Lucy Stafford
@lucysta02475610.bsky.social
PhD researcher. Interoception (mostly gastrointestinal), body image/representation, eating disorders, computational approaches (she/her). https://sites.google.com/york.ac.uk/lucy-stafford/about-me
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Very excited to introduce InteroMap, a new bodily mapping tool designed to measure how we subjectively experience our bodily sensations, what we call interoceptive phenomenology 🧵👇
November 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Very excited to introduce InteroMap, a new bodily mapping tool designed to measure how we subjectively experience our bodily sensations, what we call interoceptive phenomenology 🧵👇
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
November 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
It's that time of year when many start thinking about applying for PhDs. If you're applying for a UK PhD position, here is a blog post I wrote a while back that might be helpful
#cognition #psychscisky #neuroskyence #psychjobs
#cognition #psychscisky #neuroskyence #psychjobs
How to get PhD funding in the UK
It is that time of year again. The leaves are turning golden, red, and orange (or just brown), the nights are drawing in, and there is a chi...
aidanhorner.blogspot.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
It's that time of year when many start thinking about applying for PhDs. If you're applying for a UK PhD position, here is a blog post I wrote a while back that might be helpful
#cognition #psychscisky #neuroskyence #psychjobs
#cognition #psychscisky #neuroskyence #psychjobs
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Thank you to @psypost.bsky.social for featuring our @natmentalhealth.nature.com research on stomach–brain communication and worse mental health symptoms
www.psypost.org/scientists-d...
Was also shared on X but with weirdly more hair colour comments 🌈 than the science itself 😅:
x.com/OwenGregoria...
www.psypost.org/scientists-d...
Was also shared on X but with weirdly more hair colour comments 🌈 than the science itself 😅:
x.com/OwenGregoria...
Scientists discover surprising link between gut-brain interactions and mental health
Every emotion has a physical side, but one organ has been curiously overlooked in brain-body research. Now, scientists are turning their attention to the stomach—and discovering signals that may chang...
www.psypost.org
October 1, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Thank you to @psypost.bsky.social for featuring our @natmentalhealth.nature.com research on stomach–brain communication and worse mental health symptoms
www.psypost.org/scientists-d...
Was also shared on X but with weirdly more hair colour comments 🌈 than the science itself 😅:
x.com/OwenGregoria...
www.psypost.org/scientists-d...
Was also shared on X but with weirdly more hair colour comments 🌈 than the science itself 😅:
x.com/OwenGregoria...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Even after recovery, relapse is heartbreakingly common in anorexia nervosa. Could the answer lie in the gut’s hidden signals? 🧵
September 22, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Even after recovery, relapse is heartbreakingly common in anorexia nervosa. Could the answer lie in the gut’s hidden signals? 🧵
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Reilly, Brown & Frank link altered taste, touch, vision, and gut sensing to anorexia and bulimia nervosa, highlight knowledge gaps, and proposing neurobiologically-informed strategies for clinical translation. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38730196/
Perceptual Dysfunction in Eating Disorders - PubMed
Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by abnormal responses to food and weight-related stimuli and are associated with significant distress, impairment, and poor outcomes. Because many of the cardi...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
September 17, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Reilly, Brown & Frank link altered taste, touch, vision, and gut sensing to anorexia and bulimia nervosa, highlight knowledge gaps, and proposing neurobiologically-informed strategies for clinical translation. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38730196/
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
🚨Do you want to join our online seminars?
Next month we have this amazing seminar with Anna and Noa!
Register to join, it’s free 🤓
#somatosensation
#interoception
#sensory
#body
#science
#neuroscience
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Next month we have this amazing seminar with Anna and Noa!
Register to join, it’s free 🤓
#somatosensation
#interoception
#sensory
#body
#science
#neuroscience
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
September 16, 2025 at 10:27 AM
🚨Do you want to join our online seminars?
Next month we have this amazing seminar with Anna and Noa!
Register to join, it’s free 🤓
#somatosensation
#interoception
#sensory
#body
#science
#neuroscience
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Next month we have this amazing seminar with Anna and Noa!
Register to join, it’s free 🤓
#somatosensation
#interoception
#sensory
#body
#science
#neuroscience
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
New qualitative paper! A foray into gastric interception. @lucysta02475610.bsky.social ran a LOT of focus groups, across groups with eating disorders, gastric disorders and neither, to understand how people experience the sensations from their GI system. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"I feel full with shame": A qualitative perspective on gastric interoceptive sensibility
“Am I hungry? Did I overeat at lunch?” Gastric interoception - the sensing, interpretation, and regulation of signals from the gastrointestinal system…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 13, 2025 at 7:03 AM
New qualitative paper! A foray into gastric interception. @lucysta02475610.bsky.social ran a LOT of focus groups, across groups with eating disorders, gastric disorders and neither, to understand how people experience the sensations from their GI system. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
In this @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social Spotlight, I describe how a recent paper by @leahbanellis.bsky.social, @brainandstomach.bsky.social, et al. opens new avenues in interoception research, including those focussed on the subjective interpretation of internal signals: www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
Stomach–brain synchronisation is associated with poorer mental health
In common parlance, ‘being in touch with your body’ is often used positively. However,
in a recent study, Banellis, Rebollo, and colleagues show that better stomach–brain
synchronisation is actually a...
www.cell.com
September 9, 2025 at 11:32 AM
In this @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social Spotlight, I describe how a recent paper by @leahbanellis.bsky.social, @brainandstomach.bsky.social, et al. opens new avenues in interoception research, including those focussed on the subjective interpretation of internal signals: www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
🧠 New publication out!
👁️🗨️ 🫀 In this perspective, we draw parallels with anosognosia
for hemiplegia, commonly seen in acute stroke patients, in the attempt to explain anosognosia for the illness in anorexia nervosa, based on recent
computational accounts
www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...
👁️🗨️ 🫀 In this perspective, we draw parallels with anosognosia
for hemiplegia, commonly seen in acute stroke patients, in the attempt to explain anosognosia for the illness in anorexia nervosa, based on recent
computational accounts
www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...
Frontiers | The adamant adherence to a prior belief: the case of anosognosia in anorexia nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a complex psychiatric disorder marked by restrictive eating and distorted body image. Often, individuals with AN show a persistent d...
www.frontiersin.org
September 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
🧠 New publication out!
👁️🗨️ 🫀 In this perspective, we draw parallels with anosognosia
for hemiplegia, commonly seen in acute stroke patients, in the attempt to explain anosognosia for the illness in anorexia nervosa, based on recent
computational accounts
www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...
👁️🗨️ 🫀 In this perspective, we draw parallels with anosognosia
for hemiplegia, commonly seen in acute stroke patients, in the attempt to explain anosognosia for the illness in anorexia nervosa, based on recent
computational accounts
www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
On Prolific, "we estimate that about 34% of online study participants use LLMs to answer open-ended questions atleast some of the time..."
Seems like a very timely paper for behavioural scientists using online samples: osf.io/preprints/so... ;
We really need more papers on this issue
Seems like a very timely paper for behavioural scientists using online samples: osf.io/preprints/so... ;
We really need more papers on this issue
August 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
On Prolific, "we estimate that about 34% of online study participants use LLMs to answer open-ended questions atleast some of the time..."
Seems like a very timely paper for behavioural scientists using online samples: osf.io/preprints/so... ;
We really need more papers on this issue
Seems like a very timely paper for behavioural scientists using online samples: osf.io/preprints/so... ;
We really need more papers on this issue
A roller coaster of a thread for any interoceptive researchers ⬇️
August 28, 2025 at 9:41 AM
A roller coaster of a thread for any interoceptive researchers ⬇️
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Wow, this is the kind of evidence we need to move ahead in the field. I'll go out on a limb here: I guess it is more about the gut than cardiac and respiratory domains. Huge effort by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @micahgallen.com and the entire team 👏
Interoceptive Ability is Unrelated to Mental Health Symptoms: Evidence From a Large Scale Multi-Domain Psychophysical Investigation https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.25.25334366v1
August 27, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Wow, this is the kind of evidence we need to move ahead in the field. I'll go out on a limb here: I guess it is more about the gut than cardiac and respiratory domains. Huge effort by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @micahgallen.com and the entire team 👏
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
the tldr of my thread is that, interoceptive sensing at rest has no relationship to mental health symptoms, and we think this is likely because we need to measure interoception during and after arousal, close in time to symptoms, with ecological measures.
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Interoceptive Ability is Unrelated to Mental Health Symptoms: Evidence From a Large Scale Multi-Domain Psychophysical Investigation
Interoception-the sensing and perception of the internal viscera-is widely cast as a transdiagnostic mechanism linking brain-body interaction to mental illness. Prevailing models propose that altered ...
www.medrxiv.org
August 28, 2025 at 7:01 AM
the tldr of my thread is that, interoceptive sensing at rest has no relationship to mental health symptoms, and we think this is likely because we need to measure interoception during and after arousal, close in time to symptoms, with ecological measures.
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
The latest from our lab @the-ecg.bsky.social: interoceptive sensing at rest is *not* related to mental health symptoms 🤔 Read our study here 👇
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Interoceptive Ability is Unrelated to Mental Health Symptoms: Evidence From a Large Scale Multi-Domain Psychophysical Investigation
Interoception-the sensing and perception of the internal viscera-is widely cast as a transdiagnostic mechanism linking brain-body interaction to mental illness. Prevailing models propose that altered ...
www.medrxiv.org
August 28, 2025 at 8:37 AM
The latest from our lab @the-ecg.bsky.social: interoceptive sensing at rest is *not* related to mental health symptoms 🤔 Read our study here 👇
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Interoceptive Ability is Unrelated to Mental Health Symptoms: Evidence From a Large Scale Multi-Domain Psychophysical Investigation
Interoception-the sensing and perception of the internal viscera-is widely cast as a transdiagnostic mechanism linking brain-body interaction to mental illness. Prevailing models propose that altered ...
www.medrxiv.org
August 27, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
This leads me to our final point. Interoceptive accuracy is not the construct for emotion or mental health. We think that interoceptive narratives and beliefs, and how interoceptive sensastions change during acute stress and arousal, is so much more important.
August 27, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This leads me to our final point. Interoceptive accuracy is not the construct for emotion or mental health. We think that interoceptive narratives and beliefs, and how interoceptive sensastions change during acute stress and arousal, is so much more important.
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Academia may not give you job security, flexibility, or wealth, but it will let you unexpectedly connect to eduroam in foreign cities
August 20, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Academia may not give you job security, flexibility, or wealth, but it will let you unexpectedly connect to eduroam in foreign cities
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Research opportunity! Email or click the link for more info: www.canva.com/design/DAGmM...
Please share thank you!
#eatingdisorders #EDAwareness #emotions #ResearchStudy #ParticipateInResearch #PsychologyResearch #NHSresearch #UKresearch #students
@jrefox.bsky.social
@livuniresearch.bsky.social
Please share thank you!
#eatingdisorders #EDAwareness #emotions #ResearchStudy #ParticipateInResearch #PsychologyResearch #NHSresearch #UKresearch #students
@jrefox.bsky.social
@livuniresearch.bsky.social
August 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Research opportunity! Email or click the link for more info: www.canva.com/design/DAGmM...
Please share thank you!
#eatingdisorders #EDAwareness #emotions #ResearchStudy #ParticipateInResearch #PsychologyResearch #NHSresearch #UKresearch #students
@jrefox.bsky.social
@livuniresearch.bsky.social
Please share thank you!
#eatingdisorders #EDAwareness #emotions #ResearchStudy #ParticipateInResearch #PsychologyResearch #NHSresearch #UKresearch #students
@jrefox.bsky.social
@livuniresearch.bsky.social
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
📢New research 📢 Our new qualitative study provides the first in-depth study exploring individuals experiences and views regarding why people with eating disorders are at risk of suicide. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
(1)
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
(1)
‘It’s the perfect storm’: why are people with eating disorders at risk of suicide? A qualitative study - BMC Medicine
Background Eating disorders (EDs) are associated with elevated all-cause mortality, with suicide cited as the second leading cause of death among individuals with EDs. Evidence suggests that individua...
bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:42 AM
📢New research 📢 Our new qualitative study provides the first in-depth study exploring individuals experiences and views regarding why people with eating disorders are at risk of suicide. bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
(1)
@saakshikakar.bsky.social @mrtzhrl.bsky.social
(1)
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
🚨 New preprint on the role of eating disorder symptoms in accelerating response vigor during foraging decisions 💫
w/ Sam Hall-McMaster
📜Link: t.co/C2lep57X4k
💻Code and data: t.co/C2lep57X4k
TLDR: RTs of the eating disorder group get progressively faster over the course of a block.
w/ Sam Hall-McMaster
📜Link: t.co/C2lep57X4k
💻Code and data: t.co/C2lep57X4k
TLDR: RTs of the eating disorder group get progressively faster over the course of a block.
October 31, 2024 at 3:16 PM
🚨 New preprint on the role of eating disorder symptoms in accelerating response vigor during foraging decisions 💫
w/ Sam Hall-McMaster
📜Link: t.co/C2lep57X4k
💻Code and data: t.co/C2lep57X4k
TLDR: RTs of the eating disorder group get progressively faster over the course of a block.
w/ Sam Hall-McMaster
📜Link: t.co/C2lep57X4k
💻Code and data: t.co/C2lep57X4k
TLDR: RTs of the eating disorder group get progressively faster over the course of a block.
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Could the diversity of findings in heartbeat-evoked response (HER) research be due to variability in methods?
In our new preprint my co-first authors, Maria Azanova and @willenjoy.bsky.social, and me systematically reviewed 132 M/EEG HER studies and found:
In our new preprint my co-first authors, Maria Azanova and @willenjoy.bsky.social, and me systematically reviewed 132 M/EEG HER studies and found:
August 13, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Could the diversity of findings in heartbeat-evoked response (HER) research be due to variability in methods?
In our new preprint my co-first authors, Maria Azanova and @willenjoy.bsky.social, and me systematically reviewed 132 M/EEG HER studies and found:
In our new preprint my co-first authors, Maria Azanova and @willenjoy.bsky.social, and me systematically reviewed 132 M/EEG HER studies and found:
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
Join us for this free online seminar - Positive body image and prevention of #eating #disorders in a #school context, Dr Hannah Lewis, 23 September 2025, 4-5PM UK. Please share and sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/positive-b...
Positive body image and prevention of eating disorders in a school context
The role of promoting a positive body image in improving young people's mental health.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
August 18, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Join us for this free online seminar - Positive body image and prevention of #eating #disorders in a #school context, Dr Hannah Lewis, 23 September 2025, 4-5PM UK. Please share and sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/positive-b...
Reposted by Lucy Stafford
These are the most challenging times for early-career scientists and engineers.
My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers.
We found 437 of them.
Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers.
We found 437 of them.
Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
August 11, 2025 at 11:54 AM
These are the most challenging times for early-career scientists and engineers.
My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers.
We found 437 of them.
Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers.
We found 437 of them.
Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
