A5086579690- Mental Health Research Topics
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Treatment of Major Depression
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Cognitive Science and Mapping
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Neurological disorders and treatments
University College London
2018-2024
California Institute of Technology
2019-2024
King's College London
2015-2024
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging
2018-2022
King's College - North Carolina
2022
Prostate Cancer Research
2018-2021
Rancho Research Institute
2021
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
2018-2019
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
2018
National Institute for Health Research
2018
Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether individuals aware disease risk and alter their early pandemic. We investigated perception self-reported engagement protective behaviours 1591 United States-based cross-sectionally longitudinally over first week Subjects demonstrated growing awareness reported engaging with increasing frequency but underestimated infection relative average person...
By mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread to over 100 countries and all 50 states in US. Government efforts minimize of disease emphasized behavioral interventions, including raising awareness encouraging protective behaviors such as social distancing hand washing, seeking medical attention if experiencing symptoms. However, it is unclear what extent individuals are aware risks associated with disease, how they altering their behavior, factors which could influence virus vulnerable...
Abstract Major depression is associated with altered static functional connectivity in various brain networks, particularly the default mode network (DMN). Dynamic a novel tool little application affective disorders to date, and holds potential unravel fluctuations strength over time major depression. We assessed stability of between medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) posterior cingulate (PCC), key nodes DMN that are implicated ruminative cognitions. Functional mPFC PCC course resting-state...
Symptom expression in psychiatric conditions is often linked to altered threat perception, however how computational mechanisms that support aversive learning relate specific symptoms remains undetermined. We answer this question using an online game-based task together with measures of common 400 subjects. show physiological anxiety and a transdiagnostic compulsivity-related factor are associated enhanced safety learning, as measured probabilistic model, while trait cognitive from danger....
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome with widespread subtle neuroanatomical correlates. Our objective was to identify the dimensions that characterize MDD and predict treatment response selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants or placebo. In COORDINATE-MDD consortium, raw MRI data were shared from international samples (
The relationship between anxious and depressive traits exploration behavior has been examined in several studies with mixed results. While some suggest that are related to avoidance a decrease exploratory behaviour, others find the opposite be true. In our studies, we adopt multi-armed bandit task which arms were spatially close each other have similar rewards, allowing for generalisation from observed rewards. Furthermore, introduced risks simulate costs of over-exploration real world. two...
Naturalistic observations show that animals pre-empt danger by moving to locations increase their success in avoiding future threats. To test this humans, we created a spatial margin of safety (MOS) decision task quantifies pre-emptive avoidance measuring the distance subjects place themselves when facing different threats whose attack vary predictability. Behavioral results human participants closer safe with more outliers. Using both univariate and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) on...
Abstract Drugs that are clinically effective against anxiety disorders modulate the innate defensive behaviour of rodents, suggesting these illnesses reflect altered functioning in brain systems process threat. This hypothesis is supported humans by discovery intensity threat-avoidance benzodiazepine anxiolytic lorazepam. However, studies used healthy human participants, raising questions as to their validity disorder patients, well generalisability beyond GABAergic drugs. BNC210 a novel...
The human brain simulates the outcomes of actions to enable avoidance danger.
Threat avoidance is a prominent symptom of affective disorders, yet its biological basis remains poorly understood. Here, we used validated task, the Joystick Operated Runway Task (JORT), combined with fMRI, to explore whether abnormal function in neural circuits responsible for underlies these symptoms. Eighteen individuals major depressive disorder (MDD) and 17 unaffected controls underwent which involved using physical effort avoid threatening stimuli, paired mild electric shocks on...
Efforts to develop neuroimaging-based biomarkers in major depressive disorder (MDD), at the individual level, have been limited date. As diagnostic criteria are currently symptom-based, MDD is conceptualized as a rather than disease with known etiology; further, neural measures often confounded by medication status and heterogeneous symptom states.
Diminished use of goal-directed (“model-based”) decision-making is a hallmark transdiagnostic compulsivity, promoting an over-reliance on inflexible and habitual behaviours. However, the origin this impairment remains unclear. Here, we test hypothesis that these impairments arise due to uncertainty within internal world model subserves decision-making. We adapted validated gamified task characterise how individuals build environment, pairing data with computational modelling uncover exact...
Visual selective attention acts as a filter on perceptual information, facilitating learning and inference about important events in an agent's environment. A role for visual reward-based decisions has previously been demonstrated, but it remains unclear how is recruited during aversive learning, particularly when multiple stimuli concurrently. This question of particular importance psychopathology, where enhanced to threat putative feature pathological anxiety. Using reversal task that...
Successful recruitment is vital for any research study. Difficulties in are not uncommon and can have important implications. This particularly relevant to conducted affective disorders due the nature of conditions clinical services that serve these patients. Recently, online public advertisements become more generally accessible may provide an effective way recruit patient populations. However, there paucity evidence on their viability as a method recruiting patients into studies disease...
Background Atypical depression may show lowered rather than raised short‐term cortisol levels. major depressive episodes (A‐ MDE ) also be more closely linked to environmental factors and overlap with somatic symptom disorders. Hair specimens allow measuring long‐term Methods Twenty‐seven A‐ 44 NA ‐ patients 40 matched controls were tested. Measures of hair concentration [ HCC ] covering the previous 3 months parameters (six saliva assess awakening response CAR total daily output calculated...