connorhaggarty.bsky.social

Incredible week at #EBPS2025. Great location, great science, great food, and great friends. Can’t wait to do it again. Looking forward to our new leadership from Gavin McNally Keep your eyes peeled for our new communications initiatives 😉

Science Reward magnitude determines reinforcement learning efficiency This study shows that larger rewards can dramatically accelerate learning in mice. Across multiple behavioral tasks, bigger rewards increased task engagement and improved both within-session and across-session learning. The researchers also found that larger rewards produced stronger and longer-lasting dopamine release in the ventral striatum. Using optogenetics, they showed that enhancing dopamine signaling could partially reproduce the learning benefits of large rewards. Overall, the paper suggests that reinforcement learning efficiency depends strongly on reward magnitude and dopamine dynamics, not just the number of training trials. science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Recent studies have revealed the synchronization of neuromodulators including norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, and histamine during sleep. A new #ScienceReview explores what potential role the synchronization of these oscillations may play in health. scim.ag/4ve9ObR

GLP-1 agonists are going to be the first medications that treat polysubstance use disorder. Cocaine, meth, nicotine, alcohol, opioids. New review pulls the preclinical and emerging clinical evidence together. The preclinical peptide nerds were onto something. @PennNursing @PennMedicine @BiolPsychiatry doi.org/10.1016/j.biop…

💊 A cannabinoid that failed a clinical trial reliably suppresses nerve pain in rats — but whether it relieves spontaneous, ongoing pain remains unclear. New research highlights how preclinical pain studies can measure the wrong thing. 📄 doi.org/10.1177/257851…

@MayoOnTheBrain @pact_lab @AnaDeutsch8 @AubinKeira @CIHR_IRSC Great news, Congratulations all!

Congrats to @pact_lab PhD students @AnaDeutsch8 & @AubinKeira on receiving Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Doctoral Awards from @CIHR_IRSC 🎉

For those attending @FENSorg Forum this year, we have arranged a joint symposium with @EBBS_Science on Monday 6th July 10am-12pm. This symposium brings together researchers from our societies to highlight brain and behaviour from cells to systems. #FENSForum2026

@canna_brain Still thinking about the brick in obsession 😢

1. The Outwaters 2. Obsession 3. Talk to Me 4. X 5. In a Violent Nature

Longitudinal PET study of FAAH (enzyme degrading the endocannabinoid anandamide) in cannabis users. brain FAAH binding rises ~10% within days of stopping cannabis, with the biggest jump in the ventral striatum. Increase did not correlate with THC/metabolite or CUD severity, but did with days of abstinence, depression, and impulsivity. FAAH modulators development has been a roller coaster, this reinforce the idea that it may be useful. Now there are large individual difference, which complicates interpretation. @npp_journal

⚗️ Cannabis is legal in half the U.⚗️ Cannabis is legal in half the U.S., but every state has different safety standards for contaminants. Consumer protection varies by zip code. Researchers call for national standards. 📄 doi.org/10.1177/257851…

This recent study leverages machine learning to find that stress-related neurotoxicity may contribute to cognitive decline in PTSD / @MujicaParodi nature.com/articles/s4138…

My PI @brainsbeesbikes wrote an excellent article in @dpn_journal on her toolkit for supporting new PIs setting up their labs. nature.com/articles/s4427…. Time to absorb all that knowledge...

🍬 Fast-acting cannabis edibles hit peak THC in 30 min vs. 60 for standard ones — same total dose, faster onset. Could reduce accidental overdoses from impatient users, but raises new questions about impairment timing and safety labeling. 📄 doi.org/10.1177/257851…

Congratulations, @RaymundiAna, @CristinaStern! So proud of this work: Sex-specific role of microglia in Δ9-THC-induced disruption of fear memory reconsolidation nature.com/articles/s4138…

Whether addicted to alcohol, cocaine, or nicotine, people with substance use disorder share identical "short circuits" in their brain's reward networks. A massive new meta-analysis maps these specific neural disruptions, offering a potential blueprint… dlvr.it/TSMt6w

Changes in cannabis potency and cannabis-related psychiatric harms: a 23-year ecological study in Denmark doi.org/10.1017/s00332…

In the news 📰 Ibogaine is making headlines, but what do we actually know? Dr. Leah Mayo, Mathison Centre psychedelics researcher, joins Dr. Brian Goldman on CBC's The Dose to unpack what it is and the science behind it. Listen here: bit.ly/4vUj4CW

Could the presence of CBD in cannabis actually increase the levels of circulating plasma THC and THC-metabolites after inhalation? That's what we report in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. @psych_danh sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Psilocybin reshapes cortical inhibition through selective interneuron recruitment doi.org/10.64898/2026.…

Could a tiny dose of LSD be the "neuro-reset" the brain needs to feel again? New research reveals that low doses of LSD can actually enhance how the brain processes emotional rewards, specifically in those experiencing mild depression. By measuring shifts in electrical brain activity, scientists found that the drug reverses "emotional blunting," allowing the brain to distinguish more sharply between positive and negative outcomes. These neural changes weren't just temporary; they led to a sustained improvement in mood that lasted for days after the initial exposure. We are witnessing a shift from simply masking symptoms to actively retuning the brain's emotional hardware for lasting mental wellness. psypost.org/low-doses-of-l… #Neuroscience #MentalHealth #LSDResearch #Psychopharmacology #DepressionRelief #BrainHealth #Innovation #Biotech #PsychedelicScience #Microdosing #NeuroTech #HealthTech #MedicalResearch #FutureOfMedicine #MentalWellness #ScienceNews #DeepTech #Biohacking #NeuralPlasticity #EmotionalHealth #STEM #BrainMapping #MoodDisorders #TherapeuticDiscovery #Psychiatry #WellnessTech

This recent study demonstrated how stereoselective enantiomers of MDMA drive cortical plasticity in a sex-specific manner 🐀 @jessi_maltman @jgmaeso nature.com/articles/s4138…