🔊NEW RESEARCH: The chemical histamine – widely associated with the body's allergy response – shapes how the brain forms memories and handles negative experiences, according to a new study. Researchers found that raised histamine levels facilitated communication within the brain's memory networks.

Very happy to share this work on a preprint! Coauthored with @mikebrowning.bsky.social @Erdem Pulcu @lhuntneuro.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... How do we learn when rewards and punishments change independently—and how does this go awry in anxiety and depression?

Valence-specific representation of uncertainty in the anterior cingulate is impaired in those with affective symptoms

The ability to seek reward and avoid punishment is a fundamental survival instinct. In natural environments, however, the statistics of rewards and punishments can change independently of one another....

biorxiv.org

This project builds on work establishing the behaviour done at Champalimaud in Lisbon with @michaelfsp.bsky.social, Beatriz Godinho, Christian Machens, and @ruimcosta.bsky.social : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Flexible route planning and rapid structure learning by mice in complex environments

Action selection using predictive models of the environment plays a fundamental role in human and animal behaviour, yet is poorly understood at circuit and algorithmic levels. Spatial navigation is an...

biorxiv.org

This #ClinicalTrialsDay (20 May), we’re promoting studies seeking participants. RELMED aims to improve #depression treatment by predicting which #antidepressant works best. If eligible, you may be able to take part. Find out more or register interest: oxfordhealth.relmed@nhs.net relmed.ac.uk

What a fantastic trial! Once-weekly semaglutide versus placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - The Lancet www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Once-weekly semaglutide versus placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Semaglutide showed robust therapeutic effects in treatment-seeking participants with obesity and alcohol use disorder and this trial supports previous preclinical and clinical findings suggesting GLP-...

thelancet.com

Just out today, the keto diet showed a (modest) benefit in treatment resistant depression, when compared to a pretty reasonable control! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

A Ketogenic Diet for Treatment-Resistant Depression

This randomized clinical trial assesses the effect of a ketogenic diet on mental health outcomes in individuals with treatment-resistant depression.

jamanetwork.com

RA jobs in Oxford working on a Wellcome Trust funded grant. Neuroimaging, neurostimulation, computational modelling-- what's not to like! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Postdoctoral research position in #ComputationalPsychiatry and #EEG as part of relmed.ac.uk trial testing reinforcement learning as biomarker for antidepressant treatment response. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @mikebrowning.bsky.social @relmed.bsky.social

Antidepressant treatment shouldn't be a guessing game. RELMED is working towards using advanced research to predict which medication is most likely to help each person along their individual path to recovery.

relmed.ac.uk

These posts are live now! Oxford is a great place to work. Do apply if you'd like to apply neurostimulatory techniques to understand symptoms. my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru... my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Michael Browning@mikebrowning.bsky.social · 9mo ago

There are 3 Oxford-based post doc positions for this Wellcome Trust project that will be advertised soon! If you have experinece in neurostimulation (tms/tus) and/or modelling of cogneuro data in humans do contact one of us (me, @mkflugge.bsky.social @lilweb.bsky.social, Jacinta OShea) to discuss!

📣🔥Thrilled to announce that 2026 Computational Psychiatry Conference will take place in New Haven, CT, btw July 14-16 - www.cpconf.org @robbrutledge.bsky.social @drrickadams.bsky.social @tobiasuhauser.bsky.social @docqhuys.bsky.social @clairegillan.bsky.social Sonia Bishop More info to come soon!

Repetitive negative thoughts will be investigated using a range of cutting-edge brain science techniques as part of a new study led by the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and funded by Wellcome @wellcometrust.bsky.social 👇 tinyurl.com/364es88k

There are 3 Oxford-based post doc positions for this Wellcome Trust project that will be advertised soon! If you have experinece in neurostimulation (tms/tus) and/or modelling of cogneuro data in humans do contact one of us (me, @mkflugge.bsky.social @lilweb.bsky.social, Jacinta OShea) to discuss!

Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford@oxfordpsychiatry.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Repetitive negative thoughts will be investigated using a range of cutting-edge brain science techniques as part of a new study led by the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and funded by Wellcome @wellcometrust.bsky.social 👇 tinyurl.com/364es88k

Cost effectiveness of pramipexole for treatment resistant depression! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Cost-effectiveness of pramipexole augmentation for acute phase and maintenance therapy of treatment-resistant depression compared to placebo augmentation: economic evaluation of the PAX-D randomised c...

Pramipexole augmentation of antidepressant treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has been shown to improve symptom burden over 12 weeks b…

sciencedirect.com

Interesting new study of pramipexole in anhedonic low mood in mdd, bipolar and dysthymia. Some cool mechanistic outcomes: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

Really interesting, brief ideas paper. Clearly relevant to treatment research-- the mechanism by which you leave an illness state is unlikely to just be the opposite of the mechanism by which you entered it (can see how this might apply to e.g. SSRIs in depression).

Shirley Wang@shirleybwang.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Thrilled to share a new paper in @jamapsychiatry.com on path asymmetry in complex dynamic systems of psychopathology! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... With amazing collaborators @tfblanken.bsky.social, Han van der Maas, & Denny Borsboom 🥳

Gulliver Waite took part in the PAX-D trial testing Pramipexole for treatment resistant depression @ox.ac.uk. He told @theguardian.com how being part of the study made a difference to his life. 👉 Gulliver's story www.theguardian.com/society/2025... 👉 The findings www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/parkins...

‘I wish I had taken part sooner’: how a medical trial transformed a young person’s life

Exclusive: Gulliver Waite signed up after antidepressants and talking therapies failed to alleviate clinical depression

theguardian.com

Really lovely story from one of our participants in the recent PAX-D study. If you are interested in the results of the study, you can find them here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Pramipexole augmentation for the acute phase of treatment-resistant, unipolar depression: a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trial in the UK

In this trial involving participants with treatment-resistant depression, pramipexole augmentation of antidepressant treatment, at a target dose of 2·5 mg, demonstrated a reduction in symptoms relativ...

thelancet.com

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 10mo ago

‘I wish I took part sooner’: how a medical trial transformed a young person’s life

‘I wish I took part sooner’: how a medical trial transformed a young person’s life

‘I wish I took part sooner’: how a medical trial transformed a young person’s life

Exclusive: Gulliver Waite signed up after antidepressants and talking therapies failed to alleviate clinical depression

theguardian.com

Curious about how scientists measure brain activity through EEG? Swipe to read more! ⚡️

Depression can affect the mind, body and daily life in ways you might not expect. 🧠Swipe to learn the key signs and symptoms – and why recognising them matters. #Depression #Mentalhealth #Research

New preprint alert with @mikebrowning.bsky.social and Chamith Halahakoon! People have been using computer-based reinforcement learning tasks with affect probes. But to what extent do they reflect real-life affective experience? We tested this with 3 weeks of EMA + RL tasks in 339 participants.

Pramipexole vs. quetiapine vs. amantadine in TRD. Interesting open label, short term RCT using a surprisingly low dose (I suspect that the reported dose of 37.5mg of pramipexole is a typo and it should be 0.375mg) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Comparative efficacy of antidepressant augmentation with amantadine vs pramipexole in treatment-resistant unipolar depression: A randomised controlled trial

Augmentation strategies for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are limited, with strongest evidence for atypical antipsychotics. Given emerging insi…

sciencedirect.com

V important meta-analysis doi.org/10.1001/jama...: Discontinuation symptoms 1 week post stopping antidepressants was below the threshold for clinically significant discontinuation syndrome. Later worse mood is likely depression relapse @jfhayes.bsky.social @sameerjauhar.bsky.social.

Incidence and Nature of Antidepressant Discontinuation Symptoms

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the presence and incidence of discontinuation symptoms in individuals who stop taking antidepressants.

doi.org

🎊Recently, colleagues from across the @NIHRresearch Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration (MH-TRC) gathered for a celebration of progress and partnership in mental health research. ➡️ oxfordhealthbrc.nihr.ac.uk/nihr-mental-...

Our new study published in TheLancetPsych! We found that pramipexole augmentation substantially reduced depressive symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression over 48 weeks of treatment. This is an important advance in how we treat depression! 1/6 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Pramipexole augmentation for the acute phase of treatment-resistant, unipolar depression: a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trial in the UK

In this trial involving participants with treatment-resistant depression, pramipexole augmentation of antidepressant treatment, at a target dose of 2·5 mg, demonstrated a reduction in symptoms relativ...

thelancet.com

Delighted to announce this position www.northlondonmentalhealth.nhs.uk/current-vaca.... It's part of the Mental Health Mission Mood Disorders Research Clinic Network, aiming to support clinical trials in mood disorders in the UK. Should be very interesting! oxfordhealthbrc.nihr.ac.uk/mhm/mood-dis...

Current vacancies

northlondonmentalhealth.nhs.uk

RELMED.ac.uk is now open to recruitment. This @wellcometrust.bsky.social-funded study wellcome.org/research-fun... will ask whether reinforcement learning tasks are differentially sensitive to dopaminergic and serotonergic antidepressants.

@relmed.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 We’re LIVE! 🚨 Our RELMED study is now open for Expressions of Interest! 🌟 Visit www.relmed.ac.uk to learn more about the study and fill out the Expression of Interest form.