Jackson R. Ham

Post-doctoral fellow researching social neuroscience @ University of Lethbridge. Opinions and typos are my own. he/him

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

Interested in studying the #social #brain? Consider investigating #play #behavior in rats 🐀 to do so! In our 🚨 new 🚨 opinion paper in @FrontiersIn Behavioural Neuroscience, Serge & Viv Pellis, @achte107, & I discuss how studying play provides insights into the brain 🧠. 1/6

[John J. Foxe @JohnnyFoxe]

OUT NOW in @EJNeuroscience 🧠🐀

When given a choice, who do juvenile rats choose to play with?

In this group-play paradigm, males preferentially directed rough-and-tumble play toward females, while females showed flexible, individual-specific partner preferences. Even more striking: sex differences in play frequency were context-dependent—females played less only in mixed-sex groups.

These findings reveal two distinct sex effects in social play: partner choice and play initiation—and show that social context powerfully shapes behavior.

Congrats to Ham, Pellis & McDonald! 🔬

@FENSorg @WileyBrainPsych

🔗 https://t.co/PBWVRlGC2i

[Frontiers - Neuroscience @FrontNeurosci]

New Research: Juvenile male rats form preferences based on strain when playing in groups but not in pairs https://t.co/HNmsP52inL in the Ethological neuroscience collection #FrontiersIn #Behavioralneuroscience

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@HenryYin19 Thanks, Dr. Yin.

[Marijke Achterberg @achte107]

Proud of this paper!
In collab with S. Pellis and C. Burke we show that rats display individual differences in play and homeostatically adjust play based on their own preference and their play-partner.

https://t.co/NgkoZ1TpW7

[Theresa Kisko, PhD @TheresaKisko]

Ever wonder just how much peers might influence early social development? It’s all here in our new paper! https://t.co/mZQxBAaozC #science #rescue #rats #play #socialdevelopment #behavioralneuroscience #womeninscience #newpaperalert

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@JaclynAubin @GREMM_ @Raincoast @iBioUWindsor @DMennill @Marine_Valeria I’ve seen this lots with the Somerset Island population, over multiple years.

[Brecht Lab @BrechtLab]

Happy to share our latest study on tickling and play responses in the brain that is out now in @NeuroCellPress! @nataliegloveli @misnaej

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@orca199 Yes! We published a paper titled “Social games that belugas play” in the International Journal of Play in 2022. With that paper, we included supplemental videos. You will find the mouth game, as well as six other games, depicted here: https://t.co/dX0Z0Ol3BT

[Erice2023 PLAYFUL SOCIETIES @erice2023]

Selected talk #1 is about social play in rats and social exclusion, many thanks to @jacksonhammy 🐭
#Erice2023PLAYFULSOCIETIES

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@AndrewIwaniuk Congratulations, Andy!!

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@AndrewIwaniuk @kathandkim @lsf58

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

Thank you @ULFAssociation for your support. ✊

[ULFA @ULFAssociation]

ULFA supports the University of Lethbridge Graduate Association (ULGA) in its proposal for academic freedom provisions for their collective agreement. #solidarity See our full statement here:
https://t.co/xtWzRQWOBl

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

What a year! I got married, travelled to Europe for the first time, worked with @achte107, and published 9 papers in 2022 with 5 more accepted (some with revisions) for publication in 2023. Thank you to everyone who made this year possible!! Goodbye 2022, hello 2023!

[AUPE @yourAUPE]

Unions = better wages, benefits and conditions of work!

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@ThePhDPlace Back to the Netherlands to work with @achte107 !!

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

@achte107 Thank you!!

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

Thank you to my co-authors for making this article possible and to the Editors of this special issue in the International Journal of Play! (4/4)

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

I am excited to share our 🚨NEW🚨 article on object play in #belugas. In short: belugas self-handicap in #object #play, a phenomenon frequently seen in social play and locomotor play. (1/4)
https://t.co/hHHeCm3R1q

[Jackson R. Ham @jacksonhammy]

Belugas also engaged in object-assisted self-handicapping in object play (very meta!) where they covered their eyes while playing with objects or put objects on their flukes while pushing an object forward (see below). (3/4)