Chris Baker
Cognitive neuroscientist interested in high level vision (faces, scenes etc.), learning and plasticity. All views are my own.
- Reposted by Chris BakerPostdoc position to work on neuroimaging methods with @fmri-today.bsky.social (and me) fim.nimh.nih.gov/positions-av...
- Reposted by Chris BakerIt won't actually exist for another month or so, but because it now 'exists' on amazon, I'll humbly observe that, after working through this book, your student/trainee would be able to read and understand all but two or three papers in this week's J. Neurosci. Check it out:
- Reposted by Chris BakerI have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15). werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
- Reposted by Chris BakerI finally got around to setting up a lab website! Have a look: the-steel-lab.github.io Just in time to start the new semester.
- Reposted by Chris Baker🔥Design the next #VSS2026 T-shirt! Show off your creativity & win $500 + recognition at the meeting. Deadline: Jan 15, 2026 → www.visionsciences.org/2026-graphic...
- Reposted by Chris Baker
[This post could not be retrieved] - Reposted by Chris BakerNow out in #JNeurosci -- we found changes in medial parietal cortex after manual exploration of everyday real-world objects doi.org/10.1523/JNEU... with Beth Rispoli, Vinai Roopchansingh & @cibaker.bsky.social
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew preprint w/ Malin Styrnal & @martinhebart.bsky.social Have you ever computed noise ceilings to understand how well a model performs? We wrote a clarifying note on a subtle and common misapplication that can make models appear quite a lot better than they are. osf.io/preprints/ps...
- Reposted by Chris BakerInvestigating individual-specific topographic organization has traditionally been a resource-intensive and time-consuming process. But what if we could map visual cortex organization in thousands of brains? Here we offer the community with a toolbox that can do just that! tinyurl.com/deepretinotopy
- Reposted by Chris BakerIs the “standard workflow” holding back fMRI analysis? Mass-univariate analysis is still the bread-and-butter: intuitive, fast… and chronically overfitted. Add harsh multiple-comparison penalties, and we patch the workflow with statistical band-aids. No wonder the stringency debates never die.
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew paper (and thread) on the representational dynamics of the main dimensions of object space: jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx... 1/n
- Reposted by Chris BakerNoise ceilings are really useful: You can estimate the reliability of your data and get an index of how well your model can possibly perform given the noise in the data. But, contrary to what you may think, noise ceilings do not provide an absolute index of data quality. Let's dive into why. 🧵
- Reposted by Chris BakerI’ll soon(ish) post an ad for a postdoc position in my lab to study individual differences in brain plasticity following blindness or deafness, with a start date of spring/summer 2026. Feel free to email me if you’re interested.
- Reposted by Chris Baker🌏 Come spend some time with us in Sydney! 🇦🇺 @marcsinstitute.bsky.social is offering International Visiting Scholarships for PhD students + postdocs. Spend 1–3 months collaborating, exploring ideas, and building connections. 📅 Apply by 4 Dec 📍 Sydney, Australia Curious or keen? DM or email me
- Reposted by Chris BakerPlease repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026. The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social. Please apply here until Nov 25: www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
- Reposted by Chris Baker📣 New preprint by a stellar team 🤩 I’m most excited by “phase III” in the alignment time course, which is best captured by mid-layers of temporally integrating video models! While we do not directly compare with image-EEG (yet - will do so in the #VIDI) I suspect this is unique to video vision 🎥🔥
- 📢 New preprint, together with @sargechris.bsky.social! Building on @sargechris.bsky.social's previous work, we benchmark 100+ image and video models 🤖 on brain representational alignment, this time to EEG data of humans 🧠 watching videos! 🧵⬇️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Chris BakerMichael X Cohen on why he left academia/neuroscience. mikexcohen.substack.com/p/why-i-left...
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew paper alert! 🚨 We show that age-related neural dedifferentiation in scene-selective cortex is tied to changes in eye movements. Using simultaneous fMRI + eye-tracking, we found that younger adults’ fixations covary with scene specificity, but this link weakens with age. Link in post below 👇
- Reposted by Chris Baker🧠 New preprint: Why do deep neural networks predict brain responses so well? We find a striking dissociation: it’s not shared object recognition. Alignment is driven by sensitivity to texture-like local statistics. 📊 Study: n=57, 624k trials, 5 models doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Happy to hear any and all feedback on our discussion article! So much fun to work with this amazing set of authors :)
- Our target discussion article out in Cognitive Neuroscience! It will be followed by peer commentary and our responses. If you would like to write a commentary, please reach out to the journal! 1/18 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... @cibaker.bsky.social @susanwardle.bsky.social
- Reposted by Chris BakerExcited to have this one out! We found that the perception of illusory faces relies on parallel brain representations of faces and objects with different dynamics, enabling flexible behaviour.
- Eye movements, vision and memory through the lens of Sherlock - awesome collaborative project led by @matthiasnau.bsky.social
- Excited to share our new paper w/ @cibaker.bsky.social in @natcomms.nature.com linking active vision & memory! We provide evidence that gaze reinstatement & neural reactivation are deeply related phenomena that jointly reflect the experiences constructed during recall. doi.org/10.1038/s414... 🧵1/9
- Reposted by Chris BakerA brain-imaging study of people with amputated arms has upended a long-standing belief go.nature.com/3Jp9NPG
- Loss of sensory input has long been used to study brain plasticity - here, we challenge the prevailing view of massive reorganization in a longitudinal study of amputees Massive effort from @hunterschone.bsky.social who was in the awesome NIH/UCL PhD program with @plasticity-lab.bsky.social
- Now out in @natneuro.nature.com What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed? Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7 🧵1/18
- Reposted by Chris BakerDatasets like NSD & THINGS offer rich stimuli but often test a single task. After great conversations at #CCN2025 on multi-task studies & generalization in brains & models, I thought I would repost our perspective for those interested in this topic. We need multiple tasks!👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
- Reposted by Chris BakerAfter preparing for a full year together with @neurosteven.bsky.social and all other amazing organizers of @cogcompneuro.bsky.social, #CCN2025 is finally here! While I'm proud of the entire program we put together, I'd now like to highlight my own lab's contributions, 6 posters total:
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew CNeuroMod-THINGS open-access fMRI dataset: 4 participants · ~4 000 images (720 categories) each shown 3× (12k trials per subject)· individual functional localizers & NSD-inspired QC . Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2507.09024 Congrats Marie St-Laurent and @martinhebart.bsky.social !!
- Amazing effort from @gcaedwards.bsky.social @ryanruhde.bsky.social Mica Carroll to rigorously test hf-tRNS on visual cortex. We didn’t replicate, but learned a lot and have ideas for moving forward Thanks to @pci-regreports.bsky.social for constructive guidance through the whole process
- High-frequency transcranial random noise stimulation (hf-tRNS) targeted at motion processing region hMT+ does not improve visual motion discrimination. Failed #replication in #registeredreport @ryanruhde.bsky.social Mica Carroll @cibaker.bsky.social #trns #nibs #NIMH doi.org/10.1016/j.co... 1/6
- Reposted by Chris BakerCan humans use artificial limbs for body augmentation as flexibly as their own hands? 🚨 Our new interdisciplinary study put this question to the test with the Third Thumb (@daniclode.bsky.social), a robotic extra digit you control with your toes! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵1/10
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew work from our lab investigating the relationship between repetition suppression, repetition priming and increases in oscillatory power in simultaneous fMRI-EEG. Induced power increases are strongly associated with priming magnitude, supporting a mix of the synchrony and facilitation models.
- Repetition-related reductions in neural activity support improved behavior through increases in oscillatory power biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Chris BakerIn these tumultuous times, still happy to report a scientific achievement: our preprint on affordance perception was just published in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Using behavior, fMRI and deep network analyses, we report two key findings. To recapitulate (preprint 🧵lost on other place):
- Reposted by Chris BakerHow is high-level visual cortex organized? In a new preprint with @martinhebart.bsky.social & @kathadobs.bsky.social, we show that category-selective areas encode a rich, multidimensional feature space 🌈 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #neuroskyence 🧵 1/n
- Reposted by Chris BakerI'm excited to announce that my lab's open textbook on Scientific Computing for Cognitive Neuroscience (v1.0) has just gone live! Our goal is to help mend the gap between the computational skills needed by cognitive neuroscience, and typical curricula that don't yet include it. 1/3
- Reposted by Chris Baker
- Reposted by Chris Baker🚨 3-year postdoc opportunity! 🚨 Join @fraserwsmith.bsky.social sky.social @timkietzmann.bsky.social n.bsky.social and me at UEA for cutting-edge research on neuroimaging + deep learning in multimodal material perception 🧠🤖👀 #compneurosky #neuroskyence 🔗 Apply here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMP873/s...
- Reposted by Chris BakerThree year postdoc in cognitive computational neuroscience (Norwich, UK): using neuroimaging and deep learning to probe the neural mechanisms underlying material perception (across vision and touch) deadline **May 19th** repost pls #compneurosky #neuroskyence #VisionScience #PsychSciSky #neuroAI
- Three year postdoctoral position available in my lab @psychologyuea.bsky.social to work on neuroimaging and deep learning studies of multimodal material perception! with @timkietzmann.bsky.social @stephanierossit.bsky.social - funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk pls repost #compneurosky #neuroskyence
- Reposted by Chris BakerHello VSS friends! Want feedback on your current projects? Submissions for our pre data collection poster satellite are still open until tomorrow. More info here: www.visionsciences.org/2025-pre-dat... @vssmtg.bsky.social @shansmann-roth.bsky.social @willngiam.bsky.social @yonghoonchung.bsky.social
- Reposted by Chris BakerI am excited to share our recent preprint and the last paper of my PhD! Here, @imelizabeth.bsky.social, @lisik.bsky.social, Mick Bonner, and I investigate the spatiotemporal hierarchy of social interactions in the lateral visual stream using EEG-fMRI. osf.io/preprints/ps... #CogSci #EEG
- Reposted by Chris BakerProud to announce our primer on "Ten principles for reliable, efficient, and adaptable coding in psychology and cognitive neuroscience" www.nature.com/articles/s44... This primer is for beginners to get started, advanced programmers to improve, and PIs. #psychology #psychsci #cogsci #neuroskyence
- Reposted by Chris BakerThe result of a large (42 authors!) collaboration: "Go Figure: Transparency in neuroscience images preserves context and clarifies interpretation" arxiv.org/abs/2504.07824 TL;DR: The FMRI world can (and should) improve results interpretation and reproducibility *today*, via transparent thresholding.
- Reposted by Chris BakerChuffed and excited to announce a new journal section in Cortex: *Methods and Assumptions* is open for submissions starting today! Read the opening editorial here (OA): www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/
- Reposted by Chris BakerRecruitment of postbacs & postdocs in the NIH IRP has resumed. I have no additional info beyond what is publicly stated on the website. www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
- Reposted by Chris Baker11 of about 55 PIs terminated at NINDS yesterday, with downstream effects for all of us in terms of the lost research into neurological disease and stroke. 1/ www.wired.com/story/doctor...
- Reposted by Chris BakerCurious about how people differentiate object words and how their mental representations compare to object images? Come check out my poster (F148) today at CNS! laurastoinski.com/website/Post... @martinhebart.bsky.social
- Reposted by Chris BakerEnjoying #cosyne2025 a lot but there's very little human fMRI/EEG/MEG. Is that because that type of work is not viewed positively? Cosyne is even scheduled at the same time as the cognitive neuroscience meeting. Don't want to be too controversial but...
- Reposted by Chris BakerNew paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Catriona L. Scrivener and Edward H. Silson: Opponent visuospatial coding structures responses during memory recall and visual perception in medial parietal cortex doi.org/10.1162/imag...
- Reposted by Chris BakerI talked to people in the NIH intramural research program. Seems like institutes are trying to protect Title 42f scientists who are up for renewal. It’s a struggle. But people I knew who were axed have been renewed. Each case requires arguing and pushing. Hoorah for the Scientific Directors.
- Reposted by Chris Baker🚨New job alert! My lab is hiring a lab manager. Perfect position for a graduating senior who is interested in full-time research before applying to graduate school. #Neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #VisionScience #MLSky Apply here: www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...
- Wonderful tribute to Carl Olson who sadly passed away at the end of last year. Carl was a major intellectual force who had a profound influence on so many of us who were fortunate to spend time in his lab and in the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
- Matthew Smith and I cowrote this obituary about Carl Olson, who passed away recently. Carl was my postdoc mentor and was absolutely amazing. I will miss him💔 authors.elsevier.com/c/1knqf3BtfH...
- Reposted by Chris BakerIf anyone wants a fun activity in DC over the next couple months, The Textile Museum (at GW) is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an amazing set of, well, textiles from around the globe. Incredible craftsmanship, science, skill & cultural heritages on display. (Museum is free! Open Tue-Sat.)
- Reposted by Chris BakerPeople talk a lot about objects, but what about the softness of a cushion, the greenness of an emerald, or the viscosity of oil? In our work just published @pnas.org, we shed light on how we make sense of the hundreds of materials around us. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Chris BakerI'm pleased to report that the board has now heard from NIH that the appointments of these three investigators and similarly situated folks are being extended. Thank you NIH! Delighted that the stellar work there will be continuing!
- Compelling pushback from @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social and the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) regarding termination of tenure-track investigators driven by DOGE. 1/2
- Reposted by Chris BakerOne of the NIMH PIs whose name is the termination list: Sooyhun Lee, whose lab just published this beautiful @nature.com paper (that has received too little press because comms at NIH are down). Read! Cite! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Compelling pushback from @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social and the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) regarding termination of tenure-track investigators driven by DOGE. 1/2
- Reposted by Chris BakerCompelling pushback from @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social and the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) regarding termination of tenure-track investigators driven by DOGE. 1/2
- Reposted by Chris BakerTHRILLED to see this SI now out addressing the power and potential of focusing our lens on women. H/t to Tali for making space for these ideas to flourish and for a dream team of investigators to contribute!! Advancing the science of women’s health | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
