Humans adapt learning rates on both a fast and a slow time scale, and the central orbitofrontal cortex may represent the slow time scale.

This study asks whether cognition unfolds rhythmically. Across two dense-sampling datasets, autoregressive modelling reveals reliable theta-band rhythms in behavior, but no consistent difficulty-relat...

The Reward Positivity (RewP) is an electroencephalogram (EEG) feature that emerges following performance feedback and is commonly understood to index both positive and negative reward-prediction error (RPE+ and RPE−, respectively) signals. In contrast to this dominant perspective, we argue that the RewP is an independent EEG feature that selectively responds to positive RPE and is superimposed on a common background signal. We further propose that the RewP signals a goal prediction error: it is elicited by abstract signals instead of by hedonic 'rewards'. This goal prediction error appears to be produced by a critic-like architecture that is associated with the actor–critic framework in reinforcement learning. This perspective emphasizes the role of the RewP in goal attainment and cognitive control as opposed to being a simple indicator of reward receipt.

Testing enhances memory more than studying. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the robustness of this classic effect, its neural and compu...

Using computational modeling and EEG, the study suggests several metacognitive states correlate with rational adjustments in behavior; this might benefit steering behavior towards optimality

Abstract. The study investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’

CCN meeting | Nellia Bellaert (University of Mons, Belgium), invited by Gilles Pourtois

Testing yields better memory than studying. The origin of this effect is unclear. Based on three experiments and computational modeling, this study provides evidence that predictive (error-based) lear...

Website of the Centre for Research on Ecology, Cognition and Behaviour of Birds

In an auditory statistical learning paradigm, listeners learn to partition a continuous stream of syllables by discovering the repeating syllable patterns that constitute the speech stream. Here, we a...

Two event-related brain potential (ERP) components, the frontocentral feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the posterior P300, are key in feedback pr…

We found pupils dilate in the final moments before a target in a Stroop task. The rate of dilation was more rapid for trials where the participant anticipated a large reward which was performance-con...

Diminished responding to one’s own name is one of the strongest and earliest predictors of autism. However, research on the neural correlates of this response in autism is scarce. Here we investigate ...

Neural reactions to others’ pain are usually lower when the individual is of a different ethnicity than when they are of the same ethnicity. This suggests that empathy is not only an automatic phen...

Doctoral assistant department Experimental psychology

Doctoral assistant department Experimental psychology

Abstract. Milgram's studies explored psychological and contextual factors influencing (dis)obedience to immoral orders, but the mechanisms preventing individuals from being coerced into causing pain t...

Hypervigilance involves increased attentional scanning of the environment to facilitate the detection of possible threats. Accordingly, this state is mostly bound to external attention and as a coroll...

Postdoc (100%, 2 years) - arousal and attention regulation in ADHD

There is no consensus in the literature about the role of speech disfluencies and eye contact as cues to deception. The current study uses a picture-description game (the treasure hunting paradigm)...

Book brings together leading researchers from various domains to provide readers with a recent overview of developments in automatic imitation research.