (1/x)
Dual neuromodulatory dynamics underlie birdsong learning - Nature
Dopamine release in the basal ganglia of the zebra finch is driven by neurons associated with reinforcement learning and by cholinergic signalling, and tracks performance quality during long-term lear...
www.nature.com
March 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Super excited to share that my abstract got selected for a short talk at the @keystonesymposia.bsky.social on Interoception! Can't wait to visit Seattle and the @alleninstitute.bsky.social for the first time! #KSInteroception25
March 8, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
From octopuses to snails, the complicated molluscan family tree has now been mapped in unprecedented detail, researchers report in Science.

This includes sequences for 13 new complete genomes from across the phylum. scim.ag/3DrGAkg
A genome-based phylogeny for Mollusca is concordant with fossils and morphology
Extreme morphological disparity within Mollusca has long confounded efforts to reconstruct a stable backbone phylogeny for the phylum. Familiar molluscan groups—gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods—e...
scim.ag
March 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
PRESS RELEASE @ericjnestler.bsky.social @yizhoudonglab.bsky.social et al. have developed a lipid nanoparticle system capable of delivering mRNA to brain via intravenous injection, a challenge that has long been limited by the protective nature of the #BloodBrainBarrier mountsinai.org/about/newsro...
February 19, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
A paper in Nature Methods presents Segment Anything for Microscopy, a tool for segmentation and tracking in multidimensional microscopy data. https://go.nature.com/3QiRonW
February 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by Minel Arinel, Ph.D.
🧠🍽️ Satiety neurons that make you crave sugar? 🍬 New research shows that POMC neurons, typically linked to appetite suppression, release opioids in the thalamus, flipping the switch to increase sugar intake.

#neuroskyence 🧪 #appetite
Thalamic opioids from POMC satiety neurons switch on sugar appetite
High sugar–containing foods are readily consumed, even after meals and beyond fullness sensation (e.g., as desserts). Although reward-driven processing of palatable foods can promote overeating, the n...
www.science.org
February 16, 2025 at 7:20 AM