How does the brain orchestrate flow states? Two new publications in the journal NeuroImage, one in our upcoming special issue on the Neural Correlates of Risks and Benefits of Media Use (#1), and one in the regular issue (#2) dive into flow experiences using a complexity science lens ...

Our undergraduate research assistant, Justus Swan, will present our newest research on AI delusion today from 10:30–11:30 AM (Zoom link below). He’ll be presenting alongside Dr. Norah Dunbar and Dr. Casey Randazzo, representing AI research in communication.

That’s a wrap! We’re so impressed by the incredible research showcased at #SANS2026. Huge thanks to the SANS organizers, presenters, and to everyone who made the conversations along the way so meaningful. See you at #SANS2027

Last day of #SANS2026! Today, @rachaelkee.bsky.social will present her poster introducing Inoxity. It’s an open source iOS app that allows for high-throughput collection of EMA and bio-behavioral data. What can you do with high-throughput data? Check her preprint! doi.org/10.33767/osf...

Can’t wait to see some of you at my poster today! #SANS2026

Congratulations to @elisabaek.bsky.social, #SANS2026 early career award winner!

Get your media neuro dose at #SANS26! We will have a poster session everyday at SANS presenting on both topics of morality and media addiction. See our poster details below 👇👇👇

Today, Dr. Weber was recognized for his pioneering work using naturalistic paradigms in fMRI research. We’re proud to see the Media Neuroscience Lab’s work honored through his recognition as a SANS Founding Fellow. #SANS2026

We’re conducting a research study on faculty workplace experiences in #HigherEd 🎓 This study explores: work demands, departmental climate, & workplace bullying 🎯 If you’re currently a faculty member, we’d really value your perspective tinyurl.com/2fp8f8tv #AcademicSky #AcademicLife #EduSky

Check out this article on MNL PI Dr. René Weber’s election as a SANS Fellow and his journey pioneering media neuroscience science.ucsb.edu/news/rene-we...

What an amazing honor to have, Dr. René Weber, PI of the Media Neuroscience Lab, receive the distinctive honor of being elected into the inaugural class of SANS Fellows @sansmeeting.bsky.social

🎮 New on Channel 3 (ABC KEYT) this Wednesday at 6pm PST: A new UCSB study finds that video game addiction in teens often stems from underlying mental health issues — not the games themselves. #gamingdisorder #mentalheath #videogames

📢 CCR needs a new Editor in Chief! 📢 @vanatteveldt.com is rotating out so we are inviting (self)nominations to lead our journal through its next phase. Deadline 15 January, see link for details: journal.computationalcommunication.org/announcement...

Thank you to everyone in the Communication & Social Cognition division who joined us for Alison Oliver's talk, “A Pupillometric Evaluation of Moral Judgments.” We really appreciated the great discussion! #nca2025 #commsky

🚨 #COMMSky Spotlight Alert! 🚨 @nibasaleem.bsky.social is featured in the November 2025 edition of the #ICA (@icahdq.bsky.social) Newsletter! 🌟 Check out the member spotlight at the 🔗 below. We’re proud to see our PI's research focus and mentorship aspirations highlighted on the global stage! 🌎

Excited to present our project “Character Profiles: Broadening Theoretical Conceptualizations of Character Schemas” at #NCA2025! This work examines character and person perception processes of distinct character types (e.g., pirates, cowboys, mad scientists). Thurs Nov 20 - 2:30PM - Maple 05

I am super excited to see the #CommSky community at NCA 2025! Stay updated with an NCA feed here: bsky.app/profile/did:... You can be featured by simply including these hashtags in your posts: #NCA25 #NCA2025

🎮 New study: Teen gaming addiction may stem more from pre-existing mental health issues (like anxiety & depression) than from video games themselves. It is not just about the joystick, but it’s about what’s going on in the mind. 🧠 Read more: news.ucsb.edu/2025/022004/... #commsky #psychsci #gaming

“Why is my teen addicted to video games?” Our new study in JAMA Network Open shows that psychopathology is a key driver--not an outcome of gaming disorder! Depression, anxiety, ADHD, and social challenges may underlie gaming disorder. Treat the root, not just the game. 🎮🧠 #commsky #psychsci #gaming

Very excited to share our latest article on Psychopathology and Gaming Disorder in Adolescents published in JAMA Network Open (ja.ma/4o9EM1N).

Did you meet the media neuroscience lab at #ica25 ? @b-wheeler.bsky.social @musamalik.bsky.social @kyliewoodman.bsky.social Drop a like or comment who you met and we will give you a follow! P.S. All three of these brilliant researchers are going on the job market this year!

🎉 Congratulations to former lab member Dr. Sungbin Youk on winning a Top Paper award at @icacsab.bsky.social! His research used multifaceted analytic approaches to explore how brain activity can help us understand and predict donation behaviors in response to Singapore PSA videos #ica25

Doing or planning digital platform research? We want to hear from you. Take our 5–8 min survey to help shape tools, infrastructure & training for researchers. 🔗 tiny.cc/aio-survey #AIO2025survey

🎉 Congratulations to @fhopp.bsky.social on winning @icacsab.bsky.social’s Rising Star Award! Dr. Hopp, PI of the Moral Computing Lab at ZPID and former MNL member, continues to shape the field through rigorous and high-quality science. We’re so proud!

ICYMI: 🏆 Congratulations to the winners of Saturday's #ICA25 posters! 🏆 Yoo Joo Lee (Washington State U) won the Top Poster award, and Brittany Wheeler (U of California, Santa Barbara) received the Top Student Poster award!

We hope you had the opportunity to swing by and see @b-wheeler.bsky.social 's TOP STUDENT POSTER! If you didn't get to see it check out the poster below ⬇️⬇️

Swing by @b-wheeler.bsky.social poster session at 1:30 to snag one of our exclusive MNL 3D printed brain keychain. 🧠 She is also on the job market this year 👀👀 #ica25

Excited to present at #ICA25 Today! 🗓 1:30pm | Poster #70 | Centennial Foyer (Regency) “Is Academic Online Bullying a Widespread Phenomenon? A Study of Scholarly Discourse on Twitter/X” If you're attending, stop by to discuss our findings...and pick up a fun brain keychain while you're there! 🧠

One final presentation to go at #ICA25! @b-wheeler.bsky.social will be sharing our emerging research on online hate and bullying!

We’re always amazed at the impact you can make in just 3 minutes. Thank you to CSAB for hosting an incredible showcase of groundbreaking work. All the presenters inspired us. A special shoutout to @musamalik.bsky.social for his standout paper on global morality! #ica25

Huge thanks to everyone who joined @musamalik.bsky.social’s presentation this morning! 🌟 Grateful for such an engaged audience! #ica25

Truly, is there anything @musamalik.bsky.social can’t do? If you haven’t had the chance to hear Musa share his research, you’re in for a treat. Catch him tomorrow at #ica25 , first at 9am in the Aspen Ballroom, then again at 12pm in the Mt. Blue Sky room. (He is also on the job market this year 👀)

We’re thrilled to see MNL represented at @hackingcommsci.bsky.social! Huge thanks to @jacobtfisher.online and @kyliewoodman.bsky.social for organizing another fantastic hackathon and sharing valuable comm sci insights such as using GitHub and running fMRI analyses. #hackica25 #ica25

We can't wait to kick off #ica25 in Denver! What are your most recommended talks? #commsky We will try to attend as many as we can!

Finally, it is published 😀 open access: The Extended Morality as Cooperation Dictionary (eMACD): A Crowd-Sourced Approach via the Moral Narrative Analyzer Platform www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.....

Dr. Huskey is always making us proud as a MNL alum. Congratulations on another successful #CommHorizons2025 So many amazing scholars and presentations. We look forward to next year!

@kyliewoodman.bsky.social did a phenomenal job of representing our lab's research on media and well-being at #CommHorizons2025

Already looking forward to next year #SANS2026

Come to sunny San Diego, April 14-20, 2026, for #SANS2026!

If you have questions about media addictions, @kyliewoodman.bsky.social is our in-house expert. See her present 2 posters at #SANS2025: examining the neural mediator between psychopathology and Gaming Disorder, and another on gender differences in the neural development of general media addictions.

@kyliewoodman.bsky.social from @medianeuro.bsky.social holding down the court at @sansmeeting.bsky.social 🎉

Last day of #SANS2025! Come check out our poster on the neural markers of media addiction in adolescents, using data from the ABCD study. Presented during the poster session at 1:50 PM by PhD candidate @kyliewoodman.bsky.social!

A collection of modules, datasets, and other resources for learning to program in R, geared toward students in psychology and neuroscience: ritcheym.github.io/ppn/

Incredibly thoughtful research coming out of the CCSL lab, featuring innovative affective clustering of news headlines, drift diffusion modeling, and fMRI news valence contrasts. @richardhuskey.bsky.social always knows how to captivate an audience. #SANS2025

MNL alum @richardhuskey.bsky.social delivered a great Blitz talk on new media selection and the representation of negative news headline bias. Check out his poster tonight at #SANS2025!

My neural plasticity was in overdrive while listening to Dr. Beatrice Luna present her lab’s extensive research on adolescent 'Critical Period Plasticity.' Using techniques such as fMRI and magnetic spectroscopy, her work supports the Driven Dual Systems Model. #SANS2025

Just attended the Best Practices in Methods session at #SANS2025 so many practical takeaways! From Dr. Clelland and Dr. Cosme's push for SCA (links below), to Dr. Chen’s approach to voxel activation reporting, and Dr. Burns guidance on motion exclusion for hyperscanning—super useful insights!

Comic Sans (c) at #SANS2025! Our own unique stand up comedy show!

@earlkmiller.bsky.social delivers the #SANS2025 presidential address: "Cognition emerges from neural dynamics"

Last night, @kanupandey.bsky.social from UCSB truly livened up #SANS2025 with his upbeat amd witty humor at Comic SANS