Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
@echrhallucinations.bsky.social
This is the BlueSky account for the The Early Career Hallucination Research (ECHR) group. Find out more about us here - https://echr.group/
Pinned
Hello! The Early Career Hallucination Research (ECHR) group is linked to the @theichr.bsky.social and is led by Emma Palmer-Cooper (University of Southampton, UK) and Catherine Bortolon (University of Grenoble-Aples, Fr). Posts on here by @davidesmailes.bsky.social ...
Humdinger of a preprint "When adjusting for lifetime ever-use of other substances, cannabis ever-use was no longer associated with PLEs, while methamphetamine use, cigarette use, and opioid use were associated with PLEs"
medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2025/12/02/2025.12.01.25341322.full.pdf
medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2025/12/02/2025.12.01.25341322.full.pdf
www.medrxiv.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Humdinger of a preprint "When adjusting for lifetime ever-use of other substances, cannabis ever-use was no longer associated with PLEs, while methamphetamine use, cigarette use, and opioid use were associated with PLEs"
medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2025/12/02/2025.12.01.25341322.full.pdf
medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2025/12/02/2025.12.01.25341322.full.pdf
Big study (n = 1,000+) examining the similarities/differneces between intrusive mental imagery and hallucinations in non-clinical participants: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From a team including Catherine Bortolon, one of the co-leads of ECHR (but who I don't think is on bluesky).
From a team including Catherine Bortolon, one of the co-leads of ECHR (but who I don't think is on bluesky).
Comparing the characteristics of hallucinations and mental imagery: a large cross-sectional study in the general population
Hallucinations (HAs), the perceptual experiences that occur without external stimuli, are classically associated with psychiatric disorders, but also …
www.sciencedirect.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Big study (n = 1,000+) examining the similarities/differneces between intrusive mental imagery and hallucinations in non-clinical participants: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From a team including Catherine Bortolon, one of the co-leads of ECHR (but who I don't think is on bluesky).
From a team including Catherine Bortolon, one of the co-leads of ECHR (but who I don't think is on bluesky).
New paper from @georgiapunton.bsky.social's PhD. Sleep deprivation may increase risk of hallucinations through effects on intentional inhibition (ICIM performance) rather than performance of signal detection task performance.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
<em>Journal of Sleep Research</em> | ESRS Journal | Wiley Online Library
Sleep dysfunction can impair cognition and may play a causal role in the development of hallucinations. Deficits in cognitive control have been implicated in cognitive models of hallucinations. To be...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:52 PM
New paper from @georgiapunton.bsky.social's PhD. Sleep deprivation may increase risk of hallucinations through effects on intentional inhibition (ICIM performance) rather than performance of signal detection task performance.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
Save the Date: The next ICHR Satellite Meeting will be in Munich, Sep 21-24 2026!
Hosted by @franziskaknolle.bsky.social & co-organised with @echrhallucinations.bsky.social, this will be our 5th satellite meeting and first trip to Germany.
hallucinationconsortium.org
Hosted by @franziskaknolle.bsky.social & co-organised with @echrhallucinations.bsky.social, this will be our 5th satellite meeting and first trip to Germany.
hallucinationconsortium.org
International Consortium on Hallucination Research
Visit the post for more.
hallucinationconsortium.org
December 10, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Save the Date: The next ICHR Satellite Meeting will be in Munich, Sep 21-24 2026!
Hosted by @franziskaknolle.bsky.social & co-organised with @echrhallucinations.bsky.social, this will be our 5th satellite meeting and first trip to Germany.
hallucinationconsortium.org
Hosted by @franziskaknolle.bsky.social & co-organised with @echrhallucinations.bsky.social, this will be our 5th satellite meeting and first trip to Germany.
hallucinationconsortium.org
Great qual paper on the Challenge RCT, which trialled VR-assisted relational therapy for distressing voices. Some interesting content about negative 'side effects' (i.e., very high levels of distress caused when continuing to attend despite what the voice wants): games.jmir.org/2025/1/e77920/
Immersive Virtual Reality–Assisted Therapy for Distressing Voices in Psychosis: Qualitative Study of Participants’ and Therapists’ Experiences in the Challenge Trial
Background: Immersive virtual reality-assisted therapy (VRT) is a relational therapy for distressing voices in psychosis. Like AVATAR therapy (AT), VRT centres on therapist-facilitated dialogues with ...
games.jmir.org
December 4, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Great qual paper on the Challenge RCT, which trialled VR-assisted relational therapy for distressing voices. Some interesting content about negative 'side effects' (i.e., very high levels of distress caused when continuing to attend despite what the voice wants): games.jmir.org/2025/1/e77920/
Paper on post-natal psychotic-like experiences in a reasonably large smaple (N = 346).
Almost certainly some useful data in here, but the data isn't open, so can't really tell.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Almost certainly some useful data in here, but the data isn't open, so can't really tell.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Postnatal Intrusive Thoughts and Psychotic-Like Experiences: Exploring Associations with Parenting Experiences and Mental Health - Community Mental Health Journal
During the perinatal period, many parents experience mental health difficulties of varying severity, which have been associated with adverse outcomes. Examples include perinatal obsessive-compulsive d...
link.springer.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Paper on post-natal psychotic-like experiences in a reasonably large smaple (N = 346).
Almost certainly some useful data in here, but the data isn't open, so can't really tell.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Almost certainly some useful data in here, but the data isn't open, so can't really tell.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
Hey folks! We're running a big repliCATS workshop in Melbourne on 16 Dec, evaluating of replicability of published papers.
🐈 metascience, psych, med, health, education, sociol, quant methods, stats ECRs welcome
💰 AU$200
🎫 + travel subsidies
ℹ️ forms.gle/9JvoRBKCzYyY...
Re-posts appreciated 🌈
🐈 metascience, psych, med, health, education, sociol, quant methods, stats ECRs welcome
💰 AU$200
🎫 + travel subsidies
ℹ️ forms.gle/9JvoRBKCzYyY...
Re-posts appreciated 🌈
October 30, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Hey folks! We're running a big repliCATS workshop in Melbourne on 16 Dec, evaluating of replicability of published papers.
🐈 metascience, psych, med, health, education, sociol, quant methods, stats ECRs welcome
💰 AU$200
🎫 + travel subsidies
ℹ️ forms.gle/9JvoRBKCzYyY...
Re-posts appreciated 🌈
🐈 metascience, psych, med, health, education, sociol, quant methods, stats ECRs welcome
💰 AU$200
🎫 + travel subsidies
ℹ️ forms.gle/9JvoRBKCzYyY...
Re-posts appreciated 🌈
Reposted by Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
** Recruiting a postdoc ** We are looking for a postdoc to work on emotion, mental health, and interoception, based in London at @ucl.ac.uk in my lab (Clinical and Affective Neuroscience). Part of a large Wellcome Grant (co-led with the brilliant @camillanord.bsky.social)
November 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
** Recruiting a postdoc ** We are looking for a postdoc to work on emotion, mental health, and interoception, based in London at @ucl.ac.uk in my lab (Clinical and Affective Neuroscience). Part of a large Wellcome Grant (co-led with the brilliant @camillanord.bsky.social)
Big (N = 1,262) paper from Brazil on some wekanesses of the PANSS - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Chimes with the findings of this - www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl... - meta-analysis, if I understand it right.
Chimes with the findings of this - www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl... - meta-analysis, if I understand it right.
COSMIN systematic review and meta-analysis of the measurement properties of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
Although the PANSS is the standard scale for schizophrenia symptom severity, its shortcomings
regarding fundamental psychometric domains and practical applicability warrant the
development of new scal...
www.thelancet.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Big (N = 1,262) paper from Brazil on some wekanesses of the PANSS - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Chimes with the findings of this - www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl... - meta-analysis, if I understand it right.
Chimes with the findings of this - www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl... - meta-analysis, if I understand it right.
Secondary analysis of data from the Challenge AVATAR therapy RCT reports weak/not-quite-there links between treatment outcomes and characteristics of the avatar (how closely the avatar resembled the voice patientsexperienced and the subjective sense of presence in the virtual environment)...
November 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Secondary analysis of data from the Challenge AVATAR therapy RCT reports weak/not-quite-there links between treatment outcomes and characteristics of the avatar (how closely the avatar resembled the voice patientsexperienced and the subjective sense of presence in the virtual environment)...
New paper using data from the Danish National Birth Cohort examined longitudinal association sbetween psychotic experiences and hospital contact relating to suicidal behaviour.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41159624/
...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41159624/
...
Psychotic Experiences and Risk of Suicidality in Adolescents: Examining the Impact of Auditory Hallucinations in Longitudinal Study From a Large Nationwide Birth Cohort - PubMed
This large longitudinal study documents that young people who report PE in pre-adolescent years, and especially auditory hallucinations with negative comments are associated with increased risk of suicidality in teenage years.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM
New paper using data from the Danish National Birth Cohort examined longitudinal association sbetween psychotic experiences and hospital contact relating to suicidal behaviour.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41159624/
...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41159624/
...
Two mind-blowing things from @retractionwatch.com First this: bsky.app/profile/retr...
A paper critiquing post-publication peer review has numerous made-up references, including a @nature.com article falsely attributed to our Ivan Oransky.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
PubPeer - An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platform...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platforms: the case of pubpeer (2025)
pubpeer.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Two mind-blowing things from @retractionwatch.com First this: bsky.app/profile/retr...
Bit off-topic (sort-of), but a great piece from Lizzie Gadd critiquing current systems of university-rankings: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
To reform universities, first tackle global rankings
Universities are in thrall to a rankings system that prioritizes narrow aspects of academic life. Three changes would give institutions the freedom to explore fresh ways of working.
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Bit off-topic (sort-of), but a great piece from Lizzie Gadd critiquing current systems of university-rankings: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Important paper form last year reporting a network analysis of associations between trauma types and psychotic symptoms in participants from East Africa. Exposure to a war zone was directly related to presence of visual halluciations: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Relationships between trauma types and psychotic symptoms: A network analysis of patients with psychotic disorders in a large, multi-country study in East Africa
The link between trauma exposure and psychotic disorders is well-established. Further, specific types of trauma may be associated with specific psycho…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Important paper form last year reporting a network analysis of associations between trauma types and psychotic symptoms in participants from East Africa. Exposure to a war zone was directly related to presence of visual halluciations: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
The ICHR Special Supplement 2025 is out!
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
International Consortium on Hallucination Research
Visit the post for more.
hallucinationconsortium.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
The ICHR Special Supplement 2025 is out!
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
New in Schiz Bull, find work from six of our international working groups, ft. new reviews on sleep dysfunction, cog development, psychedelics, cross-cultural comparisons, & the bodily self, plus the iMAPS 2 Imagery RCT!
hallucinationconsortium.org
Last blog post by me on Open Research. This time on the value of not-for-profit/diamond open access publishers: echr.group/2025/11/05/w...
Why should I support not-for-profit publishers/diamond open access journals?
Traditional scientific publishing is a very lucrative business. For example, it has been reported that for-profit publishers (such as Elsevier, Springer-Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis) have pr…
echr.group
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Last blog post by me on Open Research. This time on the value of not-for-profit/diamond open access publishers: echr.group/2025/11/05/w...
Anotehr blog post from me re: open research. This time on pre-prints: echr.group/2025/10/31/w...
Not mentioned in that blog, but the folks @asapbio.bsky.social have a great resource on pre-printing here: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Not mentioned in that blog, but the folks @asapbio.bsky.social have a great resource on pre-printing here: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Why should I use pre-prints?
Traditional scientific publishing is slow and is often pay-walled. That is, there is normally a long delay between submitting your manuscript for publication and that manuscript being published (an…
echr.group
November 5, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Anotehr blog post from me re: open research. This time on pre-prints: echr.group/2025/10/31/w...
Not mentioned in that blog, but the folks @asapbio.bsky.social have a great resource on pre-printing here: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Not mentioned in that blog, but the folks @asapbio.bsky.social have a great resource on pre-printing here: asapbio.org/about/why-pr...
Interesting paper reports that mental imagery plays a role in the onset of AVH by eliciting anxiety - doi.org/10.1093/schi...
Exploring the Working Mechanisms between Anxiety, Mental Imagery and Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Longitudinal Study
AbstractBackground. Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVHs) are the most common hallucinations within the psychosis spectrum and are often accompanied by anx
doi.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Interesting paper reports that mental imagery plays a role in the onset of AVH by eliciting anxiety - doi.org/10.1093/schi...
Reposted by Early Career Hallucinations Research Group
(Un)shared realities of psychosis treatment: An ethnographic study of (mis)alignment
between psychiatrists and patients experiencing psychosis...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
between psychiatrists and patients experiencing psychosis...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
(Un)shared realities of psychosis treatment: An ethnographic study of (mis)alignment between psychiatrists and patients experiencing psychosis
Delivering effective, compassionate psychiatric care that emphasizes meaningful exploration of patient perspectives remains a challenge for modern psy…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
(Un)shared realities of psychosis treatment: An ethnographic study of (mis)alignment
between psychiatrists and patients experiencing psychosis...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
between psychiatrists and patients experiencing psychosis...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Yet another blog post from me on open research. this time about open sharing of data. Why we should do it, and why we sometimes can't - echr.group/2025/10/23/w... ...
Why should I share my data?
Open data refers to free, unrestricted, sharing of data collected for a study with everyone/anyone. For example, a researcher might post the study collected in their study on something like Figshar…
echr.group
October 23, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Yet another blog post from me on open research. this time about open sharing of data. Why we should do it, and why we sometimes can't - echr.group/2025/10/23/w... ...
Pretty big (almost 200 patients) study on cognitive and neuro correlates of performance on a face pareidolia task in Lewy Body dementia: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Pretty big (almost 200 patients) study on cognitive and neuro correlates of performance on a face pareidolia task in Lewy Body dementia: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Missed this last year - protocol for a meta-analysis of 'targeted' psychological intevrnetions for auditory hallucination in psychosis: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Targeted psychological and psychosocial interventions for auditory hallucinations in persons with psychotic disorders: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Background In recent years, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) including positive symptoms such as...
journals.plos.org
October 22, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Missed this last year - protocol for a meta-analysis of 'targeted' psychological intevrnetions for auditory hallucination in psychosis: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Interesting experience sampling paper from earlier this year on using passive physiological indices as predictors of the onset of hallucinations in patients' daily lives - doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725000881
Surprisingly high (at least to me) ability to predict onset from these measures.
Surprisingly high (at least to me) ability to predict onset from these measures.
Predicting experiences of paranoia and auditory verbal hallucinations in daily life with ambulatory sensor data – A feasibility study | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Predicting experiences of paranoia and auditory verbal hallucinations in daily life with ambulatory sensor data – A feasibility study - Volume 55
doi.org
October 21, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Interesting experience sampling paper from earlier this year on using passive physiological indices as predictors of the onset of hallucinations in patients' daily lives - doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725000881
Surprisingly high (at least to me) ability to predict onset from these measures.
Surprisingly high (at least to me) ability to predict onset from these measures.
Another blog post by me - @davidesmailes.bsky.social - about open/resproducible research. This one about measurement practices - echr.group/2025/10/17/w... ...
Why should I focus on measurement?
In other posts, I have argued (based on what other, smarter people have said) that it is important for us to recruit larger samples, to pre-register hypothesis-driven work, and to openly share stud…
echr.group
October 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Another blog post by me - @davidesmailes.bsky.social - about open/resproducible research. This one about measurement practices - echr.group/2025/10/17/w... ...
Study protocol for the study protocol for the Talking With Voices (TWV-II) trial published this week - link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Looking at the trial registry, recruitment ended in June, and so presumably just doing end-of-treatment/follow-up assessments now.
Looking at the trial registry, recruitment ended in June, and so presumably just doing end-of-treatment/follow-up assessments now.
Multisite randomised controlled trial of a novel dialogical therapy in comparison to treatment as usual in adults with distressing and persistent auditory hallucinations: study protocol for the Talkin...
Background Hearing voices (“auditory hallucinations”) is associated with numerous negative outcomes, including hospitalisation, suicidality, and impaired functioning. Currently, the main treatment app...
link.springer.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Study protocol for the study protocol for the Talking With Voices (TWV-II) trial published this week - link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Looking at the trial registry, recruitment ended in June, and so presumably just doing end-of-treatment/follow-up assessments now.
Looking at the trial registry, recruitment ended in June, and so presumably just doing end-of-treatment/follow-up assessments now.