Corinna Schulz
@corcerebrum.bsky.social
Neuroscience PhD student 🧠 | curious about gut-brain-talk, dopamine, motivation, psychiatry | University of Tübingen & Bonn
Pinned
Your stomach called – your striatum picked up!
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
#ScienceSnack People with depression do not perceive food as less rewarding when they actually consume it—differences emerge during anticipation. New study by The University Hospitals Bonn & Tübingen and the University of Bonn: www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/088-...
© UKB/Aljoscha Haupt
© UKB/Aljoscha Haupt
May 13, 2026 at 10:43 AM
#ScienceSnack People with depression do not perceive food as less rewarding when they actually consume it—differences emerge during anticipation. New study by The University Hospitals Bonn & Tübingen and the University of Bonn: www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/088-...
© UKB/Aljoscha Haupt
© UKB/Aljoscha Haupt
How can 🍪 help us understand anhedonia?
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Blunted anticipation, but not consummation, of food rewards in depression
Schulz et al. show that anhedonia in depression, as measured by a scale often equated
with loss of pleasure, reflects reduced anticipation of food rewards rather than impaired
enjoyment itself. Linkin...
www.cell.com
May 12, 2026 at 3:32 PM
How can 🍪 help us understand anhedonia?
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Blunted anticipation, but not consummation, of food rewards in depression
Schulz et al. show that anhedonia in depression, as measured by a scale often equated
with loss of pleasure, reflects reduced anticipation of food rewards rather than impaired
enjoyment itself. Linkin...
www.cell.com
May 12, 2026 at 3:28 PM
How can 🍪 help us understand anhedonia?
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
What started as a small project is now (> 2 years after the preprint, with revision deadlines landing exactly during my move from Tübingen to Bonn and even during a monastery-based PhD retreat) finally out in Cell Rep Med
🔽🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
"You lookin' at me?"
But seriously, fascinating research that shows fish may be able to tell where a person is looking, which is an ability we've only shown so far in some primates, farms animals and birds. 🧪
(by @gennarotomma.bsky.social)
But seriously, fascinating research that shows fish may be able to tell where a person is looking, which is an ability we've only shown so far in some primates, farms animals and birds. 🧪
(by @gennarotomma.bsky.social)
These fish can tell when you’re staring
Fish may possess the ability to perceive where another being’s attention is focused. And they don’t like when it’s focused on them or on their children
www.scientificamerican.com
March 18, 2026 at 3:07 PM
"You lookin' at me?"
But seriously, fascinating research that shows fish may be able to tell where a person is looking, which is an ability we've only shown so far in some primates, farms animals and birds. 🧪
(by @gennarotomma.bsky.social)
But seriously, fascinating research that shows fish may be able to tell where a person is looking, which is an ability we've only shown so far in some primates, farms animals and birds. 🧪
(by @gennarotomma.bsky.social)
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Thoroughly enjoyed writing a commentary on a great paper by @hugofleming.bsky.social et al for @biologicalpsych.bsky.social:GOS, focusing on how to further explore metabolic contributions to learning and feeling using real-time data and interventional designs:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Metabolic Contributions to Learning and Feeling: Why They Matter and How to Make the Most of Them
www.sciencedirect.com
February 23, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Thoroughly enjoyed writing a commentary on a great paper by @hugofleming.bsky.social et al for @biologicalpsych.bsky.social:GOS, focusing on how to further explore metabolic contributions to learning and feeling using real-time data and interventional designs:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
New work from the lab on how sickness reduces appetite. Turns out, it’s complicated :)
We focused on a single inflammatory cytokine, IL-1b, and even that reduces appetite via multiple mechanism.
Thanks to Nik Hayes for leading and sticking with this project and to everyone else who contributed!
We focused on a single inflammatory cytokine, IL-1b, and even that reduces appetite via multiple mechanism.
Thanks to Nik Hayes for leading and sticking with this project and to everyone else who contributed!
IL-1β engages distinct peripheral sensory circuits to suppress feeding across time https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.23.707454v1
February 25, 2026 at 2:54 PM
New work from the lab on how sickness reduces appetite. Turns out, it’s complicated :)
We focused on a single inflammatory cytokine, IL-1b, and even that reduces appetite via multiple mechanism.
Thanks to Nik Hayes for leading and sticking with this project and to everyone else who contributed!
We focused on a single inflammatory cytokine, IL-1b, and even that reduces appetite via multiple mechanism.
Thanks to Nik Hayes for leading and sticking with this project and to everyone else who contributed!
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Let's learn some surprising things about hummingbird tongues.
First, as you can see, their tongues are forked & feathery, highly specialized for lapping up their liquid diet of nectar.
But it gets weirder up close!
First, as you can see, their tongues are forked & feathery, highly specialized for lapping up their liquid diet of nectar.
But it gets weirder up close!
February 19, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Let's learn some surprising things about hummingbird tongues.
First, as you can see, their tongues are forked & feathery, highly specialized for lapping up their liquid diet of nectar.
But it gets weirder up close!
First, as you can see, their tongues are forked & feathery, highly specialized for lapping up their liquid diet of nectar.
But it gets weirder up close!
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Excited to share our new review on #adolescent #anhedonia and #reward processing, published in
@NatRevPsych
with my lab @XueqingMa @AngadSahni9
rdcu.be/e2ENh
bsky.app/profile/unir...
@NatRevPsych
with my lab @XueqingMa @AngadSahni9
rdcu.be/e2ENh
bsky.app/profile/unir...
Subcomponents of reward processing in adolescent anhedonia
Nature Reviews Psychology - Understanding the link between anhedonia and reward processing in adolescence can enhance mental health interventions specifically for young people. In this Review, Ma...
rdcu.be
February 10, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Excited to share our new review on #adolescent #anhedonia and #reward processing, published in
@NatRevPsych
with my lab @XueqingMa @AngadSahni9
rdcu.be/e2ENh
bsky.app/profile/unir...
@NatRevPsych
with my lab @XueqingMa @AngadSahni9
rdcu.be/e2ENh
bsky.app/profile/unir...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
A lovely read about researchers who make animals happy for a living 😊 A day spent playing the sounds of baby bonobo laughter is surely a day well spent
www.sciencenews.org/article/scie...
www.sciencenews.org/article/scie...
Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it
Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.
www.sciencenews.org
February 3, 2026 at 11:04 AM
A lovely read about researchers who make animals happy for a living 😊 A day spent playing the sounds of baby bonobo laughter is surely a day well spent
www.sciencenews.org/article/scie...
www.sciencenews.org/article/scie...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
At #ACNP2026? Come see my poster (W45, 5–7 pm)! We @erika-forbes.bsky.social find that immune activation and basal ganglia dopamine availability interact and relate to anhedonia among youth w/ depression, with evidence for anticipatory and not consummatory anhedonia.
Preprint is now available!
Preprint is now available!
Basal Ganglia Dopamine Availability and Immune Activation Interact and Relate to Anhedonia Severity among Youth with Depression
Anhedonia emerges in adolescence, has putative substrates in neural reward and dopamine systems, and is a hallmark of poor course in depression. Psychoneuroimmunology models suggest altered immune and...
www.biorxiv.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:38 PM
At #ACNP2026? Come see my poster (W45, 5–7 pm)! We @erika-forbes.bsky.social find that immune activation and basal ganglia dopamine availability interact and relate to anhedonia among youth w/ depression, with evidence for anticipatory and not consummatory anhedonia.
Preprint is now available!
Preprint is now available!
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Stimulants helped children with ADHD or poor sleep (ABCD n=11k) with cognitive tasks. They counter the effects of fatigue and elevate the perceived salience of goal-oriented actions, facilitating boring tasks without directly affecting capacity to pay attention. Illustration by @sonhita.bsky.social
December 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Stimulants helped children with ADHD or poor sleep (ABCD n=11k) with cognitive tasks. They counter the effects of fatigue and elevate the perceived salience of goal-oriented actions, facilitating boring tasks without directly affecting capacity to pay attention. Illustration by @sonhita.bsky.social
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
These drugs were not stumbled upon or borrowed from traditional remedies. They were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab, writes @alexkwan.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
How basic neuroscience has paved the path to new drugs
A growing list of medications—such as zuranolone for postpartum depression, suzetrigine for pain, and the gepants class of migraine medicines—exist because of insights from basic research.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 19, 2025 at 4:57 PM
These drugs were not stumbled upon or borrowed from traditional remedies. They were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab, writes @alexkwan.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
fMRI signals “up,” but neural metabolism might be going “down.”
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
December 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
fMRI signals “up,” but neural metabolism might be going “down.”
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Last preprint 🎶(of the year).
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 17, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Last preprint 🎶(of the year).
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Our new paper "Inconsistent outcome measurement in depression psychotherapy trials: A systematic historical and meta-analytic review over the past 50 years" led by @antoniasprenger.bsky.social is out now in JAD.
🧪 #PsychSciSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧪 #PsychSciSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
December 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Our new paper "Inconsistent outcome measurement in depression psychotherapy trials: A systematic historical and meta-analytic review over the past 50 years" led by @antoniasprenger.bsky.social is out now in JAD.
🧪 #PsychSciSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🧪 #PsychSciSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
🧠💸 Launching the RewardSignals feed
RewardSignals is a custom feed collecting posts about reward processing and decision making.
To appear in the feed, tag your post with #RewardSignals.
You can find and pin the feed from the Feeds tab as “RewardSignals”.
#RewardSignals
RewardSignals is a custom feed collecting posts about reward processing and decision making.
To appear in the feed, tag your post with #RewardSignals.
You can find and pin the feed from the Feeds tab as “RewardSignals”.
#RewardSignals
November 15, 2025 at 8:02 PM
🧠💸 Launching the RewardSignals feed
RewardSignals is a custom feed collecting posts about reward processing and decision making.
To appear in the feed, tag your post with #RewardSignals.
You can find and pin the feed from the Feeds tab as “RewardSignals”.
#RewardSignals
RewardSignals is a custom feed collecting posts about reward processing and decision making.
To appear in the feed, tag your post with #RewardSignals.
You can find and pin the feed from the Feeds tab as “RewardSignals”.
#RewardSignals
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Excited to share our new GLP-1 receptor agonist study! Chronic semaglutide potentiates motivation for small food rewards and associated cues, but reduces intake when food is freely available—surprising twist! #GLP-1, #behavior #neuroscience #pharmacology 1/
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Chronic semaglutide treatment enhances the incentive motivational value of a small food reward and associated cue in male and female rats
Rationale: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, are increasingly utilized in clinical practice due to their efficacy in promoting sustained weight loss following chr...
www.biorxiv.org
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Excited to share our new GLP-1 receptor agonist study! Chronic semaglutide potentiates motivation for small food rewards and associated cues, but reduces intake when food is freely available—surprising twist! #GLP-1, #behavior #neuroscience #pharmacology 1/
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Excited to share our new publication out in Depression and Anxiety! A network analysis of dimensions of anhedonia, depression symptoms, and social anxiety symptoms in university students 🧵
doi.org/10.1155/da/5...
(1/10)
doi.org/10.1155/da/5...
(1/10)
Differential Associations of Anticipatory and Consummatory Anhedonia With Depression and Social Anxiety Symptoms: A Network Analysis of University Students
Background Depression and social anxiety are frequently co-occurring conditions that significantly impact young people. Anhedonia may be important to consider in early interventions for these condit...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Excited to share our new publication out in Depression and Anxiety! A network analysis of dimensions of anhedonia, depression symptoms, and social anxiety symptoms in university students 🧵
doi.org/10.1155/da/5...
(1/10)
doi.org/10.1155/da/5...
(1/10)
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Soapbox time: the problem with metabolic efficiency arguments in neuroscience is that they often confuse energy efficiency with energy expenditure. Biological systems are optimized for energy efficiency, but that does NOT imply they are optimized for low energy expenditure 🧵 1/
December 8, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Soapbox time: the problem with metabolic efficiency arguments in neuroscience is that they often confuse energy efficiency with energy expenditure. Biological systems are optimized for energy efficiency, but that does NOT imply they are optimized for low energy expenditure 🧵 1/
Your stomach called – your striatum picked up!
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
December 9, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Your stomach called – your striatum picked up!
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
A small study helps explain why some people taking Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs cut back on alcohol, offering insight into potential new addiction therapies
Why Drugs Like Ozempic Can Make People Drink Less Alcohol
A small study helps explain why some people taking Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs cut back on alcohol, offering insight into potential new addiction therapies
www.scientificamerican.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM
A small study helps explain why some people taking Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs cut back on alcohol, offering insight into potential new addiction therapies
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
We are currently accepting suggestions for symposium at the 2026 @ssibsociety.bsky.social annual meeting in Philadelphia next year. Check out the link below or DM/email if you have questions 👊
www.ssib.org/2026/symposi...
www.ssib.org/2026/symposi...
SSIB 2026 | Philadelphia, PA
www.ssib.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:13 PM
We are currently accepting suggestions for symposium at the 2026 @ssibsociety.bsky.social annual meeting in Philadelphia next year. Check out the link below or DM/email if you have questions 👊
www.ssib.org/2026/symposi...
www.ssib.org/2026/symposi...
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Extinct Pleistocene carnivores were diurnal and had high metabolic rates:
"Only basal metabolic rate and diurnality are robust predictors of extinction, even after accounting for phylogenetic and trait uncertainty"
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #Macroecology
"Only basal metabolic rate and diurnality are robust predictors of extinction, even after accounting for phylogenetic and trait uncertainty"
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #Macroecology
October 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Extinct Pleistocene carnivores were diurnal and had high metabolic rates:
"Only basal metabolic rate and diurnality are robust predictors of extinction, even after accounting for phylogenetic and trait uncertainty"
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #Macroecology
"Only basal metabolic rate and diurnality are robust predictors of extinction, even after accounting for phylogenetic and trait uncertainty"
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #Macroecology
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Even after recovery, relapse is heartbreakingly common in anorexia nervosa. Could the answer lie in the gut’s hidden signals? 🧵
September 22, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Even after recovery, relapse is heartbreakingly common in anorexia nervosa. Could the answer lie in the gut’s hidden signals? 🧵
Reposted by Corinna Schulz
Fascinating article (long read) from the New Yorker about psychosis and psychiatry, and more broadly about identity
Mary was in psychosis for 20 years; after she took immunosuppressants, the symptoms vanished. Her husband said it felt as if he were re-meeting the woman he used to know. “How come I lived all these years of darkness, and she suddenly looks normal to me?”
Mary Had Schizophrenia—Then Suddenly She Didn’t
Some psychiatric patients may actually have treatable autoimmune conditions. But what happens to the newly sane?
www.newyorker.com
August 23, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Fascinating article (long read) from the New Yorker about psychosis and psychiatry, and more broadly about identity