📻 A radio + 🧸 a teddy + 🧩 a puzzle board = how babies learn language? Watch as Dr Antonia Goetz, researcher at MARCS, explains her research using 3 simple objects: a radio, a teddy bear, and a puzzle board. #MARCSresearch #ChildDevelopment #EarlyChildhood #LanguageDevelopment

Dear fellow and future PhD candidates.. 💌 #PhDLife #marcshdr #research #postgradlife

🧱 LEGO blocks + a deck of cards + a pair of headphones. What do they have to do with how we understand music? Meet Dr Gabriele Cecchetti, Music Science researcher at MARCS, who studies how our brains transform sequences of sounds into meaningful structures when listening to music. #MARCSresearch

🏡 Older adults living in residential aged care spend around 85% of their time engaged in sedentary activities. How can we better support participation and engagement in later life? 🎥 Watch this interview with @celiaharris.bsky.social & Ruth Brookman. #ARCLinkage #AgedCare #HealthyAgeing

MARCS #BabyLab and PlaygroupNSW explored how children's #temperament shapes #development - and what it means for everyday parenting. One 🔑 takeaway: While temperament's partly innate, nothing's set in stone. Pins and needles aside, it was refreshing to be on the ground sharing science.

🧠 Could your hobbies help reduce dementia risk? In their latest article, Dr Ruth Brookman & A/Prof Celia Harris explore what the evidence says about hobbies and brain health. Read article: tinyurl.com/3hwem8mh @westernsydneyu.bsky.social @celiaharris.bsky.social

🏆 Congratulations to A/Prof Celia Harris, Dr Ruth Brookman, & team on their ARC Linkage Grant success! Their project explores #MotivationScience & how it can be used in innovative ways to engage #AgedCare residents in #wellbeing programs. More updates coming soon. @westernsydneyu.bsky.social

What happens to #cognition when we outsource language learning to #AI? Researchers at the MARCS Institute explore how learning a #language engages #memory, #attention, & #cognitive flexibility. 🔗 tinyurl.com/bdey7cv6 @oliviamaurice.bsky.social @markantoniou.bsky.social @westernsydneyu.bsky.social

From higher degree research to one of the world’s most competitive fellowships – congratulations to Dr Shavika Rastogi on securing the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project, “#Neuromorphic Touch”. #Neuroprosthetics #ResearchImpact #MarieCurie #MARCSHDR #StudentSuccess

How interdisciplinary are we? We're interested in #cognitive #neuroscience, #developmental #psychology, #agedcare, #communication, #assistive #technology, #neuromorphic systems - and beyond! Different expertise. Endless possibilities. ▶️ Follow us as we spotlight our research community.

Proud to see our #MARCSHDR students showcasing their research at #ADI2026. Eman Shatnawi presented on implementing person-centred care in #agedcare – and had the honour of meeting Princess Muna Al Hussein – while Mina Aghaei shared her work on AI-enhanced assistive technology in #dementiacare.

"Not just living longer, but living better." Meet @oliviamaurice.bsky.social, one of MARCS Writing Fellowship awardees. Olivia is a cognitive neuroscientist exploring how #multilingualism shapes cognitive, sensory, and affective resilience as we age. #MARCSHDR #CognitiveNeuroscience #AgedCare

Amid growing public speculation about Donald Trump’s behaviour, researchers at Western Sydney University examine whether conditions like frontotemporal dementia can – or should – be used to explain it. tinyurl.com/23pv3946 @westernsydneyu.bsky.social #Dementia #PublicHealth

Even when progress is hard to see, learning may still be unfolding, preparing the ground for what comes next. Read the article by @eylemaltuntas.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/2afznyfc @westernsydneyu.bsky.social #EarlyLearning #SpeechDevelopment #ChildDevelopment #Education #Parenting

Research shows that #bilingual & #multilingual individuals are roughly half as likely to show signs of early #ageing. MARCS researcher, A/Prof Mark Antoniou, explains the science behind language learning: tinyurl.com/2mbyfv2f Connect & collaborate: tinyurl.com/MarkAntoniou #BrainHealth

Out in the community today! 🤝 Our Age Lab teams were across two locations for Seniors Week events. It was especially meaningful to hear participants reflect on their own memories and experiences while engaging in our #FoldingTime activity & #MemoryAid demo. #CommunityEngagement #agedcare #health

📢 We're hiring: Charter Hall Senior Research Fellow - #Neuroscience of #Ageing & #Dementia | Help shape healthier futures for older adults. 📆 Closes 24 Mar 2026 💰 $147,138–$169,011 + 17% Super 🌎 Visa sponsorship available 👉 Apply now: lnkd.in/gKX_XR8r @westernsydneyu.bsky.social

Congratulations to Martina Ventura on winning the Denis Burnham Award for Doctoral Student Career Transition! 🎉 Her research on object categorisation in the infant brain is helping us understand how young minds make sense of the world. | Award info: tinyurl.com/DenisBurnham... #CogNeuro #MARCSHDR

In a world facing conflict and uncertainty, we stand with those affected. 🌏 Today, our researchers reflected on science: it advances when we question and stay open to new evidence. We’re reminded that humility and the commitment to reflect and grow together matter now more than ever.

👏Congrats to this quarter's MARCS Writing Fellowship awardees, @oliviamaurice.bsky.social & @aramirezharo3.bsky.social! Proud to support our #PhD candidates in publishing their #research. Can't wait to see their work in print! #AcademicWriting #MARCSHDR #CogNeuro @westernsydneyu.bsky.social

Back to school = back to “I forgot…” 🙃 Forgetfulness is a part of development. Researchers explain what’s happening with #prospectivememory & #executivefunction in children's developing brain. Tips included in article for #parents & #educators: 🔗 tinyurl.com/mryku2ez | @celiaharris.bsky.social

MARCS Visiting Scholarship recipients, Alexis Kidder and Ling Guang, have published new research papers contributing valuable insights to #cognitive and #neuralscience. Read the papers here: 👉 direct.mit.edu/imag/article... 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to see Denise Moerel and colleagues featured on ScienceAlert: www.sciencealert.com/our-brains-r... Their study in PLOS Biology revealed that when people collaborate, their brains sync within milliseconds, processing information in strikingly similar ways: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Pleased to share that our PhD Candidate, Florian Burger, has received the Best Poster Award at the Graduate Student Level at the 2025 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society (ACNS) Conference. A well-deserved recognition and a proud moment for their supervisor @tgro.bsky.social. #ACNS2025

Collaborating minds think alike, processing information in similar ways in a shared task | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release... New publication in PLOS Biology: plos.io/4hBhuPy Denise Moerel, with @tgro.bsky.social, @drquekles.bsky.social, Sophie Smit at @marcsinstitute.bsky.social

We’re thrilled to announce that Associate Professor Joyce Siette has been appointed Editor in Chief of the Journals of Gerontology: Series A - Medical Sciences (view journal here: academic.oup.com/biomedgeront...). Please join us in congratulating A/Prof Siette on this outstanding achievement!

A/Prof Joyce Siette's article in The Conversation highlights how staying active protects our brain health - even for people with a genetic predisposition to dementia. Find it here: theconversation.com/exercising-i... The journal article this piece was based on: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

🧠 Ever wondered what’s happening inside your mind during a Black Friday sale? @tgro.bsky.social explains how limited-time sales change the way our brain processes information. Read The Conversation article here: theconversation.com/heres-what-b...

Are you a super-recogniser? 🧠🧐 MARCS researcher @drquekles.bsky.social is leading fascinating work on exceptional face recognition abilities. A small proportion of people have this extraordinary skill - find out if you’re one of them! Take the test yourself here: facetest.psy.unsw.edu.au

Can sight shape our feelings? 👁️‍🗨️🖐🧠 @theconversation.com article co-authored by Dr Sophie Smit & Dr @tgro.bsky.social, uncovers how fast our brain transforms what we see into what we feel. Read it here: theconversation.com/when-we-see-... The Imaging Neuroscience publication: doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...

Yesterday, our MARCS team proudly delivered a meaningful and insightful symposium on Day 1 of #AAGCONF25, titled: “Inclusion at the centre: Promoting socially connected communities for meaningful ageing" - presenting a diverse range of work dedicated to supporting the wellbeing of older adults.

Dr Denise Moerel and colleagues' article on how our brains make decisions in competitive settings is out now! Read the full Conversation article here: theconversation.com/even-in-a-si... The article published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience: academic.oup.com/scan/advance...

Applications are now open for the MARCS International Visiting Scholar Program 2026! 🌏 We are pleased to offer scholarships for PhD students and postdocs for visits of 1–3 months before the end of 2026. 📅 Applications close 4 December 2025. If you are interested, email [email protected]

🌏 In a dream world, we’d all learn a new language and speak it fluently. Congrats to A/P Mark Antoniou's and team on their new project that aims to uncover the factors behind effective #languagelearning and develop personalised training approaches to help every learner reach their full potential.

🧠🗣️ Curious about how your baby learns to talk? Explore the fascinating journey of early language development with A/P Karen Mattock in a free webinar hosted by Playgroup NSW. 📅 Tuesday 4 November ⏲️ 11:30am -12:30pm 📌 Online via Zoom (Free) Register here: events.humanitix.com/free-online-...

We’re Hiring! Postdoctoral Research Fellow in #DevelopmentalScience Are you passionate about understanding the origins and development of human analogical reasoning? View the full position description & apply via: jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne... Applications close: Tue 4 Nov 2025

“Why can’t we remember life before age 4? 🧠 A/P Celia Harris explains the mystery of early memories, identity, and why some childhood moments stick while others fade. Read the full article: www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

We’re proud to share a new scoping review published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia - co-authored by MARCS’ own Joyce Siette - mapping the evidence on how social determinants contribute to #dementia risk and progression. Read the full publication: alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

MARCS is seeking 2 x Postdoctoral Research Fellows in Computational Linguistics to join our multilingualism research team led by Prof Paola Escudero. 📅 Apply by: Wednesday 20 August 2025 📍 Open to candidates across Australia & internationally 👉 Learn more & apply here: lnkd.in/dzHtcJJ3

Proud to share a new student-led publication in ICIS Infancy based on research conducted at MARCS BabyLab. This project explores how infant temperament and maternal language during play may influence socio-emotional development in early life. Find it here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Join us in congratulating Dr @drquekles.bsky.social on her promotion to Level C, Senior Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow! Her promotion is a well-deserved recognition of her research excellence and growing impact in the field of #cognitive_neuroscience. Learn more about her work: lnkd.in/gNkU6czM

We're proud to share that A/Prof Celia Harris, Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience, will be speaking at the upcoming Dementia Innovation Conference 2025! Book your place now: www.innovatedementia.com #CognitiveNeuroscience #MARCSInstitute #WesternSydneyUniverity

MARCS' Dr Ruth Brookman, alongside A/P Janet Conti, has led a new paper published in BMC Psychology. The study investigates the impact of a video feedback intervention on how women with elevated perinatal depression symptoms navigate their maternal identity. Read the full paper: lnkd.in/dZj5nvtf

Congratulations to our HDR candidate Florian Burger on receiving the Best Poster Presentation Award at the recent APCV/EPC Conference! His poster titled "From Visual features to Semantic Structure: Tracing Object Dimensions Through Hierarchical Model Layers." Read the preprint here: lnkd.in/dKqbvpYw

Hey ECRs at @expsyanz.bsky.social this week - if you're interested in object perception and/or neural decoding, come find me for a chat about an upcoming postdoc spot at the @marcsinstitute.bsky.social 👀

Headed to @expsyanz.bsky.social tonight? Be sure to check out Poster 31 and have a chat with @tvcottier.bsky.social who is asking the quetsion "Are those images of the same person? Dissecting the super-recogniser advantage" #Superrecogniser #faceperception #EPC2025

We're pleased to offer a fully funded PhD scholarship: Understanding the Mastery of Multiple Languages and Dialects: A Computational Approach 🎓 Lead Researcher: Prof. Paola Escudero 📅 Applications close: 30 June 2025 🔗 Full scholarship details: www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

We're pleased to offer a fully funded PhD scholarship: Revealing Universal and Cultural Origins of Music-Induced Emotion. 🎓 Lead Researcher: A/Prof Andrew Milne 📅 Applications close: 30 June, 2025 🔗 Full scholarship details and application instructions: www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/...

Wonderful to our very own Chris Davis, Jeesun Kim and Daniel Hochstrasser contributing to this epic mutli-lab replication result with a stellar line up of authors! #perception #rhythm #replication #musicscience

Congrats to all of our 2025 HDR Forum participants for another fantastic day of showcasing your research, especially award winners: Sami Arja, @aramirezharo3.bsky.social @oliviamaurice.bsky.social & Mina Aghaei. We may be biased, but our HDR Candidates are the best! #PhD