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Simon van Gaal

@svangaal.bsky.social
229 followers 94 following 5 posts

Associate Prof at University of Amsterdam. Cognitive psychology/neuroscience. Consciousness, decision making, arousal states. PI in the consciousbrainlab.com

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Reposted by Simon van Gaal
Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
well on time for my bi-yearly post I'm sharing the final version of this very cool work we started with @cjungerius.bsky.social @smfleming.bsky.social @svangaal.bsky.social @fahrenfort.bsky.social in 2021, when I was young and full of hope. Now out in @natcomms.nature.com 1/11
nature.com
The act of detecting a stimulus contaminates measures of conscious experience with decision biases - Nature Communications
A central challenge in consciousness research is determining whether people truly experience a stimulus. Here, the authors show that context biases traditional detection measures, whereas continuous r...
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Zach Nudelman @zednud.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Excited to share my first #preprint with @matthiasnau.bsky.social on how gaze behavior shapes brain activity during eyes-closed rest and sleep! Gaze-dependent activity was widespread even during sleep, including in many visual cortices, and altered brain-wide functional connectivity! 🧵 1/8
biorxiv.org
Brain-wide gaze-dependent activity during eyes-closed rest and sleep
Gaze behavior and brain activity are tightly coupled during perception and mental imagery. Whether this coupling extends to eyes-closed states remains largely unknown, primarily because measuring eye ...
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Steven Scholte @neurosteven.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
🧵 New paper from lab, CNN shape bias is optimal when training focuses on the object (similar to toddlers) bias peaks. Too much background, or over-cropping that breaks the object → it falls. doi.org/10.1080/0954... 💾 led by @niklasmuller.bsky.social, w/ @cgmsnoek.bsky.social @irisgroen.bsky.social
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de Gee lab @degeelab.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Come be my colleague! 🚀 We’re hiring an Assistant Professor in Perceptual and Cognitive Neuroscience: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies... The UvA is a wonderfully collaborative, inspiring place to do science—if you love brains and perception, and working with great colleagues, please do apply!
werkenbij.uva.nl
Vacancy — Assistant Professor in Perceptual and Cognitive Neuroscience
<p><span>Are you passionate about neuroscience and eager to contribute to groundbreaking research on neuronal mechanisms of perception and cognition? The Faculty of Science at the University of Amster...
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David Soto @dsotob.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
A few more days to apply please RT!👇
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Peter Kok @peterkok.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I am recruiting a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD student, funded by a new ERC grant. The grant focuses on the role of the hippocampus in visual perception, using 7T fMRI (hippocampal subfields, cortical layers) and MEG+iEEG. The intended start dates for both positions are in early 2027. 🧠🟦 1/3
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Andres Canales-Johnson @canalesjohnson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Thrilled to share our @natcomms.nature.com article: "Broadband synergy versus oscillatory redundancy in the visual cortex", a cross-species research effort led by Louis Roberts. Thread below!
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Freek van Ede @freekvanede.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Finally out: my review in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social covering how my lab and others have been ‘Looking into working memory through micro eye movements’ over the years. What does the microsaccade bias buy us? A lot I argue. Go see for yourself at: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
doi.org
Redirecting
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Adrien Doerig @adriendoerig.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
We are hosting a special issue on "Is There More to Consciousness Than Computation?" in @nconsc.bsky.social. Full information here: academic.oup.com/nc/pages/cal... With @krysdolega.bsky.social and Yair Pinto.
academic.oup.com
Call for Papers | Neuroscience of Consciousness
Neuroscience of Consciousness (NCON) is a peer-reviewed, fully open access journal that provides a unique forum for the interdisciplinary fields of consciousnes
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Redmond O'Connell @redmondoconnell.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New PhD studentship available! Come join the excellent @neuromurphy.bsky.social lab for a very cool project exploring how the brain learns to make decisions that are not tied to specific sensory modalities or movements. In collaboration with @seanfw.bsky.social and myself! bsky.app/profile/neur...
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Thomas Andrillon @thomasandrillon.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Discover 40+ chapters on the science of consciousness: humans, babies, animals, artificial systems, etc! Experts from various disciplines and views came together under the lead of Umberto Olcese and Lucia Melloni A precious resource for anyone interested in #consciousness! www.horizon-minds.com
horizon-minds.com
Horizon Minds
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micha heilbron @mheilbron.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Classic predictive coding: V1 predicts low-level features, higher areas high-level. But recent studies + AI models suggest prediction happens at higher levels of abstraction. Who's right? In new work w/ @wiegerscheurer.bsky.social we find that both are – distinct regimes across the visual field
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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Just out! Expectations modulate stimulus-evoked recurrent, but not feedforward, processing, and this is attention-dependent. NMDA-dependent feedback specifically supports perceptual integration (illusory contours), rather than mediating expectations (base rate). www.jneurosci.org/content/46/1...
jneurosci.org
Effects of Expectation, Attention, and NMDA Receptor Blockade on Feedforward and Feedback Processing
Perception is increasingly viewed as an inferential process wherein sensory inputs are integrated with prior expectations. We employed time-resolved decoding on electroencephalography (EEG) data ( n  ...
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Stanislas Dehaene @standehaene.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New preprint "A cortical semantic space integrating fractions and integers" We used 7T fMRI during number comparison to map the adult cortical representation of small integers 0-5 and basic fractions. Those abstract symbolic concepts are mapped in parietal cortex. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Paris Brain Institute - Institut du Cerveau @institutducerveau.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
📆 The Thirteenth Symposium on Biology of Decision Making (SBDM 2026) will take place on May 27-29, 2026, at the Paris Brain Institute and NeuroModulation Institute. 👉 Information and registration: institutducerveau.org/agenda/thirte…
institutducerveau.org
Thirteenth Symposium on Biology of Decision Making | Institut du Cerveau
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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
The last year has been an extraordinary journey for us at @elife.bsky.social as we have been establishing a new model of publishing and taken on some of the commercial forces in publishing. We have tried to capture some of the takeaways in this editorial.
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Biyu Jade He @biyuhe.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Ever wondered how the Dalmatian Dog effect works? The human brain can quickly learn from a single experience and generalize it to related experiences — an impressive feat so far not matched by AI. Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com reveals how this works. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Heleen Slagter @haslagter.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
What is the brain for? Active inference is widely discussed as a unifying framework for understanding brain function, yet its empirical status remains debated. Our review identifies core predictions across the action-perception cycle and evaluates their empirical support: osf.io/preprints/ps...
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Iris Groen @irisgroen.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
I have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15). werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl
Vacancy — PhD Position in NeuroAI for Video Perception in the Human Brain
<p><span>Are you interested in using AI to unravel the mysteries of the brain? Do you want to perform cutting-edge NeuroAI research and leverage deep learning to understand human vision? Then check out the vacancy below and apply for a PhD position in this exciting research direction.</span></p>
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Jacobo SITT @jdsitt.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Join us in ASSC 2026 !
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Tomas Knapen @tknapen.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
New today in @Nature: your visual cortex contains touch-based body maps. bit.ly/VisualBodyMaps Your brain transforms what you see into first-person, body-referenced codes: A previously unknown bridge between vision and touch.
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Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Pre-print 🎉 "Subjective and objective approaches in the study of conscious perception" will be a chapter in www.horizon-minds.com. We explain that subjective and objective are poorly defined constructs and provide a taxonomy. doi.org/10.31234/osf... with @svangaal.bsky.social @timostein.bsky.social
doi.org
OSF
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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Out for a while but forgot to post it. Using pupil size as a proxy for arousal, we show that the inverted-U shaped arousal–performance curve (Yerkes-Dodson law) is not fixed, but can shift globally depending on neuromodulatory state (atomoxetine): arousal recalibration www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Steven Scholte @neurosteven.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
🧠 New preprint: Why do deep neural networks predict brain responses so well? We find a striking dissociation: it’s not shared object recognition. Alignment is driven by sensitivity to texture-like local statistics. 📊 Study: n=57, 624k trials, 5 models doi.org/10.1101/2025...
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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
A great example of engagement with open peer review 👇
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Andres Canales-Johnson @canalesjohnson.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
The great @stijnnuiten.bsky.social on the mechanisms of optimal arousal state. #ASSC28 @assc28.bsky.social
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Donner Lab @donnerlab.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
1/ New paper by Hame Park, (@AraziAyelet), Bharath Talluri, Marco Celotto, Stefano Panzeri, Alan Stocker & Tobias Donner published in Nature Communications – “Confirmation Bias through Selective Readout of Information Encoded in Human Parietal Cortex”: rdcu.be/etlR7. Here is a summary:
rdcu.be
Confirmation bias through selective readout of information encoded in human parietal cortex
Nature Communications - People often discard incoming information when it contradicts their pre-existing beliefs about the world. Here, the authors show that this discarded information is precisely...
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Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Very happy this is finally out 🎉. In this paper, we show that conf. reports are biased by a visual illusion, an asymmetrical base rate and a payoff scheme. Crucially, we show that only the visual illusion affects subj. experience, suggesting decision bias leaks onto confidence reports.
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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
We show that memantine selectively improves neural decoding of attended illusory Kanizsa triangles, revealing NMDA receptor-dependent enhancement of feedback processing. elifesciences.org/articles/100... Thanks to Samuel Noorman @fahrenfort.bsky.social @timostein.bsky.social Jasper Zantvoord
elifesciences.org
A causal role of the NMDA receptor in recurrent processing during perceptual integration
Memantine selectively improves neural decoding of attended illusory contours, revealing NMDA receptor-dependent enhancement of feedback processing in human visual perception.
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Clare Press @clarepress.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Out now @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, w/ @akalt.bsky.social & @drmattdavis.bsky.social. Are sensory sampling rhythms fixed by intrinsically-determined processes, or do they couple to external structure? Here we highlight the incompatibility between these accounts and propose a resolution [1/6]
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Athena Demertzi @ademertzi.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
🥳 The 2024 Impact Factor & CiteScores are now released. We're pleased to inform you that Neuroscience of Consciousness #NCONSC achieved an Impact Factor of  4.3 (2023 IF 4.1). We are very excited and thankful for our prolific community of consciousness science! #consci @thomasandrillon.bsky.social
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Anil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
1/ Can AI be conscious? My Behavioral & Brain Sciences target article on ‘Conscious AI and Biological Naturalism’ is now open for commentary proposals. Deadline is June 12. Take-home: real artificial consciousness is very unlikely along current trajectories. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Call for Commentary Proposals - Conscious artificial intelligence and biological
Call for Commentary Proposals - Conscious artificial intelligence and biological naturalism
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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
🧠 Did you really see that? Or did your brain just think you did? How confidently we report what we see can shape our brain activity. That means our own reporting habits might blur the line between “aware” and “unaware” in research on #consciousness. buff.ly/L3c7sVe
abstract blue and ink image that resembles a slice through a brain
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Andres Canales-Johnson @canalesjohnson.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
I am opening one PhD position at the Neuroscience Center @uhneuro.bsky.social, focusing on large-scale neural interactions in perception and prediction (ECoG/LFPs/MEG) across human and non-human primates using comp. modeling and information theory. contact: www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-he...
helsinki.fi
Large-scale interactions in perception and prediction across species | HiLIFE – Helsinki Institute of Life Science | University of Helsinki
Andres Canales-Johnson research group
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Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Finally the Version of Record of our paper "Criterion placement threatens the construct validity of neural measures of consciousness" is out in @elife.bsky.social as *fundamental* and *compelling*! doi.org/10.7554/eLif....
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Steven Scholte @neurosteven.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
There are 2 PhD positions in my lab in Amsterdam (collaboration with Sander Bohte, @tessamdekker.bsky.social and Ingmar Visser) on NeuroAI of developmental vision. academicpositions.nl/ad/centrum-w...
academicpositions.nl
2 PHD-STUDENTS IN NEUROAI OF DEVELOPMENTAL VISION (M/F/X) - Academic Positions
Join an interdisciplinary team to research developmental vision in NeuroAI. Requires a strong computational background, deep learning skills, and a Master's ...
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Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
(couldn't wait till Monday because I'm impatient) this lovely preprint has the last part of my phd work and now is out and about 🎉🎊. will write a thread on Monday. stay tuned 📻. osf.io/preprints/ps...
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micha heilbron @mheilbron.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
New preprint, w/ @predictivebrain.bsky.social ! we've found that visual cortex, even when just viewing natural scenes, predicts *higher-level* visual features The aligns with developments in ML, but challenges some assumptions about early sensory cortex www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Higher-level spatial prediction in natural vision across mouse visual cortex
Theories of predictive processing propose that sensory systems constantly predict incoming signals, based on spatial and temporal context. However, evidence for prediction in sensory cortex largely co...
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Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
To celebrate the defence of my PhD, and thanks to @ibbamsterdam.bsky.social, I will host a symposium titled "Vision as prediction: learning, action, and biases" on June 6. Program, registration and more information here: bit.ly/43reOgR
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Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
🎉 Our paper "Criterion placement threatens the construct validity of neural measures of consciousness" is now out in eLife! 🎉 TL;DR: Both simulations and empirical data show that you should not post-hoc sort neural data based on subjective measures of consciousness. elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org
Criterion placement threatens the construct validity of neural measures of consciousness
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Stijn Nuiten @stijnnuiten.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Neural and computational analyses further revealed that task effects on preparatory activity over motor cortex, resembling a starting point bias, were smallest on trials with high phasic pupil-linked arousal. (5/6)
Bias manipulation modulates pre-stimulus motor cortex lateralisation, reflecting a starting point bias. This task-related modulation of lateralised activity is weakest on trials with large phasic pupil-linked arousal.
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Stijn Nuiten @stijnnuiten.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
For more details, go check out the full preprint at: dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.... (6/6)
dx.doi.org
Phasic and tonic arousal distinctly shape human decision bias
Neuroscientific theories hypothesize that arousal fluctuations influence human perception and behavior in two functionally distinct ways: through variations in baseline state (tonic arousal) and by tr...
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Stijn Nuiten @stijnnuiten.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
⚠️ Come see our new preprint, in which we (@degeelab.bsky.social, Jasper Zantvoord, @psterzer.bsky.social, @fahrenfort.bsky.social & @svangaal.bsky.social) show that phasic (task-evoked) and tonic (baseline) arousal distinctly shape human decision bias! (1/6) dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs....
researchsquare.com
Phasic and tonic arousal distinctly shape human decision bias
Neuroscientific theories hypothesize that arousal fluctuations influence human perception and behavior in two functionally distinct ways: through variations in baseline state (tonic arousal) and by tr...
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Karin Roelofs @epanlab.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Protect international education in Dutch Academia! openletter.earth/against-lang...
openletter.earth
Against Language Barriers: A Call to Protect International Education in Dutch Academia
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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Over 100 organisations still consider eLife papers when evaluating research contributions since losing our Impact Factor: buff.ly/wGQWNqs Help us rally more community support for research reform and let us know your funder or institution’s stance on the #ImpactFactor 💬
95% still consider E life papers in funding and hiring decisions
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Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
In @elife.bsky.social: Perceptual and attentional impairments of conscious access involve distinct neural mechanisms despite equal task performance doi.org/10.7554/eLif... by Samuel Noorman with @timostein.bsky.social and Simon van Gaal. Well done Samuel!
doi.org
Perceptual and attentional impairments of conscious access involve distinct neural mechanisms despite equal task performance
When performance is matched, the attentional blink allows for greater integration of complex stimulus features than masking, reflecting spared recurrent processing during attentional versus perceptual...
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