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Viktor Timokhov

@vutyan.bsky.social
91 followers 84 following 24 posts

PhD student in Neuroeconomics, UZH, Switzerland Doing research on drift-diffusion models, pain and habits

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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Next was a great talk by Kenji Doya on neural circuits for prediction and action at #CCN2026 @cogcompneuro.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsh... (3/8)
youtube.com
CCN 2026 | Keynote: Kenji Doya
YouTube video by Cognitive Computational Neuroscience
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
At the #CCN2026, I present our on-going simulation study: we assessed whether habit and/or range adaptation can explain previously observed and replicated choice frequency effects in the Reward Pairs Task - a recent instrumental learning task developed to elicit habits. More info at the poster C29!
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Stefano Palminteri @stepalminteri.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
What keeps us posting on social media? [@georgiaturner.bsky.social, Gunschera, Subrahmanya, Salecha, Eichstaedt, Me & @orbenamy.bsky.social] www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Why do we keep posting on social media, when the cognitive processes behind ordinary posting have been so hard to measure? We adapted a model from the animal reward-learning literature and fit it to real posting histories from thousands of Twitter/X users, including a preregistered replication. Posting is best explained by a blend of goal-directed reward learning and habit, and the balance between them shifts with how often people post and with who they are.
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
David V. Smith @dvsmith.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Update: the book is now officially out! Neuroeconomics: Core Topics and Current Directions is available from Springer here: link.springer.com/book/10.1007... Huge thanks again to @thepsychologist.bsky.social, @dfareri.bsky.social, and all of the contributors.
link.springer.com
Neuroeconomics: Core Topics and Current Directions
This book provides comprehensive coverage of core topics and recent advances in the field of neuroeconomics and highlights emerging trends in the field.
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Try Signal, so far it works perfectly well for calls without VPNs
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Link to the comment: doi.org/10.1007/s421...
doi.org
Multiple Ways of Understanding Evidence Accumulation Models: A Comment - Computational Brain & Behavior
Computational Brain & Behavior - Shiffrin et al. (2026) explore “illusions of understanding” in science, primarily focusing on linear regression. This comment extends their ideas to...
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Despite imperfections, EAMs remain vital. They serve as a "common language" bridging behavioral and neural analysis levels, offering insights without being completely agnostic about the nature of the process generating the data. (6/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
4. Another recent approach uses EAMs as choice rules within broader frameworks. Applied in reinforcement learning or models of attention in value-based decision-making, they replace softmax-rule and allow researchers to utilize both RT and choice data. (5/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
3. Given these limits, researchers can treat EAMs purely as statistical models. They can act as powerful descriptive tools to fit 'law-like' data patterns (e.g., right skewness of RT distribution), staying agnostic about how choices are actually generated. (4/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
2. To bypass this unobservability, scientists use neuroimaging to view EAMs as neural mechanisms. While some data aligns, recent research shows key EEG signals might reflect valuation instead, questioning EAMs' biological plausibility. (3/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
1. EAMs are mostly treated as cognitive process models, like the Diffusion Decision Model. They break down choices and response times into latent processes (drift rate, non-decision time), though these cannot be directly observed. (2/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
My recent comment extends Shiffrin et al.'s (2026) essay on "Illusions of understanding". While they focused on multiple ways of understanding linear regression, I extend these ideas to a complex model class in cognitive science: Evidence Accumulation Models (EAMs). (1/6)👇
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
It would be interesting to see a similar chart for this year (New York instead of Amsterdam) and for larger conferences like @ohbmofficial.bsky.social . Also it might be useful when you look for positions! (6/6)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
China was a bit of a surprise. From Switzerland, it’s mostly our @zne-uzh.bsky.social and a lot of people from EPFL. (5/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
And here it is! The U.S. is way ahead. Next come Germany and the UK, along with the Netherlands—and based on my impression after reviewing all the data, there often seemed to be some collaboration between them. (4/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
It brought together experts from neuroscience, AI, and cognitive science. After scraping the CCN website and manually reviewing all 550 posters, I created a chart using Flourish online tool. (3/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
To answer this question, I decided to examine a similar distribution of first-author affiliations for posters at one of the major conferences in this field - Cognitive Computational Neuroscience 2025, held in Amsterdam. @cogcompneuro.bsky.social (2/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Many of you have probably seen this chart, which illustrates the distribution of first authors’ affiliations at NeurIPS, one of the most prestigious international conferences in the field of machine learning. But what is the situation in cognitive neuroscience? (1/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
And here it is! The U.S. is way ahead. Next come Germany and the UK, along with the Netherlands—and based on my impression after reviewing all the data, there often seemed to be some collaboration between them. (4/n) @cogcompneuro.bsky.social
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
It brought together experts from neuroscience, AI, and cognitive science. After scraping the CCN website and manually reviewing all 550 posters, I created a chart using Flourish online tool. (3/n)
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
To answer this question, I decided to examine a similar distribution of first-author affiliations for posters at one of the major conferences in this field - Cognitive Computational Neuroscience 2025, held in Amsterdam. (2/n)
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Jonathan Peelle @jpeelle.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I have a joke about a grant but you probably won’t get it
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Kianté @kiante.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Chapter 📖 "Decomposing Economic Choices with Drift-Diffusion Models" with @krajbichlab.bsky.social and Xiaozhi (Taro) Yang is out in, "Neuroeconomics: Core Topics and Current Directions" edited by @dvsmith.bsky.social, @thepsychologist.bsky.social, @dfareri.bsky.social tinyurl.com/yey56tup
link.springer.com
Decomposing Economic Choices with Drift-Diffusion Models
Many decisions arise from a dynamic process of information accumulation and comparison. Thus, to fully understand decision-making, we must decompose the choice process into its parts. Here, we review ...
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world: gershmanlab.com/textbook.html It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class. My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
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Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics @zne-uzh.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
This interdisciplinary program focuses on understanding learning and decision making at all levels. Applicants with backgrounds in biology, cognitive science, computer science, economics, engineering, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, psychology or any related discipline are encouraged to apply!
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
For my Master thesis two years ago we've ambitiously tried to stimulate frontopolar cortex with unconventional but preliminarily simulated HD-tDCS protocol to manipulate the way people resolve exploration-exploitation dilemma (spoiler - it didn't work): doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
No effect of preliminarily simulated cathodal HD-tDCS on the frontopolar cortex in the exploration-exploitation task - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - No effect of preliminarily simulated cathodal HD-tDCS on the frontopolar cortex in the exploration-exploitation task
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Amazing work by amazing @saurabhbedi.bsky.social
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 13/05/2025
“The political environment in Russia made it hard to do science because everything was unpredictable. […] That type of uncertainty is incompatible with science, which requires the ability to plan what type of experiments and research you will do a year into the future.”
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Dual process theory in action Ernest Hemingway, "The Undefeated" (1927)
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Stefano Palminteri @stepalminteri.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
🚨 New study alert! 🚨 Ever wondered if rats and humans learn in the same way? 🐭🧑‍🔬 We tested this — and the answer is yes, at least when it comes to how we value rewards in context. (with @shaunaparkes.bsky.social Lachlan Ferguson, Magdalena Soukupova) 🧵Thread 👇 1/ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Reference Point-Dependent Reinforcement Learning in Humans and Rats
Previous studies indicate that rewards and punishments in reinforcement learning are encoded in a relative manner. Reference point-dependence, a valuation bias shared by eminent adaptation level and p...
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
You can also add some lemon when serving soljanka, many people find it even better like this :)
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Reposted by Viktor Timokhov
Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 25/03/2025
I asked DeepSeek to develop a scale to measure addiction to addiction scale development and of course it delivered.
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Jorge Morales @jorgemorales.me · 17/03/2025
William James's take on psychophysics is *incredible*. Worth reading the whole quote. #psychSciSky #philsky #VisionScience "But psychology is passing into a less simple phase. Within a few years what one may call a microscopic psychology has arisen in Germany, carried on by experimental methods,
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Masud Husain @masudhusain.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Why academia is sleepwalking into self-destruction. My editorial @brain1878.bsky.social If you agree with the sentiments please repost. It's important for all our sakes to stop the madness academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
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Iris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
If you would like to teach theoretical modeling skills to your psychology or cognitive science students, or would like to learn these skills yourself, check out our open online textbook: computationalcognitivescience.github.io/lovelace/
Book cover: orange yellow background, and generated tree in front
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Wow, that's interesting because in #Russian it says something like this (translated with Google Translate):
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Viktor Timokhov @vutyan.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
What is interesting, is that when I ask exactly the same question in Russian, it answers well and describes the situation objectively, with no censorship... Same with Tiananmen square, although I don't know how it works with other languages.
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