Authors:

Metherell, T.E., Kurten, S., Ghai, S., Ploubidis, G.B., Moreno-Agostino, D. & ORBEN, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9296

Abstract:

Purpose There is a notable lack of studies investigating the mental health associations of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South, particularly with regard to the use of digital technologies. We aimed to investigate the cross-sectional associations of digital technology use with mental health indicators during the pandemic in 12 countries in the Global South. Methods We used data from the UNICEF Innocenti Disrupting Harm survey. The survey included a representative sample of 11,912 internet-using children aged 12–17 in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. We modelled the associations of social connection during lockdown and internet use during the pandemic with six different indicators of wellbeing in each country (excluding Tanzania, where there had been no lockdowns) and in the overall sample using robust linear and logistic regression. We controlled for a range of putative socioeconomic and demographic confounders and handled missing data using multiple imputation. Results We did not find clear evidence for any general associations of social connection or internet use with mental health indicators during lockdown across countries. Rather, our results are complex and demonstrate that the relationship depends heavily on an individual’s context; not just on the country they are living in but also on their gender, urbanicity and other factors. Nonetheless, our results highlight key focus areas for further research. Conclusion Extensive further research is needed to identify ways in which technology use, including internet use, might act as a risk or protective factor relevant to mental ill health among young people in the countries of the Global South.

URL:

Authors:

JAMA Psychiatry

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9295

Abstract:

Social interaction is a critical component of mental well-being. Over the past few years, engagement via a variety of virtual modes has added new components to traditional social activities, and reduced the barriers for individuals to stay in touch with others and reach comparatively large audiences. The rapid growth of social media suggests that people interacting with these services might find them rewarding. Rewards, by definition, are outcomes which reinforce preceding activities and promote repetition

URL:

Authors:

MITCHELL, D., Kadohisa, M., Kusunoki, M., Bhatia, C., Buckley, M.J., DUNCAN, J.D.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9294

Abstract:

Attention is a coherent state, in which multiple brain regions converge to represent selected features of a focal object or event. Lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), with its flexible coding of multiple task features and their conjunctions, is widely believed to play a key role in this process. While much research has investigated biased competition between features within a brain region, and cofluctuations of activity between regions, less is known about the representational dynamics through which a coherent neural state emerges. Here, we examine directed mutual information concerning multiple feature-specific population codes, between dorsal and ventral LPFC, across three phases of an attentional selection task. We find bidirectional convergence of information regarding multiple task features, but specifically following the period of selection from the visual display. The results show that neural processes driving inter-region coherence are especially salient during a period of cued object selection, despite comparable local information representation during other task phases.

URL:

Authors:

HENSON, R., GREVE, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9293

Abstract:

Prior knowledge can enhance memory for both schema-congruent and schema-incongruent events. According to the SLIMM framework, memory performance generally follows a U-shaped pattern, with both highly expected and highly surprising events being better remembered than neutral ones. We tested this prediction across four experiments in which participants viewed scenes containing congruent or incongruent objects, rating each as expected or surprising on a four-level scale. Memory was assessed using: (1) old/new item recognition categorized by recollection and familiarity, and (2) source memory, in which participants reported whether objects had been rated as expected or surprising at study. Schema effects on memory varied by test type. Item recognition consistently showed an advantage for expected trials only, primarily via recollection, while familiarity (if assumed independent of recollection) increased with surprise level – contrary to SLIMM’s predictions. We hypothesize that schema-related retrieval strategies enhance recollection of expected objects. Source memory did produce a reliable U-shaped pattern, even though this particular task should only produce an advantage for surprising trials according to SLIMM. We suggest participants tagged events as “surprising” or “expected” during study and could later recall the tag. When the tag was ‘weak’ or unavailable – more likely for moderately categorized events – participants fell back on schema-related retrieval strategy, which benefits retrieval of expected events. Together, these mechanisms produce the observed U-shaped pattern for source memory. Our findings reveal the complex retrieval test dependent manner in which prior knowledge shapes episodic memory.

URL:

Authors:

MAI, G., Upton, E., Griffiths, T.D., Leff, A.P., Crinion, J.T., Mills, G., Neville, D., Anderson, S., Price, C.J., HALAI, A.D., Blairs, M., ALLER, M., MACGREGOR, A.J., Davis, M.H., Robson, H.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9292

Abstract:

Comprehending connected speech is critical for human interaction and is vulnerable in post-stroke aphasia. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying impaired speech listening is necessary for accurate and effective assessment and treatment. Neural speech tracking methods offer a window into naturalistic speech processing and may reveal causal contributions to comprehension. EEG was recorded during story listening in 15 people with aphasia with left temporal lesions (temporal group), 14 people with aphasia with left frontal lesions (frontal group) and 15 age- and hearing-matched controls (control group). All participants listened to clear and unintelligible stories (∼12 min per condition). Controls additionally listened to low-intelligibility stories that equated comprehension success to the temporal group. Envelope tracking was measured at syllable- (theta) and multi-syllable- (delta) rates. Neural decoding and encoding analyses measured global (whole-brain) and local (sensor-wise) speech tracking, respectively. Group comparisons used linear mixed-effects regression. Linear and quadratic relationships assessed associations between neural tracking and behavioural measures of comprehension while accounting for covariates. Behavioural measures of comprehension showed the temporal group were significantly impaired compared to both frontal and control groups. Comparison of intelligible and unintelligible speech found that intelligibility affected delta but not theta tracking—suggesting that delta tracking is linked to higher-order linguistic processing and theta tracking reflects sensory responses. Theta and delta envelope decoding reflected group/comprehension status: tracking was reduced in the temporal group compared to the control group, but tracking was not significantly different when control comprehension was behaviour-matched via speech degradation. Delta encoding produced a similarly behaviour-linked pattern, but theta encoding was lesion—rather than behaviour-sensitive, in that reduced tracking was observed in temporo-parietal sensors in both aphasia groups. Theta tracking correlated with comprehension in a lesion-specific manner. Positive correlations between theta tracking and comprehension were found in the temporal group and negative correlations in the frontal and control groups. This produced a quadratic (inverted-U) relationship between theta tracking and comprehension success across all participants. The control-like, negative theta tracking–comprehension correlations in the frontal group are consistent with listening effort effects in which greater task difficulty result in greater tracking. In the temporal group, where comprehension was impaired, better envelope tracking at syllable rates may help build a stable representation of the speech stream supporting phonological and lexical analysis and comprehension. These results indicate that envelope tracking reflects a combination of lesion and symptom profiles and is a viable method for investigating the mechanisms of speech comprehension in aphasia.

URL:

Authors:

ORBEN, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9291

URL:

Authors:

Metherell, T.R., Kurten, S., Ghai, S., Ploubidis, G.B., Moreno-Agostino, D., ORBEN, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9290

Abstract:

Purpose There is a notable lack of studies investigating the mental health associations of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South, particularly with regard to the use of digital technologies. We aimed to investigate the cross-sectional associations of digital technology use with mental health indicators during the pandemic in 12 countries in the Global South. Methods We used data from the UNICEF Innocenti Disrupting Harm survey. The survey included a representative sample of 11,912 internet-using children aged 12–17 in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. We modelled the associations of social connection during lockdown and internet use during the pandemic with six different indicators of wellbeing in each country (excluding Tanzania, where there had been no lockdowns) and in the overall sample using robust linear and logistic regression. We controlled for a range of putative socioeconomic and demographic confounders and handled missing data using multiple imputation. Results We did not find clear evidence for any general associations of social connection or internet use with mental health indicators during lockdown across countries. Rather, our results are complex and demonstrate that the relationship depends heavily on an individual’s context; not just on the country they are living in but also on their gender, urbanicity and other factors. Nonetheless, our results highlight key focus areas for further research. Conclusion Extensive further research is needed to identify ways in which technology use, including internet use, might act as a risk or protective factor relevant to mental ill health among young people in the countries of the Global South.

URL:

Authors:

Sterner, E.F., Demler, V.F., Lenx, R., MACGREGOR, L.J., Mathys, C., Knolle, F.

Reference:

Year of publication:

In Press

CBU number:

9289

Abstract:

Predictive processing has been proposed as a framework for symptom development in autism (ASD) and schizophrenia (SSD) spectrum disorders, with ASD being associated with an overweighting of (low-level) sensory evidence whereas SSD is characterized by an overweighting of (high-level) prior beliefs, both resulting in altered prediction error processing. This study investigated these hypotheses and their electrophysiological correlates in subclinical expressions of ASD and SSD during language processing. Participants completed an auditory comprehension task that manipulated the precision of high-level semantic prior beliefs and low-level sensory evidence. Hierarchical Bayesian belief-updating modeling and electroencephalography were used to examine whether imbalances in the weighting of prior beliefs and sensory evidence were reflected in altered processing of semantic prediction errors, characterized by mean N400 amplitudes. Computational modeling revealed that increasing schizotypal traits were associated with significant overweighting of prior beliefs, while autistic traits did not show a significant shift. Linear mixed-effect models of mean N400 amplitudes indicated that schizotypy-related overweighting of semantic prior beliefs was reflected in a reduced semantic prediction error signal, indexed by smaller N400 differences between high predictability sentences and both low predictability and high predictability mismatch sentences. A similar but weaker and less distinct pattern emerged for increasing autistic traits. These findings provide converging computational and electrophysiological support for overweighting of semantic prior beliefs with increasing subclinical schizotypy. In contrast, increasing autistic traits were not associated with overweighting of sensory evidence, with electrophysiological results instead suggesting subtle alterations in the weighting of semantic prior beliefs.

Data for this project is available at: https://osf.io/3rv4m/

Authors:

Griffiths, K., Gormley, S., DALGLEISH, T., STRETTON, J.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9288

Abstract:

Social value judgments help people evaluate which characteristics in others are desirable, affiliative, or potentially costly within social relationships. This cross-sectional study examined age-related differences in these judgments, and their associations with depressive symptoms and perceived social status, using a newly developed Social Value Questionnaire (SVQ) in a large English-speaking sample (N = 681, aged 12-65 years, M = 38.34, SD = 14.91; 66% female). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure comprising Warmth, Unpleasantness, Sociability, and Competence. Structural equation modelling showed age-graded differences in endorsement: Warmth was more strongly endorsed at older ages, whereas Unpleasantness, Sociability, and Competence were less strongly endorsed. Depressive symptoms and perceived social status were each uniquely associated with greater tolerance of Unpleasantness in others, independent of age. These findings suggest that social-evaluative preferences vary systematically across age groups, while also being linked to mood and perceived rank. We discuss these cross-sectional age differences in relation to lifespan motivational theory, contemporary models of social evaluation, and evolutionary accounts of depressed mood.

URL:

Authors:

Ghai, S., Vuorre, M., Kardefelt-Winther, D., FERGUSON, A., KURTEN, S., Livingstone, S., Przybylski, A.K., & ORBEN, A.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2026

CBU number:

9287

Abstract:

As digital access expands rapidly among children worldwide, technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), including online grooming, sexual solicitation, non-consensual image sharing and sexual extortion, has emerged as urgent yet underexamined category of digital harms1. Despite growing policy attention to online safety, evidence remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where most of the world’s children live2. We analysed nationally representative survey data from 11,912 children aged 12–17 years across 12 countries in eastern and southern Africa and Southeast Asia, collected through the Disrupting Harm project in 2020–2021. We found that one in six internet-using children experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated CSEA, equivalent to over 10 million children. Despite this scale, many experiences went undisclosed, pointing to disclosure as a critical pathway for protection in the digital age. When children did disclose, they relied primarily on informal channels, especially friends, rather than formal reporting mechanisms such as police or helplines. Using Bayesian hierarchical models accounting for cross-country heterogeneity, we find that older children were less likely to disclose, whereas enabling parental mediation of online activities and children’s knowledge of where to seek help after sexual harassment or assault were associated with higher rates of disclosure. These findings provide population-level evidence to inform prevention and response across low- and middle-income countries, where coordinated action by policymakers, law enforcement and technology companies is urgently needed to protect all children.

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