MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

New opinion paper linking the brain’s DMN response to cognitive transitions during narratives and task-switching; by Ashley Zhou, John Duncan and Daniel Mitchell (@djmitch81): doi.org/10.1016/j.neur…

Deadline for this funded PhD to work with me and @DuncanAstle is soon! 26 July. The student must be a woman (because the studentship is based at Newnham College Cambridge) and eligible for UK home fees.

Whole-brain white matter variation across: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2… #childhoodenvironments #adolescence #braindevelopment #whitematter

Recent research from CamCAN shows that, when pulse pressure, the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure, gets too high, it can damage the brain’s “wiring” (white matter), making it harder to think fast and solve puzzles: doi.org/10.1161/HYPERT…

How can AI fast-track the search for better Alzheimer’s treatments? Zoe Kourtzi @CambPsych has used a purpose-built AI model to reassess the results of a completed clinical trial for an Alzheimer's disease drug – and identified a group of patients who responded to treatment.…

We're v excited to be in midst of planning 8th @CamNeuro Symposium 'Interventions & Recovery' - what a line up!!! 🔬Abstract deadline Aug 1st ✏️Register by Sept 1st (inc for dinner at Trinity College) 📃Full details neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/camneuro-event… 🧠See you all in Cambridge in September!

An internation consortium explore self- vs carer-reports of apathy and motivation disorders in 335 patients with neurodegenerative disorders: doi.org/10.1093/brainc…

New results! We tested 3 control conditions for rh-TMS entrainment and showed ar-TMS performs best (matching sensory without inducing oscillatory effects). Also explored how rh-TMS/ar-TMS/sham-TMS differentially impact Oscillatory and Aperiodic activity! brainstimjrnl.com/article/S1935-…

Researchers present a scalable theory-free framework to describe the maths of neural processing: doi.org/10.1016/j.neur…

CBU researchers led a worldwide community consensus on the challenging but powerful combination of brain stimulation with neuroimaging using TMS-fMRI: nature.com/articles/s4159…

New research tracks how empathic disequilibrium, the balance between emotional and cognitive empathy, shifts from age 3-12: link.springer.com/article/10.100…

🚨 Funded PhD @CambridgeUni! Work with top minds — @DuncanAstle & @sjblakemore on the impact of #developmental differences on #education!🧠📚 A month to apply ⏰ For details see👇 🔗drive.google.com/file/d/1RIvgoU… Newnham-based 👩‍🎓💅 @mrccbu #psycology #cambridge #opportunity

Jackson et al conducted an interslice TMS-fMRI protocol to assess the minimum time required between TMS pulses and MR slices to avoid MR signal loss and show a TMS frequency of up to 10 Hz is possible: doi.org/10.1016/j.jneu…

@LoicMnzs (CRO @CentreEduSyst) chairs a panel on mental health & neurodiversity in young people. Expert insights from Prof @DuncanAstle, Prof @Tamsin_J_Ford & Charlotte Kume-Holland (@DHSCgovuk) #sciencepolicy #csapconference2025

Was lovely to do this interview with @WomeninNeuroUK 🥰 Hopefully some useful tips on engaging with #scicomm but the main one is... just do it!! You are an expert (whether you believe it or not 😉) so get out there and get talking!

To my surprise, our Nature Reviews Neuroscience review on the Brain Mechanisms Underlying the Inhibitory Control of Thought has landed on the cover! Cover art below! For an "explainer thread", see our earlier tweet. @mrccbu #memory #ptsd x.com/Memory_Control…

How does the frontoparietal network encode information from auditory and visual tasks? @Jade_BJackson et al show it encodes rule information in both, with the same neural resources, but it does so using modality dependent non generalisable codes: doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a…

New paper by Lydia Hickman discusses potential reasons for high rates of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the autistic population: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…