Hughes, Alicia, Tyson, Gabriella, Moss-Morris, Rona et al. · Behaviour research and therapy · 2026 · DOI
This study tested a new online training program designed to help people with long-term illnesses (including ME/CFS and long COVID) reduce fatigue by changing how they interpret ambiguous situations. People in the study completed 12 online training sessions and were tracked for four months. The training was popular with participants, most people completed it, and it showed promise in reducing fatigue and low mood.
ME/CFS patients often experience profound fatigue and mood difficulties with limited evidence-based treatment options. This study suggests a brief, accessible digital intervention targeting cognitive biases may help reduce fatigue across multiple long-term conditions including ME/CFS, offering a scalable, low-burden approach that could complement existing management strategies.
This feasibility study does not establish that CBM-I is effective for treating ME/CFS fatigue—it demonstrates only that a full trial is logistically feasible and that the intervention shows promise. The study was not powered to detect clinically meaningful differences in fatigue outcomes, and findings in mixed long-term conditions may not translate specifically to ME/CFS populations. Small effect sizes on fatigue and depression suggest effect magnitude remains uncertain pending larger trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Hughes, Alicia, Tyson, Gabriella, Moss-Morris, Rona, McGuinness, Serena, Fawson, Sophie, Chalder, Trudie, et al. (2026). Interpretation bias modification (CBM-I) for fatigue in long term health conditions - A feasibility study.. Behaviour research and therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104917
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hughes-2026-interpretation-bias,
author = {Hughes, Alicia and Tyson, Gabriella and Moss-Morris, Rona and McGuinness, Serena and Fawson, Sophie and Chalder, Trudie and Hirsch, Colette R},
title = {Interpretation bias modification (CBM-I) for fatigue in long term health conditions - A feasibility study.},
journal = {Behaviour research and therapy},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1016/j.brat.2025.104917},
note = {PubMed: 41273821},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hughes-2026-interpretation-bias},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hughes-2026-interpretation-bias
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