Sara Mehrhof
Postdoctoral researcher at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge | Interested in computational psychiatry, motivation, and brain-body interactions
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofHow does metabolic learning shape human behaviour? In our recent study www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti..., we found that it shapes flavour preferences but, surprisingly, not action. Thread 🧵
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofWith some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world: gershmanlab.com/textbook.html It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class. My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofI have an early Christmas present for you! 🎅 Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg! Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception! pug2026.org
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofAre you curious about electrogastrography, but keep getting chicken-related results when googling "EGG"? We have the preprint for you! In this tutorial, we describe how to acquire and analyse gastric data from human participants. Plus FREE software! Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2509.17260
- Reposted by Sara Mehrhof🚀 Excited to announce that I'm looking for people (PhD/Postdoc) to join my Cognitive Modelling group @uniosnabrueck.bsky.social. If you want to join a genuinely curious, welcoming and inclusive community of Coxis, apply here: tinyurl.com/coxijobs Please RT - deadline is Jan 4‼️
- In other news, I am now a ✨ COXI ✨ (cognitive scientist in Osnabrück, Germany) www.uni-osnabrueck.de/en/campus-li... I'll be looking for PhD students & postdocs later this year, so watch this space if combining cognitive modelling, EEG & tFUS to study flexible cognition sounds exciting to you 🚀
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofCongratulations to MRC CBU’s PhD student Annalise Whines, who won the runner-up prize at the MRC Max Perutz Science Communication Awards in the video category. ‘Does motivation change across the menstrual cycle?’ ukri.org/publications/mrc-ma…
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofOut now in Translational Psychiatry! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofI updated a blog which I wrote a few years ago about PhD applications. There's a mix of reflections and practical tips which should be useful for anyone thinking about applying for a PhD (at predominantly UK institutions). Please share if it could be helpful! timothysandhu.github.io/blog/phd_blog/
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofThrilled to share our new paper, out now in @natneuro.nature.com, uncovering how estradiol, the most potent estrogen, modulates reinforcement learning and reward prediction errors across biological levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #blueprint 1/7
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofIt’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... #neuroscience
- Reposted by Sara Mehrhof🚨 New Preprint 🚨 Some people are at greater risk of experiencing negative mental health outcomes of social media use than others, but why? 🧵 We examined whether individual differences in cognitive processes shape risk and resilience to mental health effects on social media: osf.io/preprints/ps...
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofNice things for the **13th #MindBrainBody Symposium 2026** happening under the hood 😊 Save the date: 📆 March 9-11, 2026 (Berlin and virtual) Stay tuned for the call and announcement! (For info about the last 12 MBBSymposia: mindbrainbody.de) #interoception #neuroskyence
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofIn some way, it's trivial: The #brain & the rest of the #body (e.g. the #heart) are coupled. Yet, we spelled it out w/ A. Villringer & V. Nikulin for current scientists (below) w/ @martager.bsky.social @agatapatyczek.bsky.social @el-rei.bsky.social for future scientists bsky.app/profile/mart...
- 'Brain–body states as a link between cardiovascular and mental health' by Arno Villringer, Vadim Nikulin & Michael Gaebler @mbe-lab.bsky.social @michaelgaebler.com @mpicbs.bsky.social sky.social www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
- Mental and metabolic health are closely linked - but what drives this connection? In our new theory paper, we (w/ @camillanord.bsky.social & @hugofleming.bsky.social g.bsky.social) propose dysregulation of interoceptive energy allostasis as a key mechanism. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵 1/n
- Epidemiology has long shown that mental and metabolic health go hand-in-hand. But the nature of this relationship is unclear: Does poor metabolic health increase psychiatric risk, does mental illness cause metabolic dysfunction, or do both emerge from shared factors? And in any case, why? 2/6
- Cognition may be a key variable in all these possible pathways. Metabolic disruption can impair cognition by affecting dopamine signalling, and cognitive changes in mental illness can precipitate metabolic ill-health through behaviour. Shared factors like genetics can amplify both directions. 3/6
-
View full threadDifferent trajectories of disrupted allostasis exist, all of which ultimately give rise to metabolic and psychiatric pathology. This has repercussions for the conceptualisation of mental-metabolic comorbidity: rather than distinct disorders, they form part of a larger allostatic system. 6/6
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofWhy menstrual cycle irregularities belong in brain research www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofVery happy to share my first preprint from @oxexppsy.bsky.social @oxneuro.bsky.social ! We (me + co-first authors @lilweb.bsky.social @mirunarascu.bsky.social + PI @mkflugge.bsky.social + many others) used transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (TUS/tFUS/LIFU) of the human amygdala ... (1/15)
- Reposted by Sara MehrhofDoes altered energy homeostasis contribute to distinct symptom profiles in depression? A polygenic score capturing the genetic liability of the homeostatic system shows promising associations with symptoms. Great work by @ymilaneschi.bsky.social +team #neuroskyence 🩺 jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
- Thanks for such a fantastic conference!
- Congratulations to all the Travel Award Winners at #CPConf2025 - we were very fortunate to have so many fantastic young scientists at our conference!
