*** Hyperdrive Spreadsheet for #Electrophysiologists Initiated! *** Goals: - see how other scientists build & implant drives for tetrode & probe electrophysiology - try to link building / surgery parameters to specific problems - open to all!
Any random lab wisdom? Real, surreal, and unreal guidance accepted.
We decided the best way to incorporate advice from Twitter into the lab is to print the tweets and put them by the relevant pieces of equipment #TheLabEdit Any random lab wisdom? Real, surreal, and unreal guidance accepted. Thanks for the PCR machine advice,
I'm happy to share an updated draft of my undergrad-level Computational Neuroscience textbook
I'm happy to share an updated draft of my undergrad-level Computational Neuroscience textbook and also to share news that I've signed a contract to publish the book with
What would make the most impact? Type of needle? Motorized controls? Other?
People who do stereotaxic virus surgeries in mice, I'm thinking of upgrading (or replacing) a standard Kopf stereotax for better accuracy of placement and expression. What would make the most impact? Type of needle? Motorized controls? Other?
Does anyone have tips for visualizing the location of recording probes for in vivo recordings?
Does anyone have tips for visualizing the location of recording probes for in vivo recordings? We have tried DiI and find that it does not visualize tracts deeper than a few hundred microns. Tips on coating procedures or dyes appreciated!!
Has anyone used the axon targeted gcamp variants in rats for fiber photometry?
Has anyone used the axon targeted gcamp variants in rats for fiber photometry? I tried syn-gcamp8s but had no luck. I've noticed many people have previously used syn-gcamp6s successfully in mice but not sure if there's reason to believe 6s would work better than 8s?
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals.
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals. We decided to try and collect this information to better understand which approaches were tested, and how well they work. 1/3)
Are you doing ephys with optogenetics and are having issues with light-induced artifacts?
Are you doing ephys with optogenetics and are having issues with light-induced artifacts? I learned this great trick from @SteinmetzNeuro, it either completely solves the artifact or greatly reduces it. (1/3)
Could you help my lab get connected with the neuroscience and mental health community?
Hi All, we're new to Twitter. Could you help my lab get connected with the neuroscience and mental health community? Brain stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques, electrophysiology, neuroimaging. We want to hear about it all! Thanks!
Has anyone done Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in mice and have some advice for us in setting this up?
Ahem! I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming complaining about everything that’s wrong in the world to ask a specific science question: Has anyone done Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in mice and have some advice for us in setting this up?
Question for all my friends that do brain slice ephys: do you use animals or recorded neurons as replicates in your experiments? We’ve done neurons (report n neurons/n animals), but three journals now have asked that we collapse on animal (average all neurons/animal). Thoughts?
Do you conduct your experiments during the animal's light cycle or dark cycle?
Poll for rodent behavioral neuroscientists, esp in learning & memory fields - do you conduct your experiments during the animal’s light cycle or dark cycle? Have you ever tried both and observed a difference in behavioral outcomes?
In vivo electrophysiologists. Can we have a conversation about grounds & references? What kind of wire do you use? How do you decide which brain region is a neutral ground? Do you use a reference wire? Why/why not? I use bare steel in cerebellum, ref shorted to ground
Does anybody out there with tips on cementing fiber stubs to rat skull? We're having some issues with stubs coming away from the dental cement. Have tried anchoring with epoxy too, to no avail.
We're using 2.5mm zirconia ferrules with zirconia sleeves.
Hey people doing in vivo opto in mammals, what are you using for light sources these days? I would like to move away from DPSS lasers for my lab's set up.
Lab question: Bio-Serv’s dustless precision pellets seem to be backordered. Anyone use 20mg pellets (mouse operant chamber) from another company that may be available in different flavors? (That may be able to ship quickly?) Thanks! 🐭
How many 1st author papers from postdoc are needed to be considered “productive” “competitive” for a K99 nowadays?
How many 1st author papers from postdoc are needed to be considered “productive” “competitive” for a K99 nowadays? Things have changed since mine in 2011/2012 cycle.
Neurotwitter: the whole spiking data / single neuron world seems sorta wild, with lots of options for spike sorting, analysis approaches, statistical tests, etc.
Anyone have favourite resources (guides / tools / method comparisons / formatting recommendations, etc) to recommend?
When you receive AAVs for opto and DREADDs do you standardize the titer?
Neuro twitter AAV users: when you receive AAVs for opto and DREADDs do you standardize the titer? For example, you always use 1×10¹³ vg/mL and if you receive 4.3×10¹³ vg/mL you dilute with sterile PBS.
What are your thoughts on robotic stereotaxic instruments (e.g., Neurostar)?
Neurotweeps: What are your thoughts on robotic stereotaxic instruments (e.g., Neurostar)? What is the good, the bad, and the ugly? Anyone using for GRIN lens implants in rats?
How many years did you post doc before you were able to get a TT faculty position?
STEM researchers! How many years did you post doc before you were able to get a TT faculty position? Please also state if you are a woman or are from an underrepresented group (incl LGBTQ2S+)! 8 years, Indigenous woman.
I’m a PhD student in my 3rd year. I always feel that I’m unable to successfully contribute to academic discussion
Anonymous question "I’m a PhD student in my 3rd year. I always feel that I’m unable to successfully contribute to academic discussion. I rarely have something useful to add or a new idea to raise. When I do, it’s nothing more than a sentence or two. How would you deal with?"
If you have an AAV-delivered tool that has verified expression in mice, can you assume that it reliably works in rats?
Folks. If you have an AAV-delivered tool that has verified expression in mice, can you assume that it reliably works in rats? If not, who would you blame? AAV Serotype? Promoter? Tool (opsin/indicator etc?). Thanks!
Does anyone have a good way to batch process @MedAssociates .txt files?
Does anyone have a good way to batch process @MedAssociates .txt files? There must be something more efficient than the MED-PC To Excel program…@JordanYorgason @TheErinCalipari @mattjwanat @DavidBarker_PhD @HowardDopamine @MATLAB
Unsolicited advice for new Beh Neuro PIs. Make an analysis workflow that includes a visual summary of each day's behavioral data. Visualize every day. (1) You will catch issues as they happen. Visualizing data has saved us many times. (2) It is SUPER GRATIFYING.
What sorts of #altac careers are out there for neuro PhDs or perhaps how you found your current job?
I’ve still got time left in grad school but I’ve been thinking about career options both in and outside academia. Anyone have any tips on figuring out what sorts of #altac careers are out there for neuro PhDs or perhaps how you found your current job? DMs also open. Thanks!!
What is the best way to assess depression-like behavioural phenotypes in mice?
Naive question: What is the best way to assess depression-like behavioural phenotypes in mice? We seem to be moving away from things like forced swim, tail suspension etc. What are the most robust, widely appreciated assays? Bonus if linked to hippocampal neurogenesis.
Dear rat #Electrophysiologists who use independently-moveable tetrodes, The legend says that some of you screen during sleep (not your sleep, the rat's) - any tips, especially on how to 1) get rats to sleep and 2) not wake them up when you lower the tetrodes?
When building a drive, to connect tetrodes to the EIB (or any connector), do you: 1) solder tetrode wires to the EIB 2) use the push-pin technique to attach wires to the EIB
I think 1 is more difficult but more reliable... thoughts?
Folks who do single unit ephys recordings in freely behaving rats (we use @PlexonNeurosci) what programs do you use to analyze your ephys data. I’m not teaching this fall 🎉 so I have some time to finally (!) learn some coding
Should journal clubs limit their scope to preprints?
Idea: journal clubs should limit their scope to preprints and post their reviews as public comments on their respective Rxiv preprint server. The more I'm in Science, the more I understand journals as a false and lazy metric Academia uses to misjudge scientist's work.
At which distance does stimulation induce most spikes in optogenetic neural stimulation?
when doing optogenetic neural stimulation (e.g. monkey), close to light guide there is most photon flow and it decays with distance. At which distance does stimulation induce most spikes (#neurons*#deltaSpikes)?
— KordingLab 👨💻🧠∇🔬📈,🏋️♂️⛷️🏂🛹🕺⛰️☕🦖 (@KordingLab) June 8, 2021
What is the optimal length of time that a poster walk-through should take at a conference poster session?
Science twitter poll: what is the optimal length of time that a poster walk-through should take at a conference poster session?
*** Hyperdrive Spreadsheet for #Electrophysiologists Initiated! *** Goals: - see how other scientists build & implant drives for tetrode & probe electrophysiology - try to link building / surgery parameters to specific problems - open to all!
Any random lab wisdom? Real, surreal, and unreal guidance accepted.
We decided the best way to incorporate advice from Twitter into the lab is to print the tweets and put them by the relevant pieces of equipment #TheLabEdit Any random lab wisdom? Real, surreal, and unreal guidance accepted. Thanks for the PCR machine advice,
I'm happy to share an updated draft of my undergrad-level Computational Neuroscience textbook
I'm happy to share an updated draft of my undergrad-level Computational Neuroscience textbook and also to share news that I've signed a contract to publish the book with
What would make the most impact? Type of needle? Motorized controls? Other?
People who do stereotaxic virus surgeries in mice, I'm thinking of upgrading (or replacing) a standard Kopf stereotax for better accuracy of placement and expression. What would make the most impact? Type of needle? Motorized controls? Other?
Does anyone have tips for visualizing the location of recording probes for in vivo recordings?
Does anyone have tips for visualizing the location of recording probes for in vivo recordings? We have tried DiI and find that it does not visualize tracts deeper than a few hundred microns. Tips on coating procedures or dyes appreciated!!
I’m a PhD student in my 3rd year. I always feel that I’m unable to successfully contribute to academic discussion
Anonymous question "I’m a PhD student in my 3rd year. I always feel that I’m unable to successfully contribute to academic discussion. I rarely have something useful to add or a new idea to raise. When I do, it’s nothing more than a sentence or two. How would you deal with?"
Has anyone used the axon targeted gcamp variants in rats for fiber photometry?
Has anyone used the axon targeted gcamp variants in rats for fiber photometry? I tried syn-gcamp8s but had no luck. I've noticed many people have previously used syn-gcamp6s successfully in mice but not sure if there's reason to believe 6s would work better than 8s?
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals.
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals. We decided to try and collect this information to better understand which approaches were tested, and how well they work. 1/3)
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals.
There is a lot of anecdotal information about optogenetic and chemogenetic tools not working, or not working very well, for silencing synaptic terminals. We decided to try and collect this information to better understand which approaches were tested, and how well they work. 1/3)
Are you doing ephys with optogenetics and are having issues with light-induced artifacts?
Are you doing ephys with optogenetics and are having issues with light-induced artifacts? I learned this great trick from @SteinmetzNeuro, it either completely solves the artifact or greatly reduces it. (1/3)
Does anyone have a good way to batch process @MedAssociates .txt files?
Does anyone have a good way to batch process @MedAssociates .txt files? There must be something more efficient than the MED-PC To Excel program…@JordanYorgason @TheErinCalipari @mattjwanat @DavidBarker_PhD @HowardDopamine @MATLAB
Unsolicited advice for new Beh Neuro PIs. Make an analysis workflow that includes a visual summary of each day's behavioral data. Visualize every day. (1) You will catch issues as they happen. Visualizing data has saved us many times. (2) It is SUPER GRATIFYING.
Could you help my lab get connected with the neuroscience and mental health community?
Hi All, we're new to Twitter. Could you help my lab get connected with the neuroscience and mental health community? Brain stimulation and other neuromodulation techniques, electrophysiology, neuroimaging. We want to hear about it all! Thanks!
Has anyone done Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in mice and have some advice for us in setting this up?
Ahem! I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming complaining about everything that’s wrong in the world to ask a specific science question: Has anyone done Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in mice and have some advice for us in setting this up?
What sorts of #altac careers are out there for neuro PhDs or perhaps how you found your current job?
I’ve still got time left in grad school but I’ve been thinking about career options both in and outside academia. Anyone have any tips on figuring out what sorts of #altac careers are out there for neuro PhDs or perhaps how you found your current job? DMs also open. Thanks!!
What is the best way to assess depression-like behavioural phenotypes in mice?
Naive question: What is the best way to assess depression-like behavioural phenotypes in mice? We seem to be moving away from things like forced swim, tail suspension etc. What are the most robust, widely appreciated assays? Bonus if linked to hippocampal neurogenesis.
Question for all my friends that do brain slice ephys: do you use animals or recorded neurons as replicates in your experiments? We’ve done neurons (report n neurons/n animals), but three journals now have asked that we collapse on animal (average all neurons/animal). Thoughts?
Dear rat #Electrophysiologists who use independently-moveable tetrodes, The legend says that some of you screen during sleep (not your sleep, the rat's) - any tips, especially on how to 1) get rats to sleep and 2) not wake them up when you lower the tetrodes?
Did your university ever provide you with any design training?
Here are a few of the graphics that scientists are regularly asked to make: Visual Abstracts Posters Experiment setups Schematics Presentation slides
— Maayan Harel | Maayan Visuals (@maayanvisuals) June 30, 2021
Do you conduct your experiments during the animal's light cycle or dark cycle?
Poll for rodent behavioral neuroscientists, esp in learning & memory fields - do you conduct your experiments during the animal’s light cycle or dark cycle? Have you ever tried both and observed a difference in behavioral outcomes?
In vivo electrophysiologists. Can we have a conversation about grounds & references? What kind of wire do you use? How do you decide which brain region is a neutral ground? Do you use a reference wire? Why/why not? I use bare steel in cerebellum, ref shorted to ground
Does anybody out there with tips on cementing fiber stubs to rat skull? We're having some issues with stubs coming away from the dental cement. Have tried anchoring with epoxy too, to no avail.
We're using 2.5mm zirconia ferrules with zirconia sleeves.
Folks who do single unit ephys recordings in freely behaving rats (we use @PlexonNeurosci) what programs do you use to analyze your ephys data. I’m not teaching this fall 🎉 so I have some time to finally (!) learn some coding
Hey people doing in vivo opto in mammals, what are you using for light sources these days? I would like to move away from DPSS lasers for my lab's set up.
Lab question: Bio-Serv’s dustless precision pellets seem to be backordered. Anyone use 20mg pellets (mouse operant chamber) from another company that may be available in different flavors? (That may be able to ship quickly?) Thanks! 🐭
Should journal clubs limit their scope to preprints?
Idea: journal clubs should limit their scope to preprints and post their reviews as public comments on their respective Rxiv preprint server. The more I'm in Science, the more I understand journals as a false and lazy metric Academia uses to misjudge scientist's work.
How many 1st author papers from postdoc are needed to be considered “productive” “competitive” for a K99 nowadays?
How many 1st author papers from postdoc are needed to be considered “productive” “competitive” for a K99 nowadays? Things have changed since mine in 2011/2012 cycle.
Neurotwitter: the whole spiking data / single neuron world seems sorta wild, with lots of options for spike sorting, analysis approaches, statistical tests, etc.
Anyone have favourite resources (guides / tools / method comparisons / formatting recommendations, etc) to recommend?
At which distance does stimulation induce most spikes in optogenetic neural stimulation?
when doing optogenetic neural stimulation (e.g. monkey), close to light guide there is most photon flow and it decays with distance. At which distance does stimulation induce most spikes (#neurons*#deltaSpikes)?
— KordingLab 👨💻🧠∇🔬📈,🏋️♂️⛷️🏂🛹🕺⛰️☕🦖 (@KordingLab) June 8, 2021
When you receive AAVs for opto and DREADDs do you standardize the titer?
Neuro twitter AAV users: when you receive AAVs for opto and DREADDs do you standardize the titer? For example, you always use 1×10¹³ vg/mL and if you receive 4.3×10¹³ vg/mL you dilute with sterile PBS.
What are your thoughts on robotic stereotaxic instruments (e.g., Neurostar)?
Neurotweeps: What are your thoughts on robotic stereotaxic instruments (e.g., Neurostar)? What is the good, the bad, and the ugly? Anyone using for GRIN lens implants in rats?
who use independently-moveable tetrodes, The legend says that some of you screen during sleep (not your sleep, the rat's) - any tips, especially on how to 1) get rats to sleep and 2) not wake them up when you lower the tetrodes?