MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
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mrccbu.bsky.social
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
@mrccbu.bsky.social
Reposted by MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
Professor @orbenamy.bsky.social from @mrccbu.bsky.social will co-lead the world’s first major trial to test whether reducing social media use can improve teen mental health.

Find out more about the IRL Trial: https://bit.ly/4a2FZmB

#socialmedia #research
Thousands of UK schoolchildren to take part in major study of social media use and teen mental health
A trial that will put a daily limit on the social media use of thousands of Bradford teenagers is set to begin this year. It will be the largest study yet to investigate whether use of these online pl...
bit.ly
January 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM
You still have two weeks to register for COGNESTIC, 14-25 September 2026. We provide training in state-of-the-art methods for neuroimaging analysis and great opportunities for professional networking, especially for early-career researchers. For more info:
www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/events/cogne...
January 15, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
What should you stop doing in 2026? ⛔

Here are 12 ways to improve your wellbeing and productivity – based on decades of world-leading #research from experts at @mrccbu.bsky.social @eng.cam.ac.uk and @psychiatry-ucam.bsky.social 👇
https://bit.ly/49aIX8p
January 7, 2026 at 8:00 AM
New preregistered study: A week of cognitive training can reduce automatic avoidance tendencies—showing that Pavlovian biases aren’t fixed, but flexible and trainable: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-02467-001.html #CognitiveTraining #DecisionMaking #ComputationalPsychi
January 8, 2026 at 10:54 AM
New paper alert: Comparing the effect of multi-gradient echo and multi-band fMRI during a semantic task: https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.1043
January 7, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Across three experiments, de Montpellier et al. (2025) report that negative emotion does not impair hippocampal-dependent associative memory, contrary to the Dual Representation Account of PTSD: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-025-01371-4
January 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Congratulations to Dr Lewis Owens, leading CBU supporter and fundraiser, on his MBE in the New Year’s Honours List. Thoroughly deserved for his amazing amount of fundraising, volunteering and charitable work over so many years.
January 2, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Season's Greetings!
From all at the MRC CBU 🎄☃️🎅
December 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
🚨new work with the dream team @danakarca.bsky.social @loopyluppi.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @stuartoldham.bsky.social @duncanastle.bsky.social
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 15, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Fathers’ and Mothers’ support needs and support experiences after rapid genome sequencing: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fathers’ and Mothers’ support needs and support experiences after rapid genome sequencing
European Journal of Human Genetics - Fathers’ and Mothers’ support needs and support experiences after rapid genome sequencing
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Huge congratulations to @mrccbu.bsky.social's @charlottegarcia.bsky.social for receiving the “Outstanding Contributions to EDI in the Workplace” award at yesterday’s School of Clinical Medicine EDI event! So well-deserved.
December 10, 2025 at 11:14 AM
New paper introduces a novel way to study brain degeneracy: we identify group of people with distinct neural activation but similar task performance and demographics – showing that multiple brain activation patterns can support the same cognitive outcome: https://ow.ly/sX9O50XG7RM
December 9, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Apathy is a common symptom in a wide range of conditions with limited treatment. In this opinion article, we highlight a novel approach to apathy based on a reduction in confidence on action outcomes, & include testable hypotheses at a cognitive & neuroanatomical level: www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
Apathy as a failure of active inference
Apathy is a common symptom across a wide range of neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions, characterised by a loss of goal-directed action. It is associated with faster rates of cognitive and fun...
www.cell.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Congratulations to MRC CBU’s PhD student Annalise Whines, who won the runner-up prize at the MRC Max Perutz Science Communication Awards in the video category. ‘Does motivation change across the menstrual cycle?’ https://www.ukri.org/publications/mrc-max-perutz-science-writing-award-2025/
December 5, 2025 at 9:41 AM
What if it’s not about having “too much” or “too little” empathy, but about the balance between understanding and sharing others’ emotions? A new paper review empathic disequilibrium in autism and mental health, moving beyond deficit-oriented narratives: https://ow.ly/p5lH50XzTUW
December 1, 2025 at 2:02 PM
A special issue of Neuropsychologia celebrates John Duncan’s career at the time of his retirement: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10QN6R7VQSM. Read the editorial by Daniel Mitchell, Moataz Assem and Alexandra Woolgar here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109323
December 1, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Why do some people lose memory faster with age? A mega-analysis of 13 longitudinal datasets (3,700+ adults, 10,000+ MRIs) shows that memory decline tracks brain atrophy, especially in the hippocampus, and that these links strengthen with age, but not APOE status: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 27, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Researchers from MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge and University of Cambridge showed that the brain stays in the adolescent phase until our early thirties. Find out more in the BBC article 👉 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl6klez226o
November 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
We introduces Nonlinear TL-MDPC, a neural-network-based method to capture multidimensional, time-lagged brain connectivity in EEG/MEG data. While it outperforms linear methods in simulations, it only shows subtle gains in real data: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1533034
November 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Happy LGBTQ+STEM Day! To mark the occasion, LGBTQ+ and ally scientists alike introduced our new pride flag to the @mrccbu.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 4:26 PM
One week to go! Get your tickets on the link below...
What does it mean to be both animal and thinker? Join @moatazassem.bsky.social and John Duncan on 25 November at Murray Edwards College for the launch of John’s new book ‘The Animal and the Thinker.’ Get your tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-animal...
November 18, 2025 at 11:21 AM
We are excited to announce #COGNESTIC 2026 @mrccbu.bsky.social in Cambridge, between 14-25 Sep 2026. Our 2-week summer school provides training in state-of-the-art methods for open neuroimaging analysis and great opportunities for professional networking:
www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/events/cogne...
November 17, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
Cambridge researchers: Want your work to be recognised for its real‐world impact? 🌍

The application deadline for the Cambridge Awards for #Research Impact and Engagement has been extended!

Apply before 21 November and get your story heard 👇
https://bit.ly/43lwECT

@cambridgefestival.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 8:00 AM
New research by Henderson and colleagues found graded distinctions among typical amnestic and atypical (language, visual) Alzheimer’s phenotypes. The findings support a transdiagnostic, multidimensional model of AD that spans all subtypes: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-025-01873-w
November 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
People with poorer glucose control show faster learning from rewards, in turn linked to higher depression symptoms. This suggests a neurocognitive bridge between metabolic disease and mood: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100645
#MetabolicPsychiatry #Interoception #Depression
November 7, 2025 at 9:50 AM