MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

Come listen to John Duncan and myself discussing his new book on 25 Nov. So much insight into the human condition. Definitely not an event to miss!

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...

New paper - Sex differences in healthy brain aging are unlikely to explain higher Alzheimer’s Disease prevalence in women: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510486122

The neurodevelopmental spectrum of CASK-related disorder - Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Background Pathogenic CASK variants are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders of variable severity including X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) and microcephaly with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH). Although the number of diagnosed cases is rising, current understanding of the CASK-related neurodevelopmental spectrum is limited. Here, we systematically review the published characteristics of individuals with CASK-related disorder, and compare these to a more recently-diagnosed group. We provide quantitative information about the ranges of adaptive abilities, motor function, visual function and social-emotional-behavioural characteristics, and explore within-group associations. Methods One hundred and fifty-one individuals with CASK variants were identified in published literature. Thirty-one children and young people with CASK variants were recruited to the UK-based Brain and Behaviour in Neurodevelopmental disorders of Genetic Origin (BINGO) project. BINGO-participating caregivers completed a bespoke medical history questionnaire and battery of standardised neurodevelopmental measures. Results Comparing the recently diagnosed BINGO CASK-related disorder group to previously reported individuals, we found consistent prevalence of tone abnormalities, sensorineural hearing loss and epilepsy, but lower prevalence of severe/profound ID, MICPCH, optic atrophy and nystagmus. Areas of frequent difficulty not highlighted in previous reports include sleep difficulties and cerebral visual impairment (CVI). Neurodevelopmental characteristics were highly variable within the BINGO CASK-related disorder group, and group-wide patterns were similar to those observed in other rare genetic conditions. Within the BINGO CASK-related group, epilepsy is significantly associated with ID severity, after controlling for age. Sub-groups with MICPCH or microcephaly only have equivalent ranges of adaptive function, but MICPCH may be associated with more severe motor difficulties. Conclusion The spectrum of neurodevelopmental characteristics associated with CASK-related disorder appears to be broadening with increased access to genome-wide diagnostic testing. Further studies are needed to elucidate the relationships between CASK variants, structural brain development, epilepsy, and neurodevelopmental characteristics.

New paper: The neurodevelopmental spectrum of CASK-related disorder: doi.org/10.1186/s116...

An amazing and rewarding experience at @mrccbu.bsky.social attending COGNESTIC 2025. Something like this at the start of a PhD journey can be extremely helpful in shaping the research. Extremely grateful!

New paper: Mapping the task-general and task-specific neural correlates of speech production: meta-analysis and fMRI direct comparisons of category fluency and picture naming: doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...

Disentangling phonology from phonological short-term memory in Alzheimer’s disease phenotypes - Alzheimer's Research & Therapy Background Impaired phonological short-term memory is a core feature of the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA), but it is not clear whether a core phonological processing deficit is also present. Methods We asked three questions: (i) beyond short-term memory impairment, do lvPPA patients have an impairment within phonology itself?; (ii) is their performance in working memory and naming reflective of this phonological impairment?; and (iii) is their repetition performance related to structural and functional differences in key language-dominant regions? We compared non-word and word repetition and short-term memory performance in patients with typical Alzheimer’s disease (tAD), lvPPA per consensus criteria, and others who previously satisfied definitions of lvPPA but had progressed with multi-domain cognitive impairments (lvPPA+). Results Bayesian analyses revealed no group differences in phonological tasks of word and non-word repetition. We found very strong evidence for an effect of self-reported hearing loss on word and non-word repetition, but not multi-syllabic word/phrase repetition. A comparison of phonological versus working memory and naming tasks produced either no evidence or evidence for no correlation. Beyond the expected grey matter reductions in patients relative to controls, there was anecdotal evidence for an association between non-word repetition and functional connectivity between dorsal premotor and posterior superior temporal gyrus regions in patients. Conclusions Our results indicated that, in the absence of self-reported hearing loss, patients did not exhibit impairments in tasks tapping “pure” phonological processing. Our results suggest that instead of having a core phonological impairment, lvPPA patients have a working memory/buffering impairment.

New paper - 'Disentangling phonology from phonological short-term memory in Alzheimer’s disease phenotypes': alzres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Fellowship Programme - Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship programme Cambridge NeuroWorks is proud to introduce the Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship Programme, offering two transformative fellowship streams …

If you are interested in a postdoc fellowship working on concurrent brain stimulation and imaging (e.g. TMS-fMRI doi.org/10.1101/2025...), then check out this unique opportunity and get in touch (deadline for expressions of interest is 13 Oct).

cambridgeneuroworks.org/programmes/f...

It was hard to say goodbye after two intense and exciting weeks at COGNESTIC 2025. Thank you to all our attendees for making it such a fantastic event. From fMRI to football, EEG/MEG to electric golf, we enjoyed every moment of science, ideas, networking, and fun — even the sun joined in.

Many mental health conditions are associated with increased metabolic morbidity and mortality–why? We propose a model of interoceptive allostasis explaining how mental-metabolic comorbidity can occur and propagate through a vicious cycle of energy dysregulation: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The presymptomatic and early manifestations of semantic dementia Whiteside et al. find that brain imaging can reveal temporal lobe atrophy related to semantic dementia around 3–5 years before symptom onset. Whereas clini

New study led by David Whiteside shows that people with semantic dementia have significant brain volume loss before the onset of symptoms, and that a mild semantic problems across multiple domains can be detected in the early symptomatic phase: doi.org/10.1093/brai...

The second week of #COGNESTIC starts with Petar Raykov's @praykov.bsky.social "fMRI Connectivity I". I've never seen the @mrccbu.bsky.social's lecture theatre this full on a Monday morning 😉

Followed by "fMRI Connectivity II" by no other than @mrccbu.bsky.social's Rik Henson @rhens.bsky.social.

Luca Serrière, José Gomes, and Xingnan Zhao are at the University of Cambridge for #COGNESTIC 2025, an immersive training at the @mrccbu.bsky.social to boost skills in cognitive neuroimaging!🧠

New paper: DECRYPT trial (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....) for youth (8-17) with PTSD following multiple traumas. Cognitive Therapy was superior to treatment-as-usual at 11-month follow-up & improved anxiety/depression.

Does what you eat really shape your brain, and mental health? Or is it the other way around? Come discover how metabolism links body, brain, and mood with @camillanord.bsky.social at the Arches London Bridge for a SeedTalk on 30 September www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/metabolism...

Here we go again - a room full of attendees from all over the world at #COGNESTIC 2025, excited to learn about #neuroimaging analysis. Kshipra Gurunandan starts it off with a Primer to #Python. @mrccbu.bsky.social

New fMRI study shows the hippocampus signals mismatches only when our expectations are based on episodic memories — not general knowledge. Challenges theories of the hippocampus as a domain-general comparator. We also explore how brain networks respond to surprise: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

New CamCAN paper led by @noham-wolpe.bsky.social shows that older adults’ tendency to see facial expressions as more positive may not be the adaptive “rose-coloured glasses” we thought, but could signal early cognitive decline and neurodegeneration: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40854689/

How did social science help us with understanding the brain’s connectivity pattern? By Dr. Kayson Fakhar.Let’s start with ‘networks’. They build useful intuitions for otherwise complex interactions all around us. To unpack, a network is simply a set of interconnected ‘nodes’. This br...

Check out our latest blog by @kayson.bsky.social on our website relating to our research funded by @templetonworld.bsky.social: www.brainwiring.net/post/how-did...
#brainnetworks #socialnetworks #brainwiring

New study from Cam-CAN using 11 different white matter (WM) measures shows WM health is multidimensional—4 latent MRI-derived factors explain 89% of WM variance, linking brain microstructure to vascular health & cognition: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Join us for a 2-day international conference "Interventions & Recovery"🧠 bit.ly/46QQ1WG
We'll cover cell & gene therapies, pharmaceutical innovations, and cutting-edge neurotechnology

Check out our Programme!👇https://neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/camneuro-events/8th-cambridge-neuroscience-symposium/?tab=2

In this paper, we measured three neural responses (eCAP, eABR, eASSR) to stimulation with #cochlearimplant using the same stimulus to disentangle the effects of response type and of stimulus type on neural response properties: doi.org/10.1016/j.he...

International study shows that higher levels of education do not reduce rates of cognitive and brain decline in later years, contrary to views that education protects against such decline: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@rhens.bsky.social

Brain wiring economics, network organisation and population-level genomics Abstract. What role do our genes play in shaping the structural organisation of the living human brain? Across a sample of 2,153 children (9–11 years old), we address this question, focusing on common...

*New Paper* How genes for IQ shape brain organisation. Amazing work led by Alicja Monaghan @mrccbu.bsky.social reveals 2 ways. First, they’re associated w/ the ‘costs’ of network formation. Second, they define ‘high value’ areas within the network. How she did it…🧵
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...

Whole-brain white matter variation across childhood environments | PNAS White matter develops over the course of childhood in an experience-dependent manner. However, its role in the relationship between the early envir...

Whole-brain white matter variation across: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... #childhood environments #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/HYPE...
@camcan-2010.bsky.social

MRI brain scan of a patient progressing rapidly to Alzheimer’s disease.

How can AI fast-track the search for better Alzheimer’s treatments?

Zoe Kourtzi from @campsydept.bsky.social used AI to reanalyse a clinical trial and found a group of patients who responded – showing 46% slower cognitive decline.

Find out more 👇
bit.ly/3GPUgHu

I'm hiring 2+ 2.5-year postdocs over the next few months.

Job 1: looking for someone with deep expertise in computational modelling (reinforcement learning, agent based modelling) on real-world/complex data (closing: 18 August, starting: October-December), www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/52059/

Can you control an extra robotic finger just by flexing your leg muscles?
In our new study, we put EMG-based muscle control to the test, comparing it to traditional toe force sensor control for operating the Third Thumb (designed by @daniclode.bsky.social).
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