MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

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

Decoding of speech acoustics from EEG: Going beyond the amplitude envelope Decoding of speech acoustics from EEG: Going beyond the amplitude envelope, MacIntyre, Alexis Deighton, Gaultier, Clément, Goehring, Tobias

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

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...

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...

A joyful person with raised arms celebrating under a clear blue sky. Text above him reads: 'Boost your life in 2026': 12 top tips from Cambridge experts for a healthier body and mind'.

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 🎄☃️🎅

🚨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...

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

Fathers’ and Mothers’ support needs and support experiences after rapid genome sequencing: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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.

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

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...

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...

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/

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

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

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...

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

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

Happy LGBTQ+STEM Day! To mark the occasion, LGBTQ+ and ally scientists alike introduced our new pride flag to the @mrccbu.bsky.social

One week to go! Get your tickets on the link below...

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...

Group of people smiling and enjoying a gathering inside the Old Schools at the University of Cambridge. Two individuals in the centre are sharing a joyful moment. A text overlay reads: "Calling all Cambridge researchers: Do you want your work to be recognised for its real-world impact?"

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

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

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