Floris de Lange
@predictivebrain.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist interested in predictive perception and cognition. Head of www.predictivebrainlab.com
1/5 Over a decade of comparing deep neural networks to the human brain—but what have we actually learned? Our new @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social Feature Review synthesizes a decade of brain–DNN comparisons, asking what they reveal about brain function across vision and language.
This is a really interesting and important study: www.nature.com/articles/s41... However, isn't it concerning that sweeping conclusions about functional organization of cortex are being reached on the basis of a single task?
Rarely categorical, highly separable representations along the cortical hierarchy - Nature
Cortical circuits prioritize diversity over categorical structure, supporting a computational regime geared towards high-dimensional, highly separable neural representations.
nature.com
Co-led with @leamariaschmitt.bsky.social l, Emin Çelik, and with @predictivebrain.bsky.social and @mtoneva.bsky.social 💫 We had so much fun discussing and writing this together — we love thinking about language and vision side by side :) Would love to hear your thoughts!
Having fun this summer, replicating our reversed latent inhibition effect: Reported a couple of years ago, here we show, contrary to 60 years of research, that people can learn more succesfully about a familiair than a novel stimulus. share.google/YIEYQj9yIPNj...
Novelty mismatch as a determinant of latent inhibition - PubMed
Latent inhibition refers to the observation, made in both human and nonhuman animals, that learning about the relationship between a stimulus and an outcome progresses more rapidly when the stimulus i...
share.google
Our paper "Neural timescales from a computational perspective" is finally out in @natneuro.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41... We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
Neural timescales from a computational perspective - Nature Neuroscience
This review integrates computational approaches to provide a unified view on how data analysis methods, biophysical mechanistic models and machine learning approaches can help to uncover the origins a...
nature.com
❗📝 New paper alert 📝❗ Hierarchical priors enable neural prediction of perceived biological motion 💃 With @predictivebrain.bsky.social and @moritzwurm.bsky.social Reviewed preprint available in eLife: @elife.bsky.social doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Hierarchical priors enable neural prediction of perceived biological motion
doi.org
Paula Rubio-Fernández has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for the project COMMON_GROUND. The grant will allow Paula to test and develop a new theory of how people build and manage the shared understanding that makes communication possible. www.mpi.nl/news/paula-r...
Paula Rubio-Fernández receives ERC Advanced Grant for research on common ground in multimodal communication | Max Planck Institute
mpi.nl
New paper out in JEP:HPP! psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/... Can we learn from things we're not paying attention to? We used a contextual cueing paradigm to pit selective attention against spatial prediction during visual search in 2 high-powered (N=104) experiments — and found they actively compete.
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org
"The reported mean of 7.7 is misleading because it appears that close to half of your participants are scoring below that mean"
Man Calculating with Math Equations Overlay
ALT: Man Calculating with Math Equations Overlay
static.klipy.com
"The classic brain-IQ association largely disappeared when socioeconomic status was properly accounted for... children’s brains vary the most with SES, potentially through SES-dependent sleep deprivation and stress" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Patterns of brain-wide associations reflect socioeconomics
Previous brain-wide association studies (BWAS) have linked specific environmental and behavioral variables to brain variability. In this work, we mapped 649 variables to children’s brains and compared...
science.org
1/11 Happy to share our TICS paper on using the flexibility of one of the most basic cognitive functions, perception, to understand one of the most complex cognitive dysfunctions, psychiatric conditions (also my first formal work in computational psychiatry 🎉) 📄: www.cell.com/trends/cogni... 🧵 : 👇
Perceptual multistability: a multifaceted window into brain dysfunctions
Perceptual multistability, observed across species and sensory modalities, offers valuable insights into numerous cognitive functions and dysfunctions. For instance, differences in temporal dynamics a...
cell.com
Trends in Cognitive Sciences@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social · 4mo agoOnline Now: Perceptual multistability: a multifaceted window into brain dysfunctions
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...
Neuroscience Ireland@neuroscienceirl.bsky.social · 2mo ago✅Funded PhD studentship in computational modelling of supra-modal evidence accumulation/decision-making! ⏰ Closing date: 1st July 2026! ➡️ More information: shorturl.at/FsTQ0 @redmondoconnell.bsky.social @seanfw.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie @tcdpsychology.bsky.social
This is one of the most exciting pieces of science I have had the privilege to be involved in, led by @rui-xu.bsky.social, Bob Desimone, and Mark Richardson: the discovery of actual long-range monosynaptic connections in the human brain! For example the FFA connects to the rTPJ, how cool is that?
Rui Xu@rui-xu.bsky.social · 3mo agoNew preprint as my first post! "Monosynaptic connections link functionally similar regions in human cortex." We use electrical stimulation + fMRI in epilepsy patients to map whole-brain monosynaptic connectivity at 42 cortical sites. doi.org/10.64898/202... 1/n
So pleased that our paper on empowerment and causal models is out and freely available as part of this impressive special issue on world models and AI, with Melanie Mitchell, Josh Tenenbaum, Tom Griffiths and many other stars. royalsocietypublishing.org/rsta/article...
World models, artificial general intelligence and the hard problems of life–mind continuity: toward a unified understanding of natural and artificial intelligence
Abstract. This special issue examines how natural and artificial intelligences (AIs) model the world, and what this modelling reveals about cognition and r
royalsocietypublishing.org
“Researchers looked at two high-profile AI agent tools developed to help computer scientists in the field of machine learning. Both systems engaged in acts that violate research integrity, including making up data & p-hacking: running an experiment multiple times but only reporting best outcome.” 🧪
AI agents may be skilled researchers—but not always honest ones
Two high-profile tools have been shown to make up data and “p-hack” their results
science.org
Tony is 100% right. This can't be said often enough.
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 3mo agoPrediction without understanding sustained astronomy through a thousand years of epicycles, writes @tonyzador.bsky.social. AI is now offering neuroscience the same deal. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/machine-lear...
What do we look for when searching for objects in our daily-life environments? Very happy that I can now share this review, together with @suryagayet.bsky.social , @predictivebrain.bsky.social and @peelen.bsky.social🥳 A brief thread below!
Trends in Cognitive Sciences@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social · 3mo agoOnline Now: Attention in the wild: balancing flexibility and stability
New paper alert: very proud to share our review published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, spearheaded by @maellelerebourg.bsky.social, and together with @peelen.bsky.social and @predictivebrain.bsky.social, about goal-directed search in real-world environments. See below for a thread/tldr!
Maëlle Lerebourg@maellelerebourg.bsky.social · 3mo agoWhat do we look for when searching for objects in our daily-life environments? Very happy that I can now share this review, together with @suryagayet.bsky.social , @predictivebrain.bsky.social and @peelen.bsky.social🥳 A brief thread below!
What does it mean for cognition to be Bayesian? The view that cognition is Bayesian inference is often intended at Marr's computational level. In a new paper in Nat Rev Psych, @kaixue98.bsky.social and I formulate the "explicit-Bayes" hypothesis that lives at the algorithmic level. rdcu.be/ff1XA
The explicit-Bayes hypothesis for cognition
Nature Reviews Psychology - It is often asserted that human cognition is Bayesian, but that broad claim is difficult to test in a falsifiable way. We suggest that researchers specifically assess a...
rdcu.be
And a nice summary by Richard Antonello can be found here: elifesciences.org/articles/111...
Language Models: Does the brain really know what word is coming next?
Apparent neural encoding of future words may arise from the statistical structure of language itself, rather than from predictive computations in the brain.
elifesciences.org
ines-schoenmann.bsky.social@ines-schoenmann.bsky.social · 3mo agoNew peer-reviewed paper w/ @mheilbron.bsky.social, @predictivebrain.bsky.social & Jakub Szewczyk! Pre-onset brain encoding has been taken as evidence that brains–like LLMs–predict upcoming words. We show that the same signatures arise in systems that cannot predict. (elifesciences.org) (1/8)
New peer-reviewed paper w/ @mheilbron.bsky.social, @predictivebrain.bsky.social & Jakub Szewczyk! Pre-onset brain encoding has been taken as evidence that brains–like LLMs–predict upcoming words. We show that the same signatures arise in systems that cannot predict. (elifesciences.org) (1/8)
I think this chart is absolutely wonderful for people who think about the environment but find it hard to cut on meat. Remember: eating a bit less beef is much easier than going full veg(etari)an, while still helping a lot. And after a while you notice that you don't even need it that much... 🤷♀️
Sharon 🪳🌹@sharonk.bsky.social · 3mo ago*looks around* you should eat less beef (but really, beef needs to be more expensive and chicken and less carbon-intensive meat cheaper)
When it comes to blood flow in the brain, not all neurons are created equal. Rather, only a subset of neurons may be driving vascular changes, a new study finds. By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/neurovascula...
Arousal neuron activity explains brain blood flow in mice
The findings could impact how researchers interpret signals from techniques that use blood flow as a surrogate for neural activity.
thetransmitter.org
Our work on how neural circuits in the cerebellum encode prior probabilities led by Julius Koppen is out now in Nature Neuroscience www.nature.com/articles/s41... Big thanks to Julius Koppen & the whole team! And dedicated to all of us who found inspiration in Bayesian theories of the brain!
Neural circuits encode prior knowledge of temporal statistics - Nature Neuroscience
This study shows that cerebellar circuits learn and encode prior probabilities of event timing. Cell-type-specific neural activity reflects environmental statistics and guides predictive motor behavio...
nature.com
Very interesting sounding paper on the role of the default mode network in visual perception by Ujhelyi, Korda & Zaretskaya. The authors propose that the DMN provides top-down information from memory and semantic knowledge to guide perception. #neuroskyence
The contribution of default mode network areas to visual perception
Visual perception and accompanying sensory activity are strongly shaped by top-down influences. Although several sources of this influence have been thoroughly examined in the research literature, one...
cell.com
@lisafeldmanbarrett.com @earlkmiller.bsky.social #neuroscience #neuroskyence The Perspective article by Lisa Feldman Barrett and Earl K. Miller states that categorization is a fundamental property of the brain and.....
Nature Reviews Neuroscience@natrevneuro.nature.com · 4mo agoCategorization is ‘baked’ into the brain — a Perspective by Lisa Feldman Barrett & Earl K. Miller @lisafeldmanbarrett.com @earlkmiller.bsky.social #neuroscience #neuroskyence www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The Obleser lab will be hiring soon! New postdoc (fully funded) and new PhD or part-time postdoc position (soft-money funded). Spread the word. Start in Sept/Oct. Watch out for official announcements! Please be in touch. auditorycognition.com obleserlab.com hoerhanse.de lemmi.uni-luebeck.de
We’re hiring! Interested in conducting research on cognitive control, multitasking and aging with @gethinhughes.bsky.social, @sarahdepue.bsky.social and me? We are looking for a PhD candidate to join our lab @cogtex.bsky.social at KU Leuven. RTs much appreciated! www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
PhD researcher for the project: Cognitive Control and Multitasking in the Digital Age
We are looking for a motivated PhD researcher to study the behavioral and neural dynamics between cognitive control and multitasking in young and aging populations.
kuleuven.be
fully agree with Stefano. I spent years of my training learning to translate scientific thinking into models and code. if that’s no longer a bottleneck, what was the point — and what should replace it?
Stefano Palminteri@stepalminteri.bsky.social · 4mo ago🧵 I gave Claude two things: a short paper (doi.org/10.1073/pnas...) and a raw behavioural dataset with 3 lines of variable descriptions. Then I asked it to fit three computational RL models described only by equations in the manuscript. No code, no toolbox, no guidance on the fitting procedure. 1/3
New preprint! w/ @mheilbron.bsky.social We found that, even during simple natural scene viewing, human visual cortex predicts—hierarchically in central vision and at higher levels peripherally—reconciling classical predictive coding with recent evidence from animal models and AI (e.g. JEPA) (1/10)
