🧵 1/ New paper co-authored by Francisco Gomez Jimenez from the CCE and colleagues explores same-sex sexuality within an evolutionary framework published in Archives of Sexual Behavior 🧪

📣 CCN's leader Veena Kumari has been selected for the #REF2029 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience panel 🥳👏

@brunelpsy.bsky.social has been super successful in the latest round of British Academy / Leverhulme Trust funding with two awards 🤩💅👏🥳

The recent IARR 2025 mini conference on "Gender, sexuality and relationships" co-led by CCE's Stan Gaines was a great success 🏳️‍🌈😌🫂 The mini-conference was named for the Gender, Sexuality and Relationships (GSR) theme group within Brunel University of London’s Centre for Culture and Evolution (CCE)

Annie Wertz plants a flag for plan and learning research!

taking a social/relational perspective on resilience in recovery - super proud of this work and so grateful to our participants 🫶

At Brunel I was teaching stats to first-year psychology students in the same building (!) where Alex from Clockwork Orange was "rehabilitated". The joke was writing itself, and I had the feeling nobody was getting it...

Race Isn’t Biological — So Why Do So Many Still Think It Is? @kevinlala.bsky.social and @kztwyman.bsky.social blog about their recent paper in the journal Evolutionary Human Sciences www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...

🚨 GRANT APPLICATION 🚨 Do not forget to apply for the workshop/event grant from EHBEA in case you are organising a scientific event 😉 DEADLINE: September 11th, 2025

This blog is continually relevant and an important read 📕 👀

Coincidentally, was talking about eugenics again yesterday at the #BSPS2025 conference. Dermot Grenham and Alice Reid organised a very interesting session on similarities in public concern about low fertility in the 1920s and 2020s

Exciting news for the evolutionary behavioural sciences ❤️🐒🧪 co-led with CCE's Director @rebeccasear.bsky.social CCE at @brunelpsy.bsky.social is an unique blend of cultural evolution, psychology, anthropology, cross-cultural studies, human behavioural ecology and demography - so this is EXCITING

🧵 1/ New research alert 🚀 Pauldy Otermans, @neuronerdsb.bsky.social ‬, Aditya, Seon, Cooper & Roomi published “How do adults with neurodevelopmental disorders prefer information being presented?” in Educational Media International Takehome message - personalisation matters. 🧩

🧵 1/ 📢 New CCE pre-print on open-ended technological evolution by @replicatedtypo.bsky.social and @matcharbonneau.bsky.social ‬👇 @brunelpsy.bsky.social #ehbea #culturalevolution

🚨🚨 New preprint 📜 with Mathieu Charbonneau (@matcharbonneau.bsky.social‬): Modelling the emergence of open-ended technological evolution (arxiv.org/abs/2508.04828). Feedback welcomed! #Evolution #Technology #Culture #OpenEnded #TechnologicalEvolution #CulturalEvolution 🧵: 1/29

🧵 1/ 🎓 New paper from the @Brunelpphy team @neuronerdsb.bsky.social‬ and Pauldy Otermans on “the dynamics of student assessment” published in the latest issue of Cogent Education

The Spirits and Sources folks attended the Goddess Conference last week 🧙‍♀️🪬🧚 lots of fieldwork 🏞️🔍, participant observation and ethnography 🧑‍🤝‍🧑📋🖊️, and community building 🌐🤝🏘️ as well as embodied experience 🙏💃🌀 @brunelpsy.bsky.social @brunelgradschool.bsky.social

@brunelpsy.bsky.social hosted the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) on the topic of “Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships” last week with amazing representation from Brunel undergrad, MSc and PhD researchers ❤️🤩 all mentored by the 🌟 @loraadair.bsky.social 🌟

🧵 1/8 🌟Brand spanking new paper (again) by CCE’s @loraadair.bsky.social and ex-PhD student Tristin Agtarap on culture and the policies and procedures that regulate sex ed and abortion care in Sexuality Research and Social Policy 📢 @brunelgradschool.bsky.social l @brunelpsy.bsky.social l

CCE's amazing 🤩 director @rebeccasear.bsky.social was discussing implications of low fertility for population change and society at the @britishacademy.bsky.social recently 🤓

🧵 1/ CCEs @michelleakline.bsky.social , @nicolewen.bsky.social and Nachita Rosun all contributed to ….“Meet A Field Guide to Cross-Cultural Research on Childhood Learning” 📣💪🤩 edited by the lovely @sheinalew.bsky.social

The @brunelcce.bsky.social team is on a roll 💪💪💪

🧵 1/4 🥴 Enough with calling agnosticism the ultimate fence-sit - it's its own philosophical question! CCE’s @willgervais.com et al pre-print shows religious metaphysics (theism vs. atheism) and epistemology (gnosticism vs. agnosticism) are totally orthogonal (fully unrelated)

🎓✨ Some great conversations at the University of Birmingham with Brunel Psychology folks!

🧵 1/ New paper by CCE superstars Julieta Baker, Aneeka Shrestha, Ssanyu Kayser & @loraadair.bsky.social on abortion attitudes following experience of abortion in the UK published in Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health Abortion attitudes aren’t just politics - they’re personal stories 📚

🧵 1/ New paper from Brunel CCN colleagues Matteo De Marco, @satyamchauhan.bsky.social, Martina Bocchetta, Annalena Venneri just published in Brain Research Bulletin on “Semantic distances of WAIS Similarities word pairs in non-demented adults” 🤩🧠

📣 Thrilled to share a new @brunelpsy.bsky.social paper by Pauldy Otermans and Dev Aditya (led by Rachel Caterer - Otermans Institute and Monica Pereira - Brunel Computer Science) 🤩 “A qualitative exploration of the barriers asylum‑seeking students face when accessing higher education in the UK”

🧵 1/ Eugenics isn’t ancient history @rebeccasear.bsky.social from @brunelpsy.bsky.social traces how the 19th-century idea of “improving” humanity through selective breeding keeps mutating - and why it never stopped threatening human rights 👇

🧵 1/ New Paper from CCE’s Julieta Baker and @loraadair.bsky.social and colleagues from @brunelpsy.bsky.social , Henry Ford Health and Tina's Haven on the “The sociocultural ecology of resilience” in SSM - Qualitative Research in Health 📣🤩

🚨 Exciting news! Our MSc Psychology (Conversion) now includes a 1-year placement option 🎓💼 Get hands-on experience, apply your learning in real-world settings, and boost your employability in psychology Now accepting applications! @brunelgradschool.bsky.social #Psychology #Placement #Postgrad

@brunelpsy.bsky.social Dr Byron Creese, Prof Veena Kumari & Dr Julio Larios visited Newlands Girls’ School to give an overview of our Psychology programme and deliver taster lectures on several Psychology/Neuroscience topics 🧠🤔 💬 DM if you’d like a visit to your school!! 🙂

🌟 Big shout-out to @brunelpsy.bsky.social PhD candidate Ayesha Ali 🌟 Given an *Emerging Scholar Award* at the 15th International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society in Rome 🇮🇹 She even took the mic to share her latest research 🎓✨ #BrunelProud #ReligionInSociety

Really pleased to win the ‘Rising Star Award 2025’ at Brunel Alumni Awards on Wednesday!! A huge thanks to everyone who voted for me and a shoutout to #ProfVeenaKumari for her unwavering support 🥰 @brunelpsy.bsky.social @ccn-brunel.bsky.social

Lovely 📸 from #BrunelAlumni Awards 2025 @satyamchauhan.bsky.social (Centre for Cognitive & Clinical Neuroscience from @brunelgradschool.bsky.social) just scooped the 🏆 Rising Star Award! 🌟🧠

📣 New paper by myself @djsmith90.bsky.social and colleagues published today in @royalsociety.org Proc B 📣 Grandmothers are often seen as key carers, but this isn’t always the case. We explore why in Agta forgers reflecting on the implications of demography for evolution of grandmothering 👵🌍

📣 CCE's final seminar of this year is by the amazing @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social on "Are human mate preferences ‘universal’? A critical evaluation" 🌏👥 📣 📅 21st May / 13:00 - 14:30 / Online and in person (ESGW 111) Joining info below 👇 🔓 Open to all 🧡💚💙

@brunelpsy.bsky.social member Matteo De Marco presented at the Spring meeting of the British Neuropsychological society at Queen Square London 🥳🤓🤩 Matteo presented on "Network neuropsychological profile of amyloid-positive individuals" 👏

📣 The next CCE seminar is organised by the amazing @loraadair.bsky.social as part of the Royal Society pairing scheme between academics and civil servants 📣 CCE will be hosting Dr Tansy Arthur, Head of Adhoc social surveys from the ONS 📅 14th May 2025, 12:45 - 14:00 All welcome joining info 👇

Just doing my bit to put Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience @brunelpsy.bsky.social on the neuroscience connections map at #BNA2025

🧵1/ new project led by @loraadair.bsky.social is looking for participants for an exciting research project exploring experiences with gender-affirming healthcare in the UK! 🏳️‍⚧️🏥 In collaboration with Gendered Intelligence, the team are aiming to understand how healthcare can better support YOU.

🤩📣 New paper on participant-led methodological development for collecting high-resolution data on the post-natal period 👩‍🍼 with @drsarahmyers.bsky.social @ehemmott.bsky.social @rebeccasear.bsky.social and the Best Beginnings Team ❤️ funded by @britishacademy.bsky.social summary 🧵👇

📣 Last minute addition to the CCE seminar schedule 📣 The amazing David Coall will be presenting on grandparental investment 🤩 📅 29th April 2025, 13:00 - 14:30 in person and online 🔓 Open to all - staff, students and public @brunelgradschool.bsky.social @brunelpsy.bsky.social 🔗👇

🧵 1/ 📝 Ever wondered how students REALLY prepare for exams, essays and presentations? A new @brunelpsych paper explores just that 🔍📚 The team was led by Pauldy Otermans, @davetree.bsky.social and @neuronerdsb.bsky.social and undergrad students Chelsea Livingstone and Laiba Nasar

🧵 1/ Who cares for children matters - but how does it impact their health? 👶🏾💡 A new study explores care from non-maternal caregivers & child growth in Northwestern Tanzania by @anushe.bsky.social @abbeyepage.bsky.social @davidwlawson.bsky.social @rebeccasear.bsky.social and co 📜👇

5/ key takeaway: Who provides care & how they do it is key, but its impact on child health isn't straightforward. 🏡👶 🚀 More research is needed to unpack these dynamics! @brunelpsy.bsky.social @psglshtm.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social @ucsb.bsky.social

🧵 1/7 Exciting new research on white matter integrity, Alzheimer's risk and cardiovascular health! 🧠❤️ By @brunelpsy.bsky.social CCN team Srijan Konwar, @neurorik.bsky.social, Annalena Venneri & Matteo De Marco 🤩 📜 👇

📢📢 Student study alert 📢📢 We are looking for participants aged 18 years or over to take part in an online study on laughter perception and emotional face recognition 🙂

📢 Happening TOMORROW 26th March 📢 All welcome

⏰ Student survey alert - please fill it out 🙏 The study is on the relationship between sleep quality and mental health. Its a range of different questions that will ask you about your sleep and how you’re feeling over the last month 🧠😴 Should take you around 25 minutes Thank you 🙏 🙏 🙏