Cassandra Lowe
@cassandralowe.bsky.social
Lecturer in Psychology at University of Exeter studying prefrontal regulation of eating behaviours. Potential Super Villain (she/her)🏳️🌈
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
New preprint from the lab led by @violetchae.bsky.social! We debut an open EEG dataset for research into food cognition and dietary choices.
Featuring data from 117 different brains relating to 120 different food stimuli.
@tgro.bsky.social @psychunimelb.bsky.social
Featuring data from 117 different brains relating to 120 different food stimuli.
@tgro.bsky.social @psychunimelb.bsky.social
Our new preprint on the FOODEEG open dataset is out! EEG recordings and behavioural responses on food cognition tasks for 117 participants will be made publicly available 🧠 @danfeuerriegel.bsky.social @tgro.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
FOODEEG: An open dataset of human electroencephalographic and behavioural responses to food images
Investigating the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying food choices has the potential to advance our understanding of eating behaviour and inform health-targeted interventions and policy. Large, publi...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
New preprint from the lab led by @violetchae.bsky.social! We debut an open EEG dataset for research into food cognition and dietary choices.
Featuring data from 117 different brains relating to 120 different food stimuli.
@tgro.bsky.social @psychunimelb.bsky.social
Featuring data from 117 different brains relating to 120 different food stimuli.
@tgro.bsky.social @psychunimelb.bsky.social
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Canada has just lost measles elimination status. The U.S. will undoubtedly follow shortly.
Elimination means that there is no continuous spreading of measles within the country for a year or longer.
Canada and the U.S. have blown it, and it’s largely the fault of the anti-vaccination movement.
Elimination means that there is no continuous spreading of measles within the country for a year or longer.
Canada and the U.S. have blown it, and it’s largely the fault of the anti-vaccination movement.
Canada loses measles elimination status after three decades, health agency says
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after nearly three decades due to its failure to curb a year-long outbreak, the country's public health agency said on Monday.
www.reuters.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Canada has just lost measles elimination status. The U.S. will undoubtedly follow shortly.
Elimination means that there is no continuous spreading of measles within the country for a year or longer.
Canada and the U.S. have blown it, and it’s largely the fault of the anti-vaccination movement.
Elimination means that there is no continuous spreading of measles within the country for a year or longer.
Canada and the U.S. have blown it, and it’s largely the fault of the anti-vaccination movement.
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
"The idea that people of color are biologically different and less sensitive to pain is a destructive myth with a long, dark history in medicine."
- Dr. Monnica Williams writing in Psychology Today
- Dr. Monnica Williams writing in Psychology Today
Racial Bias in Medicine Isn't Just an American Problem
Mirrianne Mahn, a Black city representative for Frankfurt and German native, was shocked when her doctor said she should be grateful to be in a German hospital at all.
buff.ly
November 6, 2025 at 10:14 PM
"The idea that people of color are biologically different and less sensitive to pain is a destructive myth with a long, dark history in medicine."
- Dr. Monnica Williams writing in Psychology Today
- Dr. Monnica Williams writing in Psychology Today
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Want to see what a Neuromatch course is like…on your own time? Our full course materials are freely available for anyone to explore, anytime.
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
November 6, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Want to see what a Neuromatch course is like…on your own time? Our full course materials are freely available for anyone to explore, anytime.
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
ATTENTION CANADIAN POLICYMAKERS, LET'S INVEST IN OUR KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY, RESEARCH, AND UNIVERSITIES
A Nature poll found that 75% of U.S. researchers are considering leaving the country.
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s b...
www.pbs.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:56 PM
ATTENTION CANADIAN POLICYMAKERS, LET'S INVEST IN OUR KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY, RESEARCH, AND UNIVERSITIES
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Gut brain communication. A review of the distinct spinal and vagal afferent types alongside viscerofugal pathways revealed by advances in neurogenetic techniques and high-resolution anterograde tracing www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Gut–brain communication: types of sensory nerves and mechanisms of activation - Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology
This Review explores the different types of sensory nerves involved in gut–brain communication, detailing the locations of these nerve endings in the gut and their mechanisms of activation. Insights a...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Gut brain communication. A review of the distinct spinal and vagal afferent types alongside viscerofugal pathways revealed by advances in neurogenetic techniques and high-resolution anterograde tracing www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Open assistant professor position in noninvasive brain stimulation in cognition at Maastricht University: www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/3557...
Assistant Professor in Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Cognition
Welcome to the Brain Stimulation and Cognition lab at Maastricht University! Our goal: The Brain Stimulation and Cognition group at Maastricht University aims to unravel the psychological and neural m...
www.academictransfer.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Open assistant professor position in noninvasive brain stimulation in cognition at Maastricht University: www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/3557...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
We built the openESM database:
▶️60 openly available experience sampling datasets (16K+ participants, 740K+ obs.) in one place
▶️Harmonized (meta-)data, fully open-source software
▶️Filter & search all data, simply download via R/Python
Find out more:
🌐 openesmdata.org
📝 doi.org/10.31234/osf...
▶️60 openly available experience sampling datasets (16K+ participants, 740K+ obs.) in one place
▶️Harmonized (meta-)data, fully open-source software
▶️Filter & search all data, simply download via R/Python
Find out more:
🌐 openesmdata.org
📝 doi.org/10.31234/osf...
October 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
We built the openESM database:
▶️60 openly available experience sampling datasets (16K+ participants, 740K+ obs.) in one place
▶️Harmonized (meta-)data, fully open-source software
▶️Filter & search all data, simply download via R/Python
Find out more:
🌐 openesmdata.org
📝 doi.org/10.31234/osf...
▶️60 openly available experience sampling datasets (16K+ participants, 740K+ obs.) in one place
▶️Harmonized (meta-)data, fully open-source software
▶️Filter & search all data, simply download via R/Python
Find out more:
🌐 openesmdata.org
📝 doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
📣 Excited to share that my first paper is now published!
📄"Metabolic state shapes cortisol reactivity to acute stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of metabolic and hormonal modulators"
You can find the full paper here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.yn...
📄"Metabolic state shapes cortisol reactivity to acute stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of metabolic and hormonal modulators"
You can find the full paper here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.yn...
Redirecting
doi.org
October 15, 2025 at 11:27 AM
📣 Excited to share that my first paper is now published!
📄"Metabolic state shapes cortisol reactivity to acute stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of metabolic and hormonal modulators"
You can find the full paper here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.yn...
📄"Metabolic state shapes cortisol reactivity to acute stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of metabolic and hormonal modulators"
You can find the full paper here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.yn...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
How do our senses contribute to food enjoyment?
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 1:43 AM
How do our senses contribute to food enjoyment?
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
We answer this question in a new review paper. The paper started as a final project in an undergraduate seminar on neuroaesthetics in 2023. I am so proud of the students and their hard work!
cjur.ca/wp-content/u...
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Identification of five sleep-biopsychosocial profiles with specific neural signatures linking sleep variability with health, cognition, and lifestyle factors journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
October 11, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Identification of five sleep-biopsychosocial profiles with specific neural signatures linking sleep variability with health, cognition, and lifestyle factors journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Had a great time at the ESM Expert Network Meeting in Rotterdam! I presented the first SHARE study results: we found that paying participants per beep boosts compliance as compared to bulk payment (with or without personalised feedback)—and without harming data quality.
Poster: tinyurl.com/47asuaxj
Poster: tinyurl.com/47asuaxj
October 3, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Had a great time at the ESM Expert Network Meeting in Rotterdam! I presented the first SHARE study results: we found that paying participants per beep boosts compliance as compared to bulk payment (with or without personalised feedback)—and without harming data quality.
Poster: tinyurl.com/47asuaxj
Poster: tinyurl.com/47asuaxj
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
(1/4)
Despite the introduction of calorie labelling regulations in England in 2022, researchers from the @mrcepid.bsky.social, @cam.ac.uk, have found only a 2% reduction in the energy content of food available at chain restaurants.
Read – buff.ly/py0yIZQ
Despite the introduction of calorie labelling regulations in England in 2022, researchers from the @mrcepid.bsky.social, @cam.ac.uk, have found only a 2% reduction in the energy content of food available at chain restaurants.
Read – buff.ly/py0yIZQ
October 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM
(1/4)
Despite the introduction of calorie labelling regulations in England in 2022, researchers from the @mrcepid.bsky.social, @cam.ac.uk, have found only a 2% reduction in the energy content of food available at chain restaurants.
Read – buff.ly/py0yIZQ
Despite the introduction of calorie labelling regulations in England in 2022, researchers from the @mrcepid.bsky.social, @cam.ac.uk, have found only a 2% reduction in the energy content of food available at chain restaurants.
Read – buff.ly/py0yIZQ
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
🧠 Why do some brains age faster than others?
🧬 Our new Nature Aging study of over 56,000 participants explores the genetics of the “brain age gap” — the difference between your brain’s biological and chronological age.
nature.com/articles/s43587-025-00962-7
Thread below 👇
🧬 Our new Nature Aging study of over 56,000 participants explores the genetics of the “brain age gap” — the difference between your brain’s biological and chronological age.
nature.com/articles/s43587-025-00962-7
Thread below 👇
Genome-wide analysis of brain age identifies 59 associated loci and unveils relationships with mental and physical health - Nature Aging
This genomic study of magnetic resonance imaging-based brain age in 56,348 people identifies 59 genetic loci, links brain aging to mental and physical health, and suggests high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes as causal factors of brain aging.
nature.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:38 AM
🧠 Why do some brains age faster than others?
🧬 Our new Nature Aging study of over 56,000 participants explores the genetics of the “brain age gap” — the difference between your brain’s biological and chronological age.
nature.com/articles/s43587-025-00962-7
Thread below 👇
🧬 Our new Nature Aging study of over 56,000 participants explores the genetics of the “brain age gap” — the difference between your brain’s biological and chronological age.
nature.com/articles/s43587-025-00962-7
Thread below 👇
People complaining about Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl are out here acting like they don’t go absolutely feral when Gasolina comes on.
October 7, 2025 at 8:03 AM
People complaining about Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl are out here acting like they don’t go absolutely feral when Gasolina comes on.
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Preprint is up for the first of my PhD studies on the menstrual cycle and its effects on cortical excitability and neuroplasticty. Feedback welcome!
@paul-ansdell.bsky.social @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social @stuart-goodall.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@paul-ansdell.bsky.social @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social @stuart-goodall.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Menstrual cycle phase alters corticospinal excitability and spike-timing-dependent plasticity in healthy females
The known fluctuations in ovarian hormone concentrations across the eumenorrheic menstrual cycle contribute to modulations in cortical excitability and inhibition. However, how such changes affect spi...
www.biorxiv.org
October 3, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Preprint is up for the first of my PhD studies on the menstrual cycle and its effects on cortical excitability and neuroplasticty. Feedback welcome!
@paul-ansdell.bsky.social @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social @stuart-goodall.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@paul-ansdell.bsky.social @nuneurofunc.bsky.social @elisanedelec.bsky.social @stuart-goodall.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
The world produces enough food, yet billions lack access to healthy & sustainable diets. A new EAT–Lancet report presents a science-based approach to improve health, safeguard our environment & provide for a projected 9.6 billion people by 2050.
🔗 bit.ly/3W7rxlP
🔗 bit.ly/3W7rxlP
October 3, 2025 at 7:29 AM
The world produces enough food, yet billions lack access to healthy & sustainable diets. A new EAT–Lancet report presents a science-based approach to improve health, safeguard our environment & provide for a projected 9.6 billion people by 2050.
🔗 bit.ly/3W7rxlP
🔗 bit.ly/3W7rxlP
Absolutely brilliant paper!
New paper in Nature Mental Health where we show that macroeconomic income inequality is associated with brain structure and function over and above individual-level SES and other state-level factors. These alterations may serve as pathways to mental health problems.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Macroeconomic income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health - Nature Mental Health
Rakesh et al. used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort study to evaluate the relationship between state-level income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health in young people.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Absolutely brilliant paper!
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Wondering about how to promote healthy eating in daily life? New research reveals it's not just about willpower, but about which strategy you use, and what you target. 1/9
October 2, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Wondering about how to promote healthy eating in daily life? New research reveals it's not just about willpower, but about which strategy you use, and what you target. 1/9
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
#Throwback 🧪
REVIEW | Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis
@elizschneider.bsky.social
@jfcryan.bsky.social et al
REVIEW | Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis
@elizschneider.bsky.social
@jfcryan.bsky.social et al
Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis - Nature Metabolism
This Review provides an overview of the interplay between host diet and the gut microbiota, and how this affects brain function.
bit.ly
October 1, 2025 at 3:22 PM
#Throwback 🧪
REVIEW | Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis
@elizschneider.bsky.social
@jfcryan.bsky.social et al
REVIEW | Feeding gut microbes to nourish the brain: unravelling the diet–microbiota–gut–brain axis
@elizschneider.bsky.social
@jfcryan.bsky.social et al
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
“Our findings suggest that structural income inequality is associated with neurobiological differences, even after accounting for absolute income and poverty. These brain differences, in turn, help explain links to adverse mental health outcomes.”
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Macroeconomic income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health - Nature Mental Health
Rakesh et al. used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort study to evaluate the relationship between state-level income inequality, brain structure and function, and mental health in young people.
www.nature.com
September 30, 2025 at 10:44 AM
“Our findings suggest that structural income inequality is associated with neurobiological differences, even after accounting for absolute income and poverty. These brain differences, in turn, help explain links to adverse mental health outcomes.”
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
Living in an unequal society, regardless of individual wealth, can lead to structural changes in the brains of children.
#ScienceatKings #PopulationHealth
#ScienceatKings #PopulationHealth
Study links greater inequality to structural changes in children’s brains
Researchers say findings show inequality creates toxic environment and reducing it is ‘a public health imperative’
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Living in an unequal society, regardless of individual wealth, can lead to structural changes in the brains of children.
#ScienceatKings #PopulationHealth
#ScienceatKings #PopulationHealth
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
😍 Our latest is out now in @commspsychol.nature.com. 🤩 We show with Bayesian modelling and experimental manipulation of uncertainty that developmental differences in social influence depend on differences in the internal uncertainty people have about their choice
doi.org/10.1038/s442...
doi.org/10.1038/s442...
Internal uncertainty impacts social information use in risky choice across adolescence - Communications Psychology
Adolescents’ choices are influenced by others. A social risky choice experiment and Bayesian modelling reveal that age differences in internal uncertainty, being unsure how to choose, relate to differences in susceptibility to social influence.
doi.org
September 29, 2025 at 9:07 AM
😍 Our latest is out now in @commspsychol.nature.com. 🤩 We show with Bayesian modelling and experimental manipulation of uncertainty that developmental differences in social influence depend on differences in the internal uncertainty people have about their choice
doi.org/10.1038/s442...
doi.org/10.1038/s442...
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
The gut-brain connection
Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.
Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.
The gut-brain connection
Glia cells mediate cytokine signaling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.
buff.ly
September 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM
The gut-brain connection
Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.
Glia cells mediate cytokine signalling between the gut and the brain, linking sleep to inflammation in the gut.
Reposted by Cassandra Lowe
When women are underfunded, boys & men are hurt
- Boys grow up in trauma w/o DV shelters & mental health svcs
- Men face economic pressure when women lose income, healthcare, credit
- Economies contract when women can't get capital for business
www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/how-und...
- Boys grow up in trauma w/o DV shelters & mental health svcs
- Men face economic pressure when women lose income, healthcare, credit
- Economies contract when women can't get capital for business
www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/how-und...
How undermining and underfunding women directly affects men and boys - Alliance magazine
A dangerous narrative is spreading across philanthropic and policy circles: that men and boys are being ‘left behind’ as women advance economically and politically. This zero-sum thinking has infected...
www.alliancemagazine.org
September 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
When women are underfunded, boys & men are hurt
- Boys grow up in trauma w/o DV shelters & mental health svcs
- Men face economic pressure when women lose income, healthcare, credit
- Economies contract when women can't get capital for business
www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/how-und...
- Boys grow up in trauma w/o DV shelters & mental health svcs
- Men face economic pressure when women lose income, healthcare, credit
- Economies contract when women can't get capital for business
www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/how-und...