MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

We're still open for participants for this exciting study. To take part, contact Kamila.Jozwik@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk

Cambridge University announces a new Cambridge Mind and Brain Institute focused on understanding and improving brain health across our lifespan, from early childhood through to old age. Find out more 👉 https://bit.ly/4hpgZsl @mrccbu.bsky.social

In a new analysis of a US cohort of older adults, Lihua Xia and colleagues find evidence that bilingualism supports cognitive reserve in aging, in that the baseline cognition of bilinguals was less dependent on their brain structure: doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2026.09.008

What happens in the brain when we attend to an object? New paper shows neural processes driving inter-region coherence are most salient during a period of cued object selection, despite comparable local information representation during other task phases: doi.org/10.17863/CAM.134424

Interested in Generative AI and Mixed Reality? We're looking for participants for an exciting new study. To find out more or take part, contact Kamila.Jozwik@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk. Recruitment is open until the end of September.

Another exciting start of our annual two-week summer school #COGNESTIC (Cognitive Neuroimaging Skills Training In Cambridge) at @mrccbu.bsky.social! Here, 60 excited attendees attentively follow @dcdace.bsky.social's session "MRI Image Handling & BIDS".

In four behavioural experiments, we show that the effects of prior knowledge on episodic memory depend on the type of memory test, further revealing inadequacies of theories like SLIMM. https://rdcu.be/nCksGGx7iosa

A new study by Drs Guangting Mai, Emily Upton, Matt Davis and Holly Robson, reveals how cortical tracking of speech envelopes at multi-syllable and syllable levels reflects a combination of lesion and symptom profiles in post-stroke aphasia: doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcag261

Gates Cambridge Scholars Alicja Podgorski and Nimrod Hertz have been collaborating on research to address the complexity of #PTSD - www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/u... @uniofcam.bsky.social @stjohnscollege.bsky.social @gatesfoundation.bsky.social @mrccbu.bsky.social

A new study extends research on autobiographical memory processing to two novel domains in adolescents, finding that positive biases in memory processing were associated with good mental health, while these biases were reduced in adolescents at risk of affective disorder: doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70191

Jung, Lambon Ralph and colleagues report an 8057 patient ALE meta-analysis for structural and functional neuroimaging across bvFTD, nfvPPA, SD/svPPA and lvPPA: doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcag223

New publication by Lihua shows that bilingualism may protect against longitudinal decline of episodic memory, though many other effects of bilingualism can depend on ethnicity and gender: doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/72rd4_v1

New protocol paper (https://doi.org/10.37349/en.2026.1006138) describing Phases 4-5 of the Cam-CAN study of healthy ageing, led by Ina Demetriou Includes MRI and MEG data up to 14 years after baseline. Data available soon on https://cam-can.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/dataset/

Chan, Robinson and Lambon Ralph explore the neural and cognitive bases of creative thought: doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2026.06.022

The Genomics and Mental Health Research Day was held to great success – providing a forum to share insights, identify gaps in knowledge, and shape future research priorities. Read more about the event here: www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/blog/2026/06/genomics-and-mental-health-research-day-2026/

Does signed prediction error influence declarative memory? This recent study takes a closer look - replicating prior findings, but uncovering an alternative explanation along the way! Doi.org/10.3758/s13421-026-01864-8

The UK government says under-16s will be banned from social media by spring 2027. @orbenamy.bsky.social from @mrccbu.bsky.social gives her reaction to today's announcement, and measures it against the evidence we already have about social media restrictions. More expert reactions 👉 bit.ly/3Qq453H

Applications Open! We are looking for a motivated summer intern to support a podcast in development in collaboration with the Plasticity Lab, exploring what restorative, assistive, and augmentative neurotechnology reveals about hidden human capacity 🦾 Full details here: forms.office.com/e/PDjanEYkSE

Questionnaires need to be relevant and accessible. The CamQUAIT is designed with these goals in mind. This new questionnaire measures apathy and impulsivity in people with frontotemporal dementia,providing a helpful outcome measure to test symptomatic treatments: Doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345545

Across 1,000+ people, eating disorder symptoms were linked to “empathic disequilibrium”, feeling others’ emotions strongly while finding them harder to understand. Heightened emotional reactivity helped explain the link: DOI.org/10.1186/s40337-026-01600-2 #EatingDisorders #Empathy

Using a stochastic dynamical model, Grodem et al show that, before age 60, inter-individual differences in neuroanatomical volumes almost exclusively reflect stable differences between individuals, rather than systematic differences in rate-of-change: doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.1242

Intracranial electrophysiology and multivariate decoding reveal that all spectral frequencies of neural activity encode semantic information: https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.1201

Delighted to celebrate today @jvonseth.bsky.social from @mrccbu.bsky.social passing her PhD viva. Special thanks to examiners @olafhauk.bsky.social and @pattiadank.bsky.social for asking all the right questions

Congratulations to CBU Director, Prof. Matthew Lambon Ralph, on receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Málaga, recognising his internationally leading work on language, semantic cognition and aphasia, and long standing Cambridge–Málaga collaboration.

Code (python) is available at github: github.com/rl671/heterorc Should be readily applicable to your own EEG/MEG decoding pipelines! Great collaboration with @alexwoolgar.bsky.social @rhens.bsky.social , Sichao, Yanan, and John, during my time at @mrccbu.bsky.social & @theneuro.bsky.social ! (6/6)

The University approves plans for the Cambridge Mind and Brain Institute (CMBi). An evolution of the renowned CBU, bridging across Schools and Departments, the new Institute will integrate discovery science with clinical innovation to transform brain health. #Neuroscience #MentalHealth

Postdoc position in visual cognitive computational neuroscience in Jozwik lab at the University of Cambridge - https://kamilajozwik.com/join_lab.html

How does the brain adapt when a child is born with an upper limb difference? Research from @mrccbu.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk reveals widespread changes across the brain, highlighting its remarkable ability to reorganise and support adaptation to the world around them. Find out more: bit.ly/3Ov88dT

PhD position in visual cognitive computational neuroscience in Jozwik lab at the University of Cambridge https://kamilajozwik.com/join_lab.html

New paper reports frequency-dependent differences in resting-state haemodynamics of gliomas, potentially indicative of non-neural changes such as neovascularisation. DOI: 10.1007/s11060-026-05443-4

Take part in a University of Cambridge study testing whether AI chatbots can help track PTSD symptoms — earn £70 for your time. UK-based adults with PTSD or related symptoms welcome. Sign up here: https://cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Znqz5loh8N71Lo

A new perspective on the confusing term of “cognitive reserve” from Rik Henson the importance of multiple brain measures in explaining why some people maintain their cognition into late life: https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128261422282

Do novel experiences shortly before or after learning improve memory for what was learned? They don’t according to Raza et al., but simply resting might. Read about novel VR experiences versus wakeful rest as ways to improve memory: https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218251346156

Do metabolic rewards drive action? New study by Fleming et al. finds they shape preferences but not behaviour – a surprising dissociation with implications for understanding metabolic interoception in health and disease. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109187

Are episodic and semantic memory really that different? Using closely matched tasks, we found no substantial neural differences between recalling personal experiences and general knowledge: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02390-4

Newly accepted 🎉 Decoding of speech acoustics from EEG: Going beyond the amplitude envelope doi.org/10.1088/1741... via @ioppublishing.bsky.social @tobiasgoehring.bsky.social @mrccbu.bsky.social

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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.

Season's Greetings! From all at the MRC CBU 🎄☃️🎅