Liron Rozenkrantz

The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.

A huge milestone for the lab, and for me personally! Thank you Israel Science Foundation #ISF for supporting our research on #nocebo effects in everyday life. We'll examine how health perceptions causally shape physical health outcomes, and study the physiological mechanisms involved.
#beliefslab

Couldn't recommend more!

Thanks for the comment! Completely agree, we also cite this view in one of the first sentences of the introduction :)

This seems relevant to psychedelic research, where expectancy is still often viewed only as a baseline variable. We should also consider its dynamic changes, how (psychedelic & other) treatment experiences influence them, and their impact on outcomes.

@psybalazs.bsky.social
@theborislab.bsky.social

Fascinating! I had no idea, thanks for sharing, putting this on top of my reading list!

This work is a result of a magical interdisciplinary collaboration and years of joint work with Sigal Zilcha Mano (psychotherapy), Itai Dattner (statistics) and Alex Laskorunsky, all from @UofHaifa, and with the support of the Data Science Research Center!
#beliefslab @biumedicine.bsky.social

Putting this into context of broader belief updating frameworks that we and others proposed, expectancy change can be seen as an ecological, dynamic marker of belief revision, a process central to both recovery from depression and models of adaptive cognition.

We think this has meaningful implications. It suggests we should track belief trajectories in therapy, not just at baseline.
Therapy works in part by helping people revise what they believe is possible. Expectancy change could be a marker of progress and a target for intervention.

Expectancy updating significantly predicted these recovery variables, even more strongly than baseline expectancy, based on model coefficients.
In other words, it’s not just where you begin, but also the direction you move. Expectancy change is a possible clinically meaningful signal.

Some started hopeful. Some didn’t. But those who updated their expectancy upward, showed the greatest improvement by the end of treatment. This was evident both in the degree of depressive score change and speed of improvement.

We followed 75 patients with verified major depression over 16 therapy sessions. At 6 points, we asked about their outcome expectancy. Then we tracked both where they started and how that expectancy changed throughout treatment.

Most research focuses on baseline expectancy: patients' initial belief that therapy will help - a major predictor of therapy outcome. But expectancies aren't fixed. They can shift over time. We asked: Do these within-person changes in expectancy predict treatment success?

Dynamic expectancies: The independent role of within-person change in outcome expectancy in predicting overall treatment outcomes in psychotherapy for depression Dynamic changes in patients’ outcome expectancy have been increasingly recognized as important for psychotherapy success. However, whether expectancy change predicts treatment outcomes independentl...

In psychotherapy, treatment expectations matter. But even more powerful? ➡️ How they change over time. Our new paper shows that updating expectations during psychotherapy for MDD predicts depression outcomes. 🔗 www.tandfonline.com/eprint/WRBWU...
#depression #psychotherapy #beliefupdating

Super excited to arrive in Bordeaux for the first time to attend #PNIRS2025 for the first time! :)
@pnirs.bsky.social

#beliefslab #PsycoNeuroImmunology

Huge thanks to our participants and amazing team. We hope this sparks further research into scalable, neurodiversity-affirming tools for mental health. The need is real - and the potential, even more so.
#Autism #Mindfulness #MentalHealth

Anxiety affects up to 65% (!) of autistic adults. A self-paced, remote mindfulness tool offers autonomy and accessibility, especially valuable for those for whom in-person or group settings are challenging.

Smartphone Mindfulness Intervention Reduces Anxiety Symptoms and Perceived Stress in Autistic Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial - Mindfulness Objectives In-person mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to decrease symptoms of anxiety and stress in autistic adults, who often report high levels of these symptoms. Little is kno...

We then replicated the findings in a second group. Every key result held. Even 6 weeks after most participants had stopped practicing, the benefits persisted, suggesting mindfulness may leave a lasting cognitive imprint.
link to paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

We ran an RCT testing a free, self-paced mindfulness app in 89 autistic adults. After just 6 weeks of daily 10–15 minute practice, participants reported striking improvements: less anxiety, less stress, fewer negative emotions, and more positive ones.

Daily mindfulness practice reduces anxiety for autistic adults - MIT McGovern Institute Just ten to 15 minutes of mindfulness practice a day led to reduced stress and anxiety for autistic adults who participated in a study led by scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute. Participants in th...

Consider reading this beautiful piece by the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT @mit.edu about our new paper on remote mindfulness in autistic adults, co-led with the amazing John Gabrieli and team, and with Cindy Li as a gifted first author.
mcgovern.mit.edu/2025/04/28/d...

Crazy concluding talk by Ivan de Araujo about the role of the central amygdala in regulating the vagal nerve in response to stress. It causes altered immunity through inhibition of mucosal secretion in the gut!! Absolutely fascinating to reveal the mechanisms stress's impact on immunity!

#mbb2025

No worries Micah! It was such a pleasure meeting you! I'm sure we'll have plenty more opportunities to meet and chat :) looking forward to it!

So cool to see this important preprint and then get to hear @micahgallen.com presents these fascinating results at #mbb!
A pharmacological manipulation of cardiac activity alters interoception. Super important step into causality and mechanisms! Congrats 🎉

Congratulations!! 🎉🎉 So well deserved!

After a great opening yesterday featuring @torwager.bsky.social @danlikesbrains.bsky.social and @brainandstomach.bsky.social - now starting today with a fascinating talk by Nadine Gogolla! #mbb2025

Mind blowing presentation by @gogolla.bsky.social about the insula and cardiac tuning. Fascinating!
#mbb2025

Amazing talk by @danielklug.bsky.social about the causal relationship between respiration/breathing and autonomic arousal as measured by pupil dilation!
#MindBrainBody symposium

Also, what a beautiful conference hall...

#MindBrainBody symposium starting strong with a fascinating keynote lecture by @torwager.bsky.social followed by a session about brain body coupling and regulation, including brain-stomach, brain-respiration and brain-cardiac interactions.
So happy to finally get here (despite cancelled flight..)

Can't wait to get there!!!
#MindBrainBody