Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

AI is damaging science. The number of grant applications and paper submissions has increased dramatically, partly driven by AI. Some interview candidates are using AI to transcribe online interviews and generate answers in real time. This is not sustainable, and it compromises integrity and fairness

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There’s an Oxford comma too. Unequivocal

The em dash is a giveaway

❤️ UCL 🎉

YouTube video by Emily Towner Tutorial - R for Data Wrangling

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=xigZ...

YouTube video by Emily Towner Tutorial - R for Beginners

Reminder about a couple of free online R tutorials for beginners by Dr @emilyanntowner.bsky.social

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=boJs...

‘They’re taught that showing feelings is shameful’: eight reasons men don’t go to therapy – and why they should A clinical psychologist on why men still don’t seek help for their mental health

Fascinating article about men’s mental health, by Dr Stephen Blumenthal

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Yes, there‘s lots of research showing that it’s easier to learn a second language the earlier a child is exposed to it

Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning - PubMed Infants acquire language with remarkable speed, although little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the acquisition process. Studies of the phonetic units of language have shown that early in life, infants are capable of discerning differences among the phonetic units of all languages, inclu …

For sound categorisation yes, with some relearning possible with specific irl training - see paper below

My dad presented a BBC series called The Mind Machine in the 1980S

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12861072/

I know! He would love the symmetry

In Cambridge in the 1970s, my dad, Colin Blakemore, worked and lectured on sensitive periods of sensory development. In my Cambridge undergrad lectures on this topic, I show a clip from one of his TV shows, which describes sensitive periods for sound categorisation, and features Prof Janet Werker:

Lovely winter Cambridge walk with @stepalminteri.bsky.social

Government to drive action to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media Government launches consultation on children's social media use and bans phones in schools to protect young people's wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences.

About time.

Government to drive action to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Wow, is that Bath?

If only this one-star review of my book started half way through line 5.
Shout out to my science buddies 🤩

Please follow me on Instagram, where I’ll be posting neuroscience-related content

www.instagram.com/sarahjaynebl...

Congratulations the @campsydept.bsky.social prize winners!

The Brenda Milner Prize 2025 was awarded to Dr @rakoenmaertens.bsky.social

The Anne Treisman Prize 2025 was awarded ex aequo to Dr David Young and Dr Chloe Austerberry.

See below for details:

www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/news/congrat...

•Vaccines

Transcribing interview with a great Parkinson’s scientist - love his advice to young researchers:
“Pick your area, stick with it, and accept that at some point in your life it will be flavour of the month, and at some point in your career, it will be ’I can't believe you're still working on that’”

sobellhouse.org

The surprising truth about who the loneliest generations are - BBC News Conversations around it often focus on the elderly. But by some measures, people in their 20s are the loneliest group in Britain

Such an important article about loneliness in young adults

www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

If you can afford to donate to charity this Christmas and are wondering which to support, consider your local hospice. They rely on donations for most of their funding.

Here’s an article (which I have posted before) about why it’s so vital to support hospices

archive.is/2024.12.12-0...

The surprising truth about who the loneliest generations are - BBC News Conversations around it often focus on the elderly. But by some measures, people in their 20s are the loneliest group in Britain

Such an important article about loneliness in young adults

www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

If you can afford to donate to charity this Christmas and are wondering which to support, consider your local hospice. They rely on donations for most of their funding.

Here’s an article (which I have posted before) about why it’s so vital to support hospices

archive.is/2024.12.12-0...

167. Faith, Depression, and Finding Calm in the Chaos (Professor Mark Williams) Spotify video

A must listen!

The wonderful Professor Mark Williams is interviewed on Leading podcast @therestpolitics.bsky.social

Focusing on mindfulness, depression, faith and finding calm in the chaos

open.spotify.com/episode/0hcn...

New job at Cambridge!

Professorship of Public Policy

www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...

I was delighted to jointly win the Anne Treisman award 2025! For my paper on Bayesian polarisation, in Cognition: doi.org/10.1016/j.co... Thanks so much to @sjblakemore.bsky.social and the rest of the committee, and my co-authors @leede-wit.bsky.social and @jenskoedmadsen.bsky.social

🌟 Congratulations to @rakoenmaertens.bsky.social, who was awarded The Brenda Milner Best Paper Prize by a PhD or MPhil Student in the Cambridge Department of Psychology