QMUL Centre for Brain and Behaviour News

New journal Advances in Pollinator Research launched by Centre for Biodiversity and ...

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Pollinators comprise a taxonomically diverse group – including insects, mammals, birds, and more rarely, amphibians, reptiles, and even gastropods – that support wild plant communities and underpin global food production systems. Today, a new journal has been lauched dedicated to the study of this essential ecosystem compoment: Advances in Pollinator Research. CBS member Dr Rachel Parkinson is on the founding Editorial Board Team as Subject Editor, and has been involved with the journal's initiation. The first article in the journal, co-authored by Dr Parkinson, explain how the journal aims to transform how pollinator science is shared and translated into real-world action.

Why ADHD is often diagnosed later in women: A conversation with Dr Jessica Agnew-Blais

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Emily Bates was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of 34. In a recent Nature Outlook programme, Ms Bates reflects on how her symptoms were easy to miss earlier in life - from appearing like a "model student" at school to coping by leaving work until the very last minute, and how receiving a diagnosis helped her make sense of her long-standing struggles. To understand why this is such a common story for women, Bates spoke with Dr Jessica Agnew-Blais, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, whose research examines ADHD across the lifespan, with a particular focus on girls and women. Dr Agnew-Blais explains that historically, ADHD has often been thought of as a condition affecting "the hyperactive boy" – stereotypically, the child who can't sit still and disrupts the classroom. Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to show a presentation that is predominantly inattentive, and may seem "daydreamy" or quietly distracted rather than outwardly disruptive. In practice, this means their difficulties can draw less attention from teachers and parents, allowing symptoms to go unnoticed for longer. Dr Agnew-Blais highlights evidence that when ADHD is missed earlier on, women are more likely to receive a diagnosis of depression or anxiety, and to have received treatments such as antidepressants, before ADHD is recognised. She also notes that women are more likely than men to discontinue antidepressants after receiving an ADHD diagnosis suggesting "perhaps there's some kind of misdiagnosis, [or] diagnostic overshadowing going on - especially for women, prior to receiving their ADHD diagnosis". Alongside improving understanding of the "missed" presentation of ADHD in girls and women, Dr Agnew-Blais's research addresses a major gap in the evidence base: how ADHD relates to women's health across hormonal transitions such as puberty, the menstrual cycle, and menopause. This has informed new work including the Measuring Adult ADHD and Menstruation (MAAM) study (https://www.adhdlifelab.com/maam-study), which investigates whether ADHD symptoms, medication effectiveness, and day-to-day functioning among women with ADHD change across the menstrual cycle. By building evidence in an area that has historically been under-researched, Dr Agnew-Blais's work aims to support earlier recognition and better-tailored support for women with ADHD, and to help ensure their experiences are reflected in research and clinical care. Watch the full interview: https://fb.watch/EYw3fbpU6F/

Research work in the Centre for Brain and Behaviour explores the pathways from neurodivergent ...

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

To mark UK Disability History Month, which runs from November 20 to December 20, we showcase the research of Giorgia Michelini, a senior lecturer in the Centre for Brain and Behaviour. Dr Michelini leads research on the lived experience of neurodivergent adolescents and young adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds, in collaboration with QMUL Disability and Dyslexia Services. A recent paper, soon to appear in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Phychiatry, written in collaboration with colleagues from the Centre for Brain and Behaviour and King's College London, explores the pathways from neurodivergent traits to mental health outcomes, highlighting the role of sleep as an important factor influencing mental health in neurodivergent young people. To learn more about disability, particularly the support provided to staff, visit the Staff Disability Networkpages.

The Official Launch of the Centre for Brain and Behaviour

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 23:00:00 +0100

The Centre for Brain and Behaviour (CBB) held an official launch event "Mind, Tech, and Wellbeing" in Octagon, QMUL, on the 29th September, 2025. Attended by more than 100 staff members, PhD students, and external guests from psychology and neuroscience-related industries, charities and science media, the event provided an opportunity to celebrate the Centre's innovations and impact. The event started with an introduction from the leadership team, Dr Valdas Noreika and Professor Rachael Bedford, laying out the CBB's vision: "To advance our understanding of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour, aiming to address urgent societal challenges" and key research themes. This was followed by presentations from prominent academics within the CBB, including Professor Rachael Bedford's work on the impact of digital media on infant sleep and wellbeing; Dr Annemieke Apergis-Schoute's interventions for helping OCD patients; Dr Lucie Charles' research program on decision-making, metacognition and misinformation. Professor Isabelle Mareschal's research on how adversities, war, displacement and climate change, affect mental health in children and adolescents; Professor Lars Chittka's findings on the perception and intelligence of bees; and Professor Caroline Brennan explaining how zebrafish genetics and neuroscience can help us to understand the human brain and psychiatric conditions. Talks were followed by an interactive poster session with more than 20 academics from the CBB introducing their research programs. Dr Elisabetta Versace and the Prepared Minds lab gave engaging demos of their work, while Professor Andrea Benucci demonstrated a fully automated setup with voluntary head fixation that he and his team developed to train mice in complex perceptual tasks. External guests also took part in guided lab tours where they got up close with the latest research conducted in the Child Development Lab, the Somatosensory Lab, the Exercise Lab, and the Sleep Lab. These and other facilities enable our research into topics such as early child development, mental health and sleep deprivation, and the relationship between physical movement and cognition and social interaction. Centre lead Dr Valdas Noreika said: "It was a pleasure to show our guests all the ways we are working together to address urgent societal challenges and ultimately improve human wellbeing. We are excited to strengthen the existing and build new collaborations with industries and charities, which is helping us to bridge from the basic research to applied psychology and neuroscience."

Positive Balance project team wins prestigious international award for dancer wellbeing programme

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0100

We are delighted to announce that Rosie Davis, a PhD student from the School of Biological and Behavioural sciences (Dr Versace lab) has been selected as one of only three recipients of the Linda & William Hamilton Annual Dance Wellness Symposium, which will take place at the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) 35th Annual Conference in Las Vegas later this month. Positive Balance is a psychoeducational programme for the physical and psychological wellbeing of pre-professional dancers based on positive psychology. Pre-professional adolescent dancers face many challenges to their wellbeing, including performance pressures, injuries, homesickness, and the physical demands of training. Positive Balance combines positive psychology, which helps dancers recognise their existing personal strengths and positive emotions, with psychoeducation, using practical strategies to manage their own wellbeing. The programme was delivered to adolescent dancers across pre-professional ballet schools, with feedback gathered from both the dancers and healthcare professionals to refine the activities. It included interactive and reflective tools which encouraged dancers to explore new strategies for approaching challenges using their existing character strengths and positive emotions. Results of a randomised controlled trial showed that Positive Balance supported an increase in dancers' knowledge and practice of positive psychology techniques. Positive Balance highlights the role of psychoeducation in enhancing both the physical and psychological wellbeing of young dancers. By tailoring activities to their lived experiences, Positive Balance empowers dancers to make more informed choices, fostering positive emotions and promoting healthier wellbeing habits. The programme was the result of a fruitful collaboration between the School of Biological and Behavioural Science, the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, English National Ballet School and Royal Ballet School bringing together expertise in adolescent wellbeing, behavioural science, psychology, physiotherapy and dance science. This was chosen from more than 100 abstracts worldwide, an achievement that recognises the excellence and originality of the project. As part of the award, Rosie will receive a $1,000 prize and a travel grant to present the project at the symposium, and all co-authors will be recognised with a certificate of achievement. The award ceremony will take place during the IADMS Conference on Thursday 25 September at 5:45pm, where Rosie and the other symposium recipients will be formally recognised. Huge congratulations to the entire project team Rosie Davis (SBBS, Dr Versace Lab), Jieying Huang (SBBS, Dr Versace Lab), Dr Giorgia Michelini (SBBS), Juncal Roman (English National Ballet School), Karen Roman (Royal Ballet School), Christian Uitzinger (Royal Ballet School), Dr Manuela Angioi (FMD), and Dr Elisabetta Versace (SBBS).

Dr Lucie Charles awarded Best Article Award by the Psychonomic Society

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Dr Charles, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, was awarded the Best Article Award by the Psychonomic Society. She was jointly awarded with Brian Maniscalco the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Best Article award, for her article Optimal metacognitive decision strategies in signal detection theory. The Psychonomic Society Best Article Award recognises the best article published in each of the Psychonomic Society's journals during the last year.

Centre for Electronics Team Advances Fall Prevention with Radar-Enabled Home Monitoring

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 23:00:00 +0100

A multidisciplinary team from Queen Mary University of London's Centre for Electronics has co-authored a groundbreaking study that could transform how we prevent falls among older adults. The paper, "Reimagining falls prevention with insights from systems mapping on the use of millimetre-wave radar for remote health monitoring," published in Scientific Reports (Nature, 2025), explores how smart radar sensors can move fall prevention from reactive care to proactive monitoring. Falls are one of the leading causes of injury and loss of independence in older adults worldwide. Current systems rely heavily on self-reporting, wearable devices, or emergency responses after a fall has already occurred. This new research takes a different approach; combining millimetre-wave radar sensing with systems mapping to identify where technology can make the greatest impact in reducing fall risks before they happen. The study brings together expertise from engineering, health sciences, and data modelling, with major contributions from Dr Elif Dogu, Professor Akram Alomainy, and Dr Khalid Z. Rajab of Queen Mary's Centre for Electronics. Dr Dogu led the development of the systems-mapping framework that reveals how health, environment, and mobility factors interact. Professor Alomainy and Dr Rajab contributed their world-leading expertise in millimetre-wave radar technology, demonstrating how unobtrusive, contact-free sensors could continuously monitor mobility and detect early signs of deterioration; all without requiring the person to wear a device or change their daily routine. This fusion of engineering innovation and health systems research marks a significant step toward smarter, more human-centred healthcare. Scientifically, it advances the use of radar for remote physiological monitoring, offering new insights into how we can track subtle changes in movement and behaviour. Societally, it opens the door to safer, more independent living for older adults and could help reduce the burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Professor Alomainy commented that the work "shows how cutting-edge wireless technologies can be designed around people, not just data; creating intelligent environments that support wellbeing and dignity as we age." This research embodies the spirit of interdisciplinary innovation that defines Queen Mary: engineering solutions built with empathy and designed to make a real difference in people's lives. Read the paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-14416-y

Climate change fuelling mental health crisis in areas most affected by climate crisis

Mon, 26 May 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Climate change is not just an environmental issue — it's a mental health crisis impacting adolescent wellbeing right now in areas most affected by climate change, according to new research from Queen Mary University. The authors of the study published in the 'Journal of Climate Change and Health' have called for mental health supports to be built into climate adaptation efforts to help young people facing an uncertain future. We already know that climate change is threatening child and adolescent health worldwide, but there is limited research on its effects on mental health in the low- and middle-income countries that are most affected by climate crisis. The study reveals that climate change is having a severe impact on adolescent mental health in southern Madagascar. The mixed-methods study gathered survey data from 83 adolescents and focus groups with 48 participants across six rural villages in March 2024. Young people in the region reported extremely high levels of anxiety, depression, and climate change worry, with many describing a sense of hopelessness about the future. Participants described feeling powerless, with one adolescent saying, "I have no idea what I can do to be happy" and another indicating "life is a misery". The study, conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, Trinity's School of Psychology and with colleagues in the Catholic University of Madagascar, University College London, and CBM Global, found that climate change affected adolescent mental health through three main pathways: loss of household resources, uncertainty about the future, and disruption of coping mechanisms. Food insecurity is particularly severe — 90% of households had run out of food in the past year, and 69% of adolescents had gone an entire day without eating. Many expressed deep distress over their families' struggles, and most had witnessed people in their communities starve to death. As one adolescent put it, "so many died … there were many elders, but they died because of the malnutrition". Another stated simply, "there is no water and when sunlight is burning, we are suffering". This research makes it clear that climate change is not just an environmental issue — it is a mental health issue as well that needs to also be addressed. We found that chronic climate stressors — not just extreme weather events — are already shaping adolescent mental health. In higher-income countries, climate anxiety often focuses on future risks, but in Madagascar, young people are already living this reality. The full paper, "There is no hope; only strong wind": How climate change impacts adolescent mental health in southern Madagascar, can be viewed on the Journal of Climate Change and Health's website.