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utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith
@utafrith.bsky.social
740 followers 180 following 120 posts

Golden Oldie. Likes Social Cognitive Neuroscience. But not only.

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Dame Uta Frith is a German-British developmental psychologist and emeritus professor in cognitive development at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London (UCL). She pioneered much of the current research into autism and dyslexia. Her book Autism: Explaining the Enigma introduced the cognitive neuroscience of autism. She is credited with creating the Sally–Anne test along with fellow scientists Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen. Among students she has mentored are Tony Attwood, Maggie Snowling, Simon Baron-Cohen and Francesca Happé. .. more

Psychology 48%
Neuroscience 36%
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utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 1d
This paper is a model of clarity! It successfully argues that innately biased language learning mechanisms are more plausible than innate language knowledge.
Statistical Learning by 8-Month-Old Infants | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Statistical Learning by 8-Month-Old Infants
Learners rely on a combination of experience-independent and experience-dependent mechanisms to extract information from the environment. Language acquisition involves both types of mechanisms, but mo...
www.science.org

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 1d
This is great. I love to see evidence for 'factory settings' of cognitive mechanisms that enable learning.
Newborn Infants Selectively Attend to Points That Refer to Objects - Geraci - 2026 - Developmental Science - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Newborn Infants Selectively Attend to Points That Refer to Objects
Recognizing that certain acts are communicative is a key requirement of the development of communicative skills. Newborn infants have been shown to selectively respond to certain ostensive cues, incl...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 5d
An exciting advance in developmental psychology! Toddlers expect ingroup loyalty to override personal preferences when outgroups are present | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Toddlers expect ingroup loyalty to override personal preferences when outgroups are present | PNAS
When outgroups are present, adults may endorse ingroup choices that are at odds with their personal preferences, in an outward show of ingroup loya...
www.pnas.org

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 12d
This review is so good, it makes me eager to recommend this book by Deborah Cohen:
Are health influencers making us sick? www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Are health influencers making us sick?
Social media can help to raise awareness of health conditions — but the wealth of dubious information online might do more harm than good.
www.nature.com

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 14d
Just what is needed today.

Reposted by Uta Frith

royalsociety.org
The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 14d
Born #OnThisDay in 1821 was Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the USA and the first woman on the medical register in the UK. She was a committed social reformer and helped found the London School of Medicine for Women. #WomenInSTEM
A 19th century photo portrait of a woman wearing a dark garment, with a lace collar and a subtle smile, in a black and white with an oval frame.

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 14d
A recent interview with Chris Frith @cdfrith.bsky.social
www.popularmechanics.com/science/a700...
Reality Is a Shared Hallucination—And It’s at Risk of Collapsing, Scientist Claims
When that happens, it can lead to some truly disturbing outcomes.
www.popularmechanics.com

Reposted by Uta Frith

mpib-berlin.bsky.social
Max Planck Institute for Human Development @mpib-berlin.bsky.social · 19d
❄️🎣 What ice-fishing competitions reveal about human decision-making. New paper in @science.org by researchers from @mpib-berlin.bsky.social, @scioi.bsky.social, and the University of Eastern Finland.

👉 Read more: www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/newsroom/new...

📄 Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 19d
Hmm, interesting and a bit disturbing too.
mrccbu.bsky.social MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge @mrccbu.bsky.social · 19d
Are episodic and semantic memory really that different? Using closely matched tasks, we found no substantial neural differences between recalling personal experiences and general knowledge: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02390-4

Reposted by Uta Frith

mrccbu.bsky.social
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge @mrccbu.bsky.social · 19d
Are episodic and semantic memory really that different? Using closely matched tasks, we found no substantial neural differences between recalling personal experiences and general knowledge: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02390-4

Reposted by Uta Frith

royalsociety.org
The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 19d
Industrial heating accounts for around 14% of UK emissions, yet approximately half of the energy used in UK industry is lost as waste heat. Capturing and re-using this could help decarbonise industry, reduce energy demand and more. Read the full report here: royalsociety.org/news-resourc...
Unlocking thermal energy: capture, storage and re-use of industrial waste heat | Royal Society
This report from the Royal Society explores how industrial waste heat can be captured, stored, transported and re-used.
royalsociety.org

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 21d
A very important review.
natrevpsychol.nature.com Nature Reviews Psychology @natrevpsychol.nature.com · 21d
The psychological consequences of mental health awareness efforts

Review by Lucy Foulkes, Isaac Winterburn, Dasha Sandra, Michael Inzlicht, Jack L. Andrews & Carolina Guzman Holst

go.nature.com/4r2UvRH

Reposted by Uta Frith

natrevpsychol.nature.com
Nature Reviews Psychology @natrevpsychol.nature.com · 21d
The psychological consequences of mental health awareness efforts

Review by Lucy Foulkes, Isaac Winterburn, Dasha Sandra, Michael Inzlicht, Jack L. Andrews & Carolina Guzman Holst

go.nature.com/4r2UvRH

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Uta Frith

acamh.bsky.social
ACAMH - Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health @acamh.bsky.social · 22d
Dyslexia isn’t just about reading and writing. Prof Maggie Snowling explains how reading disorders originate in the language system, and why many children also struggle with oral language.

Read the full blog to learn more. https://bit.ly/4qr5SlY
Professor Maggie Snowling on rethinking reading disorders
We caught up with the presenter -  Prof. Maggie Snowling, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford and Research Fellow at St John's College - about her career, the topic, and her h...
bit.ly

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 22d
A very neat experiment that uncovers developmental differences: Development of Uncertainty Sensitivity: Early Competence or Protracted Development? - Wan & Sloutsky 2026 - Developmental Science - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Development of Uncertainty Sensitivity: Early Competence or Protracted Development?
The development of uncertainty sensitivity, a critical cognitive ability, presents a challenging paradox: Some evidence points to its emergence in infancy, whereas other evidence indicates much late.....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Uta Frith

ahistoryinart.bsky.social
Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 22d
Painted in 1913, Paul Nash gave this picture the ultimate simplicity of a title, 'A Drawing.' The elm trees marked the boundary of his family's home at Wood Lane House, Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire. Trees always held a spiritual quality for him.

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · 26d
Great to see that someone decided to make a difference in putting quality over quantity and promoting slow science www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I’m going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too
If we don’t slow down, the research enterprise is going to crash, argues Adrian Barnett.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Uta Frith

paul-klee.bsky.social
Paul Klee @paul-klee.bsky.social · 28d
Movement of Vaulted Chambers https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/483045
The Berggruen Klee Collection, 1984

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Jan 15
There are different causes for under-confidence and different remedies.

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Jan 15
Good to watch this video on a day like today.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkDM...
Why morning light is so important | The Royal Society
YouTube video by The Royal Society
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Uta Frith

uclnews.bsky.social
UCL News @uclnews.bsky.social · Jan 15
Women and people with anxiety are both prone to low confidence in their own abilities, but a new study by Dr @sucharit.bsky.social and Prof @smfleming.bsky.social @uclpals.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social has found that the two groups are prone to two distinct types of underconfidence
Two types of underconfidence linked to anxiety and gender
Women and people with anxiety are both prone to low confidence in their own abilities, but a new study by UCL researchers has found that the two groups are prone to two distinct types of underconfiden...
www.ucl.ac.uk

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Uta Frith

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · Dec 31
“I propose academic journals submit to independent regulation through an international quality-management standard. Organisations must demonstrate operations are customer-focused, committed to continual improvement, underpinned by systematic management approaches & evidence-based decision-making”
Put pressure on publishers to follow best practice — external regulation is the answer
Journals that work hard to meet the needs of both authors and readers should be acknowledged publicly — encouraging others to follow suit.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Uta Frith, Margot C. Finn

resprofnews.bsky.social
Research Professional News @resprofnews.bsky.social · Dec 29
EU’s Horizon scheme boosts UK research quality, report finds.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
EU’s Horizon scheme boosts UK research quality, report finds - Research Professional News
Analysis also finds “overwhelming” backing among researchers for continued UK membership of bloc’s programme
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Dec 28
One of the rare studies that tries to relate ToM performance with real life social interaction.
The Impact of Theory of Mind on Real‐Time Social Interactions and Momentary Social Anxiety: A Comparison Between Young Autistic and Neurotypical Children - Chen onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Dec 21
Interesting brain changes in Chinese readers.
Abnormal Developmental Trajectories in the Brain in Individuals With Reading Disability - Yan - 2026 - Developmental Science onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Abnormal Developmental Trajectories in the Brain in Individuals With Reading Disability
It is unknown how the brain supports reading development in individuals with reading disability (RD). In a cross-sectional study (i.e., children, adolescents, adults), we found an age-related shift ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Uta Frith

royalsociety.org
The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · Dec 17
French natural philosopher and mathematician Émilie du Châtelet was born #OnThisDay in 1706. Her 'Institutions de Physique' caused debate throughout Europe, and her translation of Newton's 'Principia Mathematica' is still considered the standard translation in France.

#WomenInSTEM

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Dec 16
Dissociating underlying components of pragmatics: a most promising basis for research into communication difficulties.

Three distinct components of pragmatic language use: Social conventions, intonation, and world knowledge–based causal reasoning | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org

Reposted by Uta Frith

vvheye.bsky.social
Veronica van Heyningen @vvheye.bsky.social · Dec 13
Pleasing picture and interesting to compare with the work of Anna Ancher currently on show at Dulwich Picture Gallery www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/ann...

utafrith.bsky.social
Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Nov 22
Shocked to think of the consequences of political interference on a formerly trusted website.
cwnewser.bsky.social Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · Nov 21
I had terrifying conversations with four former CDC officials, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Dan Jernigan, and Dr. Nikki Romanik, about the formerly prestigious public health agency.

All of them told me that any information coming out of the CDC can no longer be trusted.

Reposted by Uta Frith

electricvoice.bsky.social
Electric Voice Theatre @electricvoice.bsky.social · Nov 22
Book Now https://shorturl.at/10LVD
Winter Carols by Candlelight @ConwayHall
English Interpreted Performance #BSL
#BritishSignLanguage
7pm–9pm Thurs 11 Dec 2025