If you want to hear more I’ll be presenting this on the last day of #SIRS2026 in March!

We also found that CRP has a specific effect on the brain in people who develop psychosis. (interaction effect, so needs replication)

Changes in brain networks involved in self-reflection might be one pathway connecting early inflammation to later risk of psychosis and other mental health conditions.

What’s the deal with inflammation and schizophrenia? The jury is still out, but we found that higher childhood levels of IL-6 are linked to brain volume reductions in adulthood, in the default mode network

@uclbrainscience.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Limitations: we look at psychotic experiences, not psychosis, as this is a birth cohort study. This is also it's strength; we have blood toxo measures at 3 timepoints between age 7 and 15, and prospective measures of cat ownership.

We also find no association between childhood cat ownership and having high toxo blood levels! Future studies take note – don’t use cat ownership as a proxy measure of Toxoplasma gondii exposure

Cat lovers! Our new paper finds no association between Toxoplasma gondii (found in cat poo) and psychotic experiences

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@uclbrainscience.bsky.social

Wisdom for future research - not more fancy but more integrative:

Deeper phenotyping (including environmental and social experiences), multimodal, longitudinal, and with clinical implications in mind, eg by incorporating imaging into clinical drug trials

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Today was the last day of our module on the new BSc in Human Neuroscience @uclbrainscience.bsky.social

I really recommend giving books as prizes and letting students pick between a few (Mark Solms and @camillanord.bsky.social)

Receiving a book from a mentor can sometimes open up whole new worlds

Even though Hitler ranks in the top 1% for schizophrenia-linked genes, he probably didn't have schizophrenia (he had a 5-10% lifetime risk)

Childhood Stress and Early Onset of Female Puberty May Raise Risk of Depression and Anxiety in Adolescence, Study Finds | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Being exposed to trauma during childhood has been associated with significantly increased risk for developing depression and anxiety later in life. Precisely how trauma translates into greater risk re...

Why are young girls, who begin puberty ahead of their same-age, same-sex peers, at an increased risk of depression and anxiety? Dr @divyangana.bsky.social outlines her research on this subject for the @bbrfoundation.bsky.social

#AcademicSky #PsychSky

bbrfoundation.org/content/chil...