Fast decisions reflect biases, slow decisions do not.

Decisions are often made by heterogeneous groups of individuals, each with distinct initial biases and access to information of different quality. We show that in large groups of independent agents who accumulate evidence the first to decide are those with the strongest initial biases. Their decisions align with their initial bias, regardless of the underlying truth. In contrast, agents who decide last make decisions as if they were initially unbiased, and hence make better choices. We obtain asymptotic expressions in the large population limit that quantify how agents' initial inclinations shape early decisions. Our analysis shows how bias, information quality, and decision order interact in non-trivial ways to determine the reliability of decisions in a group.

First-passage times under frequent stochastic resetting.

We determine the full distribution and moments of the first passage time for a wide class of stochastic search processes in the limit of frequent stochastic resetting. Our results apply to any system whose short-time behavior of the search process without resetting can be estimated. In addition to the typical case of exponentially distributed resetting times, we prove our results for a variety of resetting time distributions. We illustrate our results in several examples and show that the errors of our approximations vanish exponentially fast in typical scenarios of diffusive search.

Miniaturized head-mounted microscope for whole-cortex mesoscale imaging in freely behaving mice.

The advent of genetically encoded calcium indicators, along with surgical preparations such as thinned skulls or refractive-index-matched skulls, has enabled mesoscale cortical activity imaging in head-fixed mice. However, neural activity during unrestrained behavior substantially differs from neural activity in head-fixed animals. For whole-cortex imaging in freely behaving mice, we present the 'mini-mScope', a widefield, miniaturized, head-mounted fluorescence microscope that is compatible with transparent polymer skull preparations. With a field of view of 8 × 10 mm2 and weighing less than 4 g, the mini-mScope can image most of the mouse dorsal cortex with resolutions ranging from 39 to 56 µm. We used the mini-mScope to record mesoscale calcium activity across the dorsal cortex during sensory-evoked stimuli, open field behaviors, social interactions and transitions from wakefulness to sleep.

Assembly and operation of an open-source, computer numerical controlled (CNC) robot for performing cranial microsurgical procedures.

Cranial microsurgery is an essential procedure for accessing the brain through the skull that can be used to introduce neural probes that measure and manipulate neural activity. Neuroscientists have typically used tools such as high-speed drills adapted from dentistry to perform these procedures. As the number of technologies available for neuroscientists has increased, the corresponding cranial microsurgery procedures to deploy them have become more complex. Using a robotic tool that automatically performs these procedures could standardize cranial microsurgeries across neuroscience laboratories and democratize the more challenging procedures. We have recently engineered a robotic surgery platform that utilizes principles of computer numerical control (CNC) machining to perform a wide variety of automated cranial procedures. Here, we describe how to adapt, configure and use an inexpensive desktop CNC mill equipped with a custom-built surface profiler for performing CNC-guided microsurgery on mice. Detailed instructions are provided to utilize this 'Craniobot' for performing circular craniotomies for coverslip implantation, large craniotomies for implanting transparent polymer skulls for cortex-wide imaging access and skull thinning for intact skull imaging. The Craniobot can be set up in <2 weeks using parts that cost <$1,500, and we anticipate that the Craniobot could be easily adapted for use in other small animals.

Ternary Composite Nanofibers Containing Chondroitin Sulfate Scavenge Inflammatory Chemokines from Solution and Prohibit Squamous Cell Carcinoma Migration.

Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), an inherited disease featuring blistering wounds, causes constant inflammation that leads to the eventual development of an aggressive form of squamous cell carcinoma (RDEB SCC). The persistence of inflammatory chemokines such as MCP-1 and Il-8 in RDEB wounds may foster RDEB SCC carcinogenesis. We report the production of ternary composite nanofibers containing pullulan, chondroitin sulfate, and tannic acid as RDEB wound dressings. The swellable fibers are stable to hydration and absorb ∼500% their weight in water. The fibers remove ∼99% of MCP-1 from solution in <2 h. Scavenged media did not promote RDEB SCC migration.