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Themis Efthimiou

@themisefth.bsky.social
503 followers 1.5K following 28 posts

Quantitative Researcher | Psychology PhD | R & Python

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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
📢 New paper out in Behavior Research Methods! With @cjcrompton.bsky.social we introduce duet, an R package for analysing dyadic motion data from OpenPose. It simplifies data wrangling, kinematics, & synchrony analysis of social interactions. Paper: doi.org/10.3758/s134...
doi.org
duet: An R package for dyadic analysis of motion data generated by OpenPose - Behavior Research Methods
Research into dyadic social interactions has expanded significantly, enabling a deeper understanding of the dynamic processes underlying interpersonal communication. As the use of larger datasets becomes increasingly common in this field, the need for scalable and efficient analytical tools has grown. Automated coding methods, such as those provided by OpenPose, an open-source software for detecting and tracking human motion, offer significant advantages for analysing the movement of two individuals during an interaction. However, the processing and analysis of large quantities of JSON output files generated by OpenPose remain a considerable challenge. To address this, we introduce duet, an R package designed to streamline the processing and analysis of OpenPose output data, particularly in the context of dyadic interactions. The package provides a suite of functions for data cleaning, interpolation, kinematic analysis, and visualisation, offering researchers a comprehensive and user-friendly workflow. By simplifying the handling of OpenPose data, duet aims to facilitate large-scale, automated analysis of dyadic social interactions, with minimal coding experience, thereby advancing methodological capabilities in social and behavioural sciences.
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Does neurotype affect social connection? Our new @PLOSONE paper finds autistic people report lower rapport in conversations, but it's not that simple. We found that awareness of who you're talking to is key! Paper link (OA): doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Diagnostic status influences rapport and communicative behaviours in dyadic interactions between autistic and non-autistic people
A growing body of research suggests that the behaviours and experiences of autistic and non-autistic people are influenced by whether they are interacting with someone of the same or different diagnos...
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Communications Psychology @commspsychol.nature.com · 03/07/2025
Facial muscle activity can shape how we recognize emotions. Using electrical stimulation and EEG, the study found that activation of smiling muscles makes people more likely to see neutral faces as happy. @themisefth.bsky.social @sebkorb.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s44...
nature.com
Electrical stimulation of smiling muscles reduces visual processing load and enhances happiness perception in neutral faces - Communications Psychology
Facial muscle activity can shape how we recognise emotions. Using electrical stimulation and EEG, the study found that activation of smiling muscles makes people more likely to see neutral faces as ha...
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Catherine Crompton @cjcrompton.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
This has been a long piece of work – the stage 1 registered report was submitted in 2021! Its been a team effort with @noahsasson.bsky.social @suereviews.bsky.social @sarah-foster.bsky.social @themisefth.bsky.social @michelleldodd.bsky.social, Martin Lages, Charlotte Wilks + Dani Ropar. #DreamTeam
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Catherine Crompton @cjcrompton.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
You may have heard me mention that we’ve been doing a follow-up study of our 2020 diffusion chain study which compared how autistic groups, non-autistic groups and mixed groups share information and build rapport (published in @journalautism.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....)
journals.sagepub.com
Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective - Catherine J Crompton, Danielle Ropar, Claire VM Evans-Williams, Emma G Flynn, Sue Fletcher-Watson, 2020
Effective information transfer requires social communication skills. As autism is clinically defined by social communication deficits, it may be expected that i...
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
So honoured our work on social motor synchrony and rapport received an INSAR award! While I regret not being there in person tomorrow, the brilliant @sarah-foster.bsky.social will be presenting. Please stop by Poster 442.292 in Hall 4A at 12:30 to chat with her! #INSAR2025
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Sue Fletcher-Watson @suereviews.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
V cool finding showing autistic people are not so dependent on synchrony to feel positive about an interaction (without showing less synchrony overall compared with non-autistic pairs) Also the first ever registered report published in @journalautism.bsky.social !!
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
I'm excited to share my first registered report on social interactions in @journalautism.bsky.social! Our study explores how social motor synchrony – the natural mirroring of movements – impacts rapport between autistic, neurotypical, and mixed dyads. Thread 👇 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Social motor synchrony and interactive rapport in autistic, non-autistic, and mixed-neurotype dyads - Themis N Efthimiou, Charlotte EH Wilks, Sarah Foster, Michelle Dodd, Noah J Sasson, Danielle Ropar...
In non-autistic populations, social motor synchrony during interactions is linked to increased interpersonal rapport – a friendly connection marked by mutual un...
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Variable selection can't be that hard, right? Right? 🥹
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Catherine Crompton @cjcrompton.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
What is neurodiversity? What does it mean for how we each go about our daily activities? We've written an article for young people, but hopefully a useful primer for all :) By @aalcorn.bsky.social, @katiecebula.bsky.social, @suereviews.bsky.social and me. kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10....
kids.frontiersin.org
Neurodiversity Can Explain Differences in How People Experience Everyday Life
Neurodiversity means that all people’s brains process information differently from each other. In other words, people think and learn in a variety of ways. Being neurodivergent means that the way a pe...
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
This is the way
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Fredrik Mentzoni @fredrikmentzoni.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Can wearables really unlock the secrets of your health? A discussion on heart rate variability (HRV) +++ with @dsquintana.bsky.social, Marco Altini and Henrik B. Jacobsen. youtu.be/jASGg7PJc2A 🧵1/5
youtu.be
Facts and myths about wearables and HRV
YouTube video by Mind Body Lab UiO
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BPS Research Digest @researchdigest.bsky.social · 24/10/2024
Does smiling really make you feel happier? 😊 The debate on whether or not facial expressions can influence mood rages on. New work using electrical stimulation, however, adds a fresh twist: www.bps.org.uk/research-dig...
bps.org.uk
Electrical smiles spark better moods | BPS
The debate on whether facial expressions can influence mood rages on, with new work using electrical stimulation adding a fresh twist.
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Catherine Crompton @cjcrompton.bsky.social · 01/04/2024
It was so nice to have the Diversity in Social Intelligence team together last week - from Edinburgh, Dallas, Nottingham, Essex & Glasgow!🌍 We spent some time planning our analyses & I'm really excited about the next few months! @noahsasson.bsky.social @themisefth.bsky.social @suereviews.bsky.social
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Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment (SoNeAt) Lab @soneatlab.bsky.social · 10/02/2024
👋 #HiSciSky 🧪 We are very happy to now also be part of this growing community 😀. We will be posting about our SoNeAt Lab's research on #attachment & caregiving using #fNIRS hyperscanning, fMRI and other neuroimaging & psychology methods. #neuroskyence #DevSci #DevPsy #PsychSciSky #CogSci
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 09/02/2024
It's out! 🎉 academic.oup.com/scan/advance...
academic.oup.com
Zygomaticus activation through facial neuromuscular electric stimulation (fNMES) induces happiness perception in ambiguous facial expressions and affects neural correlates of face processing
Abstract. The role of facial feedback in facial emotion recognition remains controversial, partly due to limitations of the existing methods to manipulate the a
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 18/01/2024
Today I successfully defended my PhD thesis! Thank you to my supervisor for his support throughout this journey @sebkorb.bsky.social!
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Vincent Arel-Bundock @vincentab.bsky.social · 13/01/2024
I'm excited to release the 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 for #RStats ! Convert R dataframes to beautiful tables in HTML, LaTeX, PDF, Quarto, Markdown, etc. Easy to learn; minimalist interface; concise syntax; ultra-customizable tables; and zero dependency. vincentarelbundock.github.io/tinytable/
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 31/12/2023
Ending 2023 on a high! Submitted my PhD thesis ✅, published a paper 📚, and thrilled to start a postdoc at the DART Lab led by cjcrompton.bsky.social and @suereviews.bsky.social. Grateful for the journey and excited for new adventures ahead!
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 22/12/2023
Finally supports Google pixel material you 😍
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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 28/10/2023
Happy Όχι Day. Fascism is not good. People seem to forget. Germans should pay reparations to Greece. It's been a very long time coming.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohi_Day
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 20/10/2023
New paper! Proud of this work started back in the lockdown to better understand how fNMES has been used in the field and to provide practical recommendations to others! #psynomBRM link.springer.com/article/10.3...
link.springer.com
Application of facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES) in psychophysiological research: ...
Facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES), which allows for the non-invasive and physiologically sound activation of facial muscles, has great potential for investigating fundamental questio...
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Michelle Dawson @autismcrisis.bsky.social · 17/10/2023
When EEG paradigms are designed to reveal presumed autistic deficits in rapid subtle face processing onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... "contrary to our expectations, autistic men did not display significantly reduced neural sensitivity to detect differences in facial identity and/or emotions"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Neural sensitivity to facial identity and facial expression discrimination in adults with autism
We investigated the neural sensitivity of autistic and non-autistic men to rapid changes in facial identity and facial expression. We found that brains of participants in both groups are capable to r....
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Beth Morton @migrainechat.bsky.social · 17/10/2023
"Working memory during spontaneous migraine attacks: an fMRI study" #MigraineChat
link.springer.com
Working memory during spontaneous migraine attacks: an fMRI study - Neurological Sciences
Objective To investigate the neural correlates of working memory during a spontaneous migraine attack compared to the interictal phase, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Background C...
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Themis Efthimiou @themisefth.bsky.social · 15/10/2023
Exciting News! Happy to share our latest preprint! 🧠 We show that Zygomaticus activation through facial neuromuscular electric stimulation (fNMES) induces happiness perception in ambiguous facial expressions osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io
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