Brónagh McCoy
@bronaghm.bsky.social
AuDHDer researcher @ IoPPN, King's College London. Cognitive neuroscience, computational psychiatry, data science. Attention, learning, autism research. Scientist by day, luddite by night.
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Do goal-directed actions minimize prediction error? Together with @haslagter.bsky.social and @fahrenfort.bsky.social I identified falsifiable predictions of active inference and reviewed the extent to which they are supported by empirical results. Read the preprint here: tinyurl.com/2by8k3h6
OSF
osf.io
January 26, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Do goal-directed actions minimize prediction error? Together with @haslagter.bsky.social and @fahrenfort.bsky.social I identified falsifiable predictions of active inference and reviewed the extent to which they are supported by empirical results. Read the preprint here: tinyurl.com/2by8k3h6
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
The Iowa Gambling Task is an extreme example of Jingle Fallacy and schmeasurement.
In 100 articles we found 244 different ways of scoring it, 177 were never reused. Correlations between them range -.99 to .99.
At the same time, we show meta-analyses combine these results as if they’re equivalent.
In 100 articles we found 244 different ways of scoring it, 177 were never reused. Correlations between them range -.99 to .99.
At the same time, we show meta-analyses combine these results as if they’re equivalent.
How many versions of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) exist? And how much does this affect research using the IGT? More than you might think. 🧵
Methodological Flexibility in the Iowa Gambling Task Undermines Interpretability: A Meta-method Review: https://osf.io/4g3vr
January 25, 2026 at 12:01 PM
The Iowa Gambling Task is an extreme example of Jingle Fallacy and schmeasurement.
In 100 articles we found 244 different ways of scoring it, 177 were never reused. Correlations between them range -.99 to .99.
At the same time, we show meta-analyses combine these results as if they’re equivalent.
In 100 articles we found 244 different ways of scoring it, 177 were never reused. Correlations between them range -.99 to .99.
At the same time, we show meta-analyses combine these results as if they’re equivalent.
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
It's good to hear that the English government is investing in SEND training for teachers, but it matters enormously *what* they're being taught, and *who by*... and have they considered ensuring that kids learn about this stuff, too?
Here's one of my talks about this stuff:
youtu.be/kDVBkGEmvFw?...
Here's one of my talks about this stuff:
youtu.be/kDVBkGEmvFw?...
January 17, 2026 at 9:04 AM
It's good to hear that the English government is investing in SEND training for teachers, but it matters enormously *what* they're being taught, and *who by*... and have they considered ensuring that kids learn about this stuff, too?
Here's one of my talks about this stuff:
youtu.be/kDVBkGEmvFw?...
Here's one of my talks about this stuff:
youtu.be/kDVBkGEmvFw?...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
I started reading up on the whole "loneliness pandemic" narrative because this seems like a literature where the age-period-cohort problem may be relevant (or maybe it isn't?).
Here's data from Australia (HILDA), average agreement with the statement "I often feel very lonely" (SD of ca. 1.8).>
Here's data from Australia (HILDA), average agreement with the statement "I often feel very lonely" (SD of ca. 1.8).>
January 15, 2026 at 1:24 PM
I started reading up on the whole "loneliness pandemic" narrative because this seems like a literature where the age-period-cohort problem may be relevant (or maybe it isn't?).
Here's data from Australia (HILDA), average agreement with the statement "I often feel very lonely" (SD of ca. 1.8).>
Here's data from Australia (HILDA), average agreement with the statement "I often feel very lonely" (SD of ca. 1.8).>
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
"The rewards to 'discovering' a spectacular scientific finding [in psychology] are large; the rewards to debunking frauds or deflating exaggerated claims are small if not non-existent. If these are the rules of the game, we should not be surprised at the way the game is played."
When psychologists mislead us
From Piltdown Man to the Stanford prison experiment, many famous scientific discoveries have been exposed as hoaxes or distortions
www.ft.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:51 PM
"The rewards to 'discovering' a spectacular scientific finding [in psychology] are large; the rewards to debunking frauds or deflating exaggerated claims are small if not non-existent. If these are the rules of the game, we should not be surprised at the way the game is played."
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
“You cannot change a reality that you cannot name.”
—Kimberlé Crenshaw
Name the systems of power.
stimpunks.org/pathways/sys...
—Kimberlé Crenshaw
Name the systems of power.
stimpunks.org/pathways/sys...
Systems of Power Pathway
Name the systems of power. The lens of power can really help us see what's going on.
stimpunks.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:29 PM
“You cannot change a reality that you cannot name.”
—Kimberlé Crenshaw
Name the systems of power.
stimpunks.org/pathways/sys...
—Kimberlé Crenshaw
Name the systems of power.
stimpunks.org/pathways/sys...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
January 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Anthropomorphizing language conceals the limitations of AI, promoting misplaced trust. @emilymbender.bsky.social & @nannainie.bsky.social suggest focusing on a system’s functionalities: instead of saying a model is “good at” something, say what it is “good for." www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-t...
We Need to Talk About How We Talk About 'AI' | TechPolicy.Press
We share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language, write Emily M. Bender and Nanna Inie.
www.techpolicy.press
January 8, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Anthropomorphizing language conceals the limitations of AI, promoting misplaced trust. @emilymbender.bsky.social & @nannainie.bsky.social suggest focusing on a system’s functionalities: instead of saying a model is “good at” something, say what it is “good for." www.techpolicy.press/we-need-to-t...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Feel like this fresh year needs some serious culture change?
We got you covered! With @clarekelly.bsky.social @eikofried.bsky.social Anna van 't Veer
📝 rdcu.be/eXja4
We got you covered! With @clarekelly.bsky.social @eikofried.bsky.social Anna van 't Veer
📝 rdcu.be/eXja4
January 5, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Feel like this fresh year needs some serious culture change?
We got you covered! With @clarekelly.bsky.social @eikofried.bsky.social Anna van 't Veer
📝 rdcu.be/eXja4
We got you covered! With @clarekelly.bsky.social @eikofried.bsky.social Anna van 't Veer
📝 rdcu.be/eXja4
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Gavin Monks, 48, is vaguely aware that before this morning he had hobbies, interests, and possessions, but has no idea what those could be, and even less idea where such possessions could ever be found.
AuDHD man will never see beloved possessions again after “tidying up”
An AuDHD man has reportedly resigned himself to no longer ever seeing many of his most treasured belongings, or even remembering that they still exist, after moving them slightly out of his direct…
thedailytism.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Gavin Monks, 48, is vaguely aware that before this morning he had hobbies, interests, and possessions, but has no idea what those could be, and even less idea where such possessions could ever be found.
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Here, have a #painting. "Savage Rowan" came out of a challenge from an artist friend of mine where we both painted the same scene. This was mine and it eventually went to a good home in Galway. #art #SpeirGhorm #ArtYear
December 29, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Here, have a #painting. "Savage Rowan" came out of a challenge from an artist friend of mine where we both painted the same scene. This was mine and it eventually went to a good home in Galway. #art #SpeirGhorm #ArtYear
Where are the engineers, materials scientists, physicists who care about artificial lighting and noise reduction or dampening in different environments? Is anything being explored in terms of friendlier solutions that are sustainable and inexpensive? (1/2)
December 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Where are the engineers, materials scientists, physicists who care about artificial lighting and noise reduction or dampening in different environments? Is anything being explored in terms of friendlier solutions that are sustainable and inexpensive? (1/2)
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
New podcast. An investigation of the emotion of shame as it applies over the festive period open.spotify.com/episode/0rW5...
A Mental Health plan for Christmas
open.spotify.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
New podcast. An investigation of the emotion of shame as it applies over the festive period open.spotify.com/episode/0rW5...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Passionate about women's mental health?
Interested in brain stimulation?
Excited by cutting edge neurotech?
Come do a PhD with me!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
(thread)
Interested in brain stimulation?
Excited by cutting edge neurotech?
Come do a PhD with me!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
(thread)
a woman says we have to work together in front of a wentworth sign
ALT: a woman says we have to work together in front of a wentworth sign
media.tenor.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Passionate about women's mental health?
Interested in brain stimulation?
Excited by cutting edge neurotech?
Come do a PhD with me!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
(thread)
Interested in brain stimulation?
Excited by cutting edge neurotech?
Come do a PhD with me!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
(thread)
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Postdoc position available on our team, to work on the OptiCaT project - evaluating the use and impact of a community care intervention on psychiatric hospital admission and other health outcomes in people with learning disability and autistic people (1/2)
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Forensic & Neurodevelopmental Sciences | King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Postdoc position available on our team, to work on the OptiCaT project - evaluating the use and impact of a community care intervention on psychiatric hospital admission and other health outcomes in people with learning disability and autistic people (1/2)
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
Postdoc position available on our team, to work on the OptiCaT project - evaluating the use and impact of a community care intervention on psychiatric hospital admission and other health outcomes in people with learning disability and autistic people (1/2)
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Forensic & Neurodevelopmental Sciences | King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Postdoc position available on our team, to work on the OptiCaT project - evaluating the use and impact of a community care intervention on psychiatric hospital admission and other health outcomes in people with learning disability and autistic people (1/2)
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/132727-...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
A #painting from a series I did of a bay in the west of Ireland. "Bertraghboy Bay 5" came out of a day cycling in Connemara where I was on a high from the incessant beauty of it all as every bay and mountain came into view. #art #SpeirGhorm #ArtAdventCalendar
December 10, 2025 at 9:06 PM
A #painting from a series I did of a bay in the west of Ireland. "Bertraghboy Bay 5" came out of a day cycling in Connemara where I was on a high from the incessant beauty of it all as every bay and mountain came into view. #art #SpeirGhorm #ArtAdventCalendar
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Teach like a Luddite! In which I join @philnichols.bsky.social and @anterobot.bsky.social to argue for a Luddite praxis in education grounded in three elements: embracing strategic playfulness; developing localized tactics; and building networks of resistance. Read the article at Kappan:
Teach like a Luddite - Kappan Online
Embracing new technologies that don’t advance teaching and learning is a mistake. Educators must ask questions — and resist when necessary.
kappanonline.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Teach like a Luddite! In which I join @philnichols.bsky.social and @anterobot.bsky.social to argue for a Luddite praxis in education grounded in three elements: embracing strategic playfulness; developing localized tactics; and building networks of resistance. Read the article at Kappan:
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
An excellent letter from @cjcrompton.bsky.social on the profound challenge that the double empathy problem poses to how autism is described and researched.
This letter to the British Journal of Psychiatry tells us everything we need to know about current thinking in #autism research. Concise, accessible & powerful. Read it if you think autism = social deficits! #DoubleEmpathyProblem www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Autism diagnosis and the double empathy problem | The British Journal of Psychiatry | Cambridge Core
Autism diagnosis and the double empathy problem
www.cambridge.org
November 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
An excellent letter from @cjcrompton.bsky.social on the profound challenge that the double empathy problem poses to how autism is described and researched.
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
Do you have an open working memory dataset and want it to be findable and reused? You can now add it to the Open WM Data Hub: williamngiam.github.io/OpenWMData! The collection of datasets tagged with useful metadata is steadily growing thanks to a small team of volunteers!
OpenWMData
A collection of publicly available working memory datasets
williamngiam.github.io
December 1, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Do you have an open working memory dataset and want it to be findable and reused? You can now add it to the Open WM Data Hub: williamngiam.github.io/OpenWMData! The collection of datasets tagged with useful metadata is steadily growing thanks to a small team of volunteers!
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
This is also a #neuro-affirming & integrative approach that suits autistic and other neurodivergent YP.
@thewoodbug.bsky.social is fab on this topic!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
#monotropism
@thewoodbug.bsky.social is fab on this topic!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
#monotropism
Autism, intense interests and support in school: from wasted efforts to shared understandings
Having intense or “special” interests and a tendency to focus in depth to the exclusion of other inputs, is associated with autistic cognition, sometimes framed as “monotropism”. Despite some drawb...
www.tandfonline.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:55 AM
This is also a #neuro-affirming & integrative approach that suits autistic and other neurodivergent YP.
@thewoodbug.bsky.social is fab on this topic!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
#monotropism
@thewoodbug.bsky.social is fab on this topic!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
#monotropism
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
New editorial with @sarah595.bsky.social and @heasutherland.com
We use our experiences working in UK special education and social care settings to explore some of the challenges of including autistic people with complex support needs in research. With recommendations!
We use our experiences working in UK special education and social care settings to explore some of the challenges of including autistic people with complex support needs in research. With recommendations!
Really proud to share this editorial co-authored by me, @suereviews.bsky.social and @heasutherland.com
We discuss some of the complexities of doing research in service settings which support autistic people who have complex support needs.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
We discuss some of the complexities of doing research in service settings which support autistic people who have complex support needs.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Doing research in services for autistic people with complex support needs: Challenges and considerations based on UK experiences - Sarah Donald, Holly Elizabeth Anne Sutherland, Sue Fletcher-Watson, 2...
journals.sagepub.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:10 AM
New editorial with @sarah595.bsky.social and @heasutherland.com
We use our experiences working in UK special education and social care settings to explore some of the challenges of including autistic people with complex support needs in research. With recommendations!
We use our experiences working in UK special education and social care settings to explore some of the challenges of including autistic people with complex support needs in research. With recommendations!
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Riding the Autism Bicycle to Retraction Town
Does anyone *really* know their Factor Fexcectorn?
nobreakthroughs.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:25 AM
On the Factor Fexcectorn and autism bicycle AI slop study: I got an answer from Springer Nature this morning that this scientific paper will be retracted! 🧪
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Full story: nobreakthroughs.substack.com/p/riding-the...
Reposted by Brónagh McCoy
New today in @Nature: your visual cortex contains touch-based body maps. bit.ly/VisualBodyMaps
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
November 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
New today in @Nature: your visual cortex contains touch-based body maps. bit.ly/VisualBodyMaps
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.