Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40335503›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Habenula contributions to negative self-cognitions.

Po-Han Kung, Matthew D Greaves, Eva Guerrero-Hreins, Ben J Harrison, Christopher G Davey, Kim L Felmingham, Holly Carey, Priya Sumithran, Robyn M Brown, Bradford A Moffat and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Habenula-ventral tegmental area functional coupling and risk aversion in humans.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Po-Han KungMelbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4583-8993
Matthew D GreavesMelbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3438-2874
Eva Guerrero-HreinsDepartment of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4586-6874
Ben J HarrisonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Christopher G DaveyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-3852
Kim L FelminghamMelbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Holly CareyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Priya SumithranDepartment of Surgery, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Robyn M BrownDepartment of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4167-3634
Bradford A MoffatMelbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0278-4801
Rebecca K GlarinMelbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Alec J JamiesonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5598-0240
Trevor StewardMelbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. trevor.steward@unimelb.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3116-8175

Funding

Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (Brain & Behavior Research Foundation) Young Investigator GrantDepartment of Health | National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 1073041Department of Health | National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 1161897Department of Health | National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) MRF1193736University of Melbourne (Melbourne University) McKenzie Fellowship
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Self-related cognitions are integral to personal identity and psychological wellbeing. Persistent engagement with negative self-cognitions can precipitate mental ill health; whereas the ability to restructure them is protective. Here, we leverage ultra-high field 7T fMRI and dynamic causal modelling to characterise a negative self-cognition network centred on the habenula - a small midbrain region linked to the encoding of punishment and negative outcomes. We model habenula effective connectivity in a discovery sample of healthy young adults (n = 45) and in a replication cohort (n = 56) using a cognitive restructuring task during which participants repeated or restructured negative self-cognitions. The restructuring of negative self-cognitions elicits an excitatory effect from the habenula to the posterior orbitofrontal cortex that is reliably observed across both samples. Furthermore, we identify an excitatory effect of the habenula on the posterior cingulate cortex during both the repeating and restructuring of self-cognitions. Our study provides evidence demonstrating the habenula's contribution to processing self-cognitions. These findings yield unique insights into habenula's function beyond processing external reward/punishment to include abstract internal experiences.

Indexed as

CognitionHabenulaSelf ConceptAdultBrain MappingFemaleGyrus CinguliHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalePrefrontal CortexPunishmentRewardYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40335503
PMCPMC12059057

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.