Placebo-Forschung: Placebos sind der Schlüssel zu einer menschlichen Medizin Wir haben eine Apotheke in uns, die wir kostenlos nutzen können. Der Placebo-Effekt ist so stark, dass wir eigentlich das gesamte Gesundheitswesen umkrempeln müssten.

Toller Artikel @zeit.de über Placebo-Effekte @sfb-trr-289.bsky.social. Toll auf den Punkt gebracht, dass der Placebo-Effekt ein klinisch extremlich nützlicher Mechanismus ist, der von Medizin und Pharma als Freund, nicht als Feind, betrachtet werden sollte. www.zeit.de/gesundheit/2...

From Expectation to Learning: A Mediational Model of Exposure Therapy Outcome in Anxiety Disorders Abstract. Introduction: Negative expectations about treatment outcomes are associated with poorer recovery in anxiety disorders. However, it remains unclear whether (1) patients’ expectations about how effective the treatment will be (treatment-specific expectations) mediate the link between generalized negative expectations (i.e. unspecific pessimistic beliefs) and treatment outcomes, and (2) these expectations affect outcomes via the learning rate during exposure therapy, that is, the extent to which patients update their fear-related beliefs based on corrective experiences. Since treatment-specific expectations may be more modifiable, clarifying these mechanisms could improve interventions. This study investigated whether treatment-specific expectations and learning rate mediate the effect of generalized negative expectations on treatment outcomes. Methods: Data from 605 patients with various anxiety disorders undergoing 12 sessions of manualized exposure therapy were analyzed. Generalized negative expectations at baseline (session 0) were hypothesized to predict treatment outcomes (i.e., symptom severity at post treatment) via expectations about treatment success measured at session 4 and learning rate during exposure. Depression and anxiety at baseline were covariates. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro with bootstrap confidence intervals. Results: Generalized negative expectations predicted poorer treatment outcomes (higher symptom severity), mediated by lower expectations about treatment success (β = 0.0375; 95% CI: 0.0088–0.0730). A sequential mediation via these treatment-specific expectations and learning rate was also significant (β = 0.0059; 95% CI: 0.0008–0.0134), even after accounting for baseline symptom levels (R² = 0.3375). Conclusion: Targeting both generalized and treatment-specific expectations early in treatment may enhance exposure-based learning and improve clinical outcomes in anxiety disorders.

New manuscript:

From Expectation to Learning: A Mediational Model of Exposure Therapy Outcome in Anxiety Disorders

We propose a hierarchical pathway: generalized expectations → treatment-specific expectations → learning rate during exposure → clinical outcome. doi.org/10.1159/0005...
#Expectation

Our special issue on the CRC/TRR 393 "Trajectories of Affective Disorders" is out. Find out all about the project here
www.springermedizin.de/der-nervenar...
@trr393.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @unimarburg.bsky.social

Why are tactile sensations suppressed during movements? In our new preprint, we explain this as optimal integration of sensory signals with an internal model.

Work led by @fatatai.bsky.social with Dimitris Voudouris, Katja Fiehler and @c-rothkopf.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Genetic predisposition to inflammation and psychopathology: A transdiagnostic network analysis Although low-grade inflammatory processes have traditionally been studied in affective disorders, they are increasingly recognized as relevant across …

How is genetic risk for inflammation linked to mental disorders?
Our new study applies transdiagnostic network analysis to uncover symptom-level associations beyond categorical diagnoses. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Leiter*in (m/w/d) der zentralen Core Facility MR I... Mit der Entwicklung der zentralen, fakultätsübergreifenden Core Facility MR Imaging baut die Universität Bielefeld unter Beteiligung der Naturwisse...

I’m excited to announce that Bielefeld will soon (in 2026) be home to a research-dedicated 3-T MRI The scanner will be run as a central research core facility, and we’re seeking a scientific leader (TV-L E15, permanent) to help build and shape it. MR physicist ads to follow. tinyurl.com/mryhaxed

"deepmriprep: VBM preprocessing via deep neural networks" is published in Nature Computational Science 🧠💻

🔗 Paper: rdcu.be/e1t4N

VBM preprocessing in ~10 seconds per #brain image 🚀

🔗 GitHub: github.com/wwu-mmll/deepm…

Install via "pip install deepmriprep"

deepmriprep: voxel-based morphometry preprocessing via deep neural networks - Nature Computational Science deepmriprep leverages neural networks to enable voxel-based morphometry preprocessing of MRI data that is 37× faster than existing methods while achieving comparable accuracy in segmentation, registra...

📢Out now! @codingfisch.bsky.social and colleagues present deepmriprep, a tool that leverages neural networks to enable 37x faster Voxel-based Morphometry preprocessing of MRI data than existing methods. www.nature.com/articles/s43... #compneurosky

New fMRI evidence shows altered neural dynamics in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: temporal recalibration of action-outcome predictions engages the middle frontal gyrus and cerebellum differently in patients vs controls. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Instructed increase in fear activation during exposure exercises does not enhance treatment effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder and agoraphobia The efficacy of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (eCBT) for panic disorder and agoraphobia (PD/AG) is well established, but the mechanisms …

New evidence challenges a usual assumption of exposure therapy: instructed increases in fear activation during exposure did not enhance treatment outcomes for anxiety disorders (e.g., social anxiety/panic) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What to target? Interventions to modulate key mechanisms underlying the trajectories of affective disorders in the transregional Collaborative Research Center 393 - Der Nervenarzt Background Affective disorders are associated with an enormous disease burden, necessitating research on the mechanisms of effective treatments. Objectives This article introduces the intervention pro...

Introduction to the interventions tested in our @trr393.bsky.social consortium to improve #depression and #bipolardisorder
Big thanks to @lisaleehr.bsky.social!
@unimarburg.bsky.social @tudresden.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de @dfg.de @dgps.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Let's meet at the #DGPPN! Our members are happy to chat with you at our info desk in the exhibition hall, right across the main entrance - stop by to get to know the people behind the hashtag #SFBTRR393 👥 (also: we have sweets 🤭)

#DGPPN2025 #DGPPNKongress

Sustainability of treatment success five years after exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders Abstract. Introduction: Achieving sustainable success in the treatment of anxiety disorders remains a central objective in mental health care. Although research has demonstrated the short-term efficac...

📄 New study published: Exploring the sustainability of treatment success over five years – key insights for clinical practice! 🔍
Read more here: doi.org/10.1159/0005...

#Medicine #TreatmentSuccess #LongTermStudy #Research #Sustainability

Last week, 130 researchers of the #SFBTRR393 & invited guests gathered at Kulturrathaus Dresden for an inspiring retreat. 4 days of sharing recent results, discussing new directions, and strengthening collaborations across sites. More & more difficult to get everyone into one photo, but we managed!

During last week's retreat, we awarded #posterprizes to the best 3 of ~70 excellent #ECR posters.

🎉 Congratulations to winners Vera Ludwig, Alina Nostadt, Claudia Förster Ribet, Tung Anh Nguyen & Theresa Kolb - thank you to all ECRs for presenting your research and engaging in lively discussions!

Key mechanisms of affective disorders - Der Nervenarzt Background Although affective disorders are a major driver of disability worldwide, there is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms and modulating factors involved in the long-term disease trajecto...

🧠 Our CRC/TRR 393 consortium outlines key mechanisms of affective disorders — focusing on emotion regulation, expectation, social cognition, and cognitive-behavioral rhythms.

Read here 👉 doi.org/10.1007/s001...
@kanske.bsky.social @markuswohr.bsky.social @lisaleehr.bsky.social @trr393.bsky.social

Regional brain morphology and current antidepressant use: findings from 32 international cohorts from the ENIGMA major depressive disorder working group - Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry - Regional brain morphology and current antidepressant use: findings from 32 international cohorts from the ENIGMA major depressive disorder working group

📣 The ENIGMA study “Regional brain morphology and current antidepressant use” explores how antidepressant medication correlates with structural brain differences in Major Depressive Disorder across age and sex, drawing on data from 32 international cohorts. 🧠
🔗 Read it here: doi.org/10.1038/s413...

View from your office onto Giessen and surrounding villages.

Please repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026.

The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.

Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...

A new publication, “Transdiagnostic alterations in white-matter microstructure associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviours in the ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours consortium”, by ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts & Behaviours Consortium (Translational Psychiatry www.nature.com/articles/s41...)

🧩 New article!
Same same but different: Threat expectancy change and fear reduction as readouts of exposure rationales are only weakly associated to treatment outcome in anxiety disorders

Now published in Behaviour Research and Therapy:
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.br...

#AnxietyDisorders #Expectancy

😊 New publication!
Joy Beyond Fear: Positive Emotions After Exposure in Patients with Anxiety Disorders and Their Link to Threat Expectancy and Treatment Outcome

Now out in Behaviour Research and Therapy:
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.br...

#AnxietyDisorders #ExposureTherapy #PositiveEmotions #Expectancy

🧠 New paper investigated how childhood maltreatment shapes structural brain connectivity across affective and psychotic disorders.

Now out in European Neuropsychopharmacology:
🔗 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

#Neuroscience #Psychiatry #BrainConnectivity #ChildhoodMaltreatment

🧠Out now @natcomms.nature.com !
Brain changes linked to childhood maltreatment are among the field's most published findings. Yet, we find extensive replication failure of gray matter correlates in three large cohorts (N=3225), consistent across subsamples, models and operationalizations🧵

The CRC/TRR 393 aims to unravel trajectories of depression & bipolar disorder by combining mobile assessments, neuroimaging, -omics & interventions in >1500 participants.

A 12-year effort to decode mechanisms of recurrence & remission.

Overview:
🔗 rdcu.be/eGtBy

🥳 Our study led by @edwardody.bsky.social from the @tnm-lab.bsky.social is published in the European Journal of Neuroscience. Take a look if you are interested in action-perception transition, readiness potential, and voluntariness of action!

📍https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.70236

🎥 LOEWE DYNAMIC in 2 ½ min

Not brand new, but still relevant: In this video introduction, Winfried Rief explains what the LOEWE Research Center DYNAMIC is all about – and how dynamic networks can help improve treatments.

▶️Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR6F... (English subtitles available)

Neural correlates of human fear conditioning and sources of variability in 2199 individuals - Nature Communications A large brain imaging study of over 2000 people worldwide shows that fear conditioning engages brain regions linked to emotion and attention, with differences in individuals with anxiety or depression...

Neural correlates of human fear conditioning and sources of variability in 2199 individuals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Temporal characteristics of hemodynamic responses during active and passive hand movements in schizophrenia spectrum disorder - Schizophrenia Schizophrenia - Temporal characteristics of hemodynamic responses during active and passive hand movements in schizophrenia spectrum disorder

🧠 New paper out!
Rashid, Kircher & Straube (2025) investigate temporal characteristics of hemodynamic responses during active vs. passive hand movements in schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

📄 Schizophrenia:
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415...

@tnm-lab.bsky.social Kausalitätswahrnehmung, Erwartungen & fMRT begeistern dich?
Bewirb dich auf die Promotionsstelle (3 Jahre, 75%) in Marburg (www.theadaptivemind.de) bis zum 17.08.:
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/1...
#Job #Promotion #fMRI #Psychologie

🧠🗣️ I’m co-editing a Neuropsychologia Special Issue:
“Language in Psychosis – A Multidisciplinary Approach”

We welcome contributions on:
• neural mechanisms
• predictive processing
• cognitive, computational & clinical perspectives

📅 Deadline: Sept 30, 2025 www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...