Behav Res Methods. 2026 Aug 24;58(10):279. doi: 10.3758/s13428-026-03150-6. ABSTRACT Tetris is a widely used computer game, not only for entertainment purposes but increasingly in cognitive and clinical neuroscience research. Despite its frequent application in experiments, the neural mechanisms underlying gameplay remain insufficiently understood. Prior work suggests that cognitive control during complex visuospatial tasks, like Tetris, engages the attention network as well as regions supporting visuospatial working memory, mental imagery, and motor planning. However, researchers currently lack a standardized paradigm to investigate these processes. To address this gap, we introduce Tetrix, a novel and flexible Tetris-based paradigm designed for […]
Negative expectations in major depression: Association with brain structure and course of illness
J Affect Disord. 2026 Aug 21:122410. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2026.122410. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Negative expectations towards the future are frequently observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and linked to less favourable outcomes like worse treatment response and suicidal behaviours. Despite clinical significance, the neurobiological underpinnings of negative expectations remain largely unexplored. METHODS: This study compared structural MRI morphometric gray matter volume (SPM/CAT12) and two-year longitudinal clinical data between two groups of patients with DSM-IV-TR MDD (total N = 330), matched for age, sex, severity of depressive symptoms (HAMD), and global functioning (GAF scale), but differing […]
The neuroanatomy of depression: weak but replicable effects in 4021 individuals from three clinical cohorts
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2026 Jul 10. doi: 10.1038/s41386-026-02491-2. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The structural neuroanatomy underlying Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) remains elusive and even large-scale neuroimaging studies and meta-analyses produced inconsistent outcomes with marginal effect sizes. Furthermore, the replicability of brain-psychopathology associations is under scrutiny, attributable to inadequately powered sample sizes and inflated effect sizes. The present study aimed to examine the effect sizes, replicability, and generalizability of brain structural alterations in MDD, harnessing the wealth of three large-scale clinical cohorts. We used three independent cohorts totaling n = 4021 deeply characterized participants (aged 15-65 years), encompassing MDD patients […]
Brain Aging in Specific Phobia: An ENIGMA-Anxiety Mega-Analysis
Hum Brain Mapp. 2026 Jul;47(10):e70595. doi: 10.1002/hbm.70595. ABSTRACT Specific phobia (SPH) is a prevalent anxiety disorder and may involve advanced biological aging. However, limited brain age research has been conducted in anxiety disorders. This mega-analysis investigated brain aging in SPH participants within the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group. 3D brain structural MRI scans from 17 international samples (600 SPH individuals, of whom 504 formally diagnosed and 96 questionnaire-based cases; 1134 controls; age range: 22-75 years) were processed with FreeSurfer. Brain age was estimated from 77 subcortical and cortical regions with a publicly available ENIGMA brain age model. The brain-predicted age […]
Functional Outcome Prediction in Young Adults With Mental Health Symptoms Using Machine Learning and Large Language Models: Longitudinal Observational Study
JMIR Ment Health. 2026 Jun 22;13:e84424. doi: 10.2196/84424. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Functional impairments associated with mental health conditions are on the rise. Predicting functional outcomes may improve the targeting of preventive interventions. While prognostic models have primarily focused on psychosis, early recognition services require a transdiagnostic approach. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to predict global functioning within a 2-year follow-up using baseline clinical and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in a population-based sample of young, help-seeking individuals presenting with affective and anxiety symptoms as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. METHODS: We classified 357 help-seeking individuals aged 18-35 years recruited […]
Distinguishing Chronic and Non-Chronic Depression: A Clinical Profile and Symptom Networks Approach
Psychother Psychosom. 2026 Jun 9:1-15. doi: 10.1159/000552901. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Different disorder courses contribute to the large heterogeneity within depressive syndromes. Chronic depression (CD) warrants further investigation given its high prevalence and poor treatment outcomes. This study aimed to identify a clinical profile and symptomatic phenotype associated with CD versus non-chronic depression (NCD) to provide a better characterization of CD. METHODS: The preregistered analysis used cross-sectional data from a large German cohort (N = 994; 64.9% female) with retrospective information on depression trajectories. We assessed associations of nine psychological and social characteristics with CD in […]
Childhood maltreatment is linked to transdiagnostic age- and sex-specific cortical thinning and reduced amygdalar volume in young adults
Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2026 Jun 9;112:112900. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2026.112900. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Childhood maltreatment is a transdiagnostic risk factor, whose distributed neural correlates are most timely and urgently assessed in young adults in the earliest stages of emerging mental disorders. Here, we applied a data-driven multivariate approach to identify distributed brain structural signatures associated with childhood maltreatment, with a particular focus on limbic regions, and to examine their relevance for later functional outcomes. In a transdiagnostic sample of 251 individuals (mean age 24.9 ± 4.3, 51.8% male) with early affective or anxiety syndromes, we used a multivariate sparse […]
Marburg joins the Bernstein Network
The University of Marburg has become a new node of the Bernstein Network for Computational Neuroscience. More information can be found here.
Behind the Scenes: MRI Coil Replacement
We would like to share that a coil replacement on our MRI scanner has been completed as part of our ongoing efforts to maintain reliable imaging capabilities. In MRI systems, coils are essential components that help generate high-quality images by receiving radiofrequency signals during scans. Occasionally, coils are exchanged to ensure consistent system performance and imaging reliability. This replacement ensures that our MRI system continues to serve our research and collaborative work with the quality and dependability expected in advanced imaging. We sincerely thank everyone involved in planning and carrying out this process!
New Publication: How the Brain Encodes Emotions When We See Faces
We are excited to share a new publication addressing how emotions are encoded in the human brain during face perception. Combining high-frequency pupillometry with fMRI, the study disentangles perceptual load and arousal components of emotional face processing. Faces, compared to control stimuli, elicited stronger pupil dilations and enhanced activation in bilateral occipito-fusiform regions and the amygdalae. Notably, angry faces produced the largest pupillary responses, while fearful faces triggered the strongest neural activity in a right-lateralized network centered on the superior temporal sulcus. Overall, the findings suggest that emotional meaning is specified early in perception, with distinct physiological and […]