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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · 16d

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

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...

www.pnas.org

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Steven Scholte @neurosteven.bsky.social · Sep 8

🧠 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 · Aug 26

A great example of engagement with open peer review 👇

Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · Aug 22

In @elife.bsky.social: Together with @phil-johnson.bsky.social, @nielskloosterman.bsky.social, @timostein.bsky.social and @svangaal.bsky.social we respond to a critical comment on our Criterion paper by @krsandberg.bsky.social and Overgaard. Our response can be found here: doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Response to comment on ‘Criterion placement threatens the construct validity of neural measures of consciousness’

This response counters arguments given in a commentary by Sandberg and Overgaard, 2025 regarding an article in eLife about criterion confounds in neural measures of consciousness based on subjective m...

doi.org

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Andres Canales-Johnson @canalesjohnson.bsky.social · Jul 7

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 · Jun 27

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:

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...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Simon van Gaal

Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · May 22

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.

Communications Psychology @commspsychol.nature.com · May 22

Using explicit measures of subjective experience & Bayesian ordinal modeling, this study shows that confidence reports in perceptual decisions are influenced by nonperceptual biases.
@n41c0.bsky.social @fahrenfort.bsky.social @smfleming.bsky.social @juliaha.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Confidence reports during perceptual decision making dissociate from changes in subjective experience - Communications Psychology

Using explicit measures of subjective experience and a Bayesian ordinal modeling framework, this study shows that confidence reports in perceptual decisions are influenced by nonperceptual biases.

www.nature.com

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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · Jun 25

Similar feedback-related neural decoding measures were also informative of having false percepts (e.g., seeing a house when a face was presented). Early decoding: presented stimulus properties; late decoding: neural representation flips and reflects false percept.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Illusory object recognition is either perceptual or cognitive in origin depending on decision confidence

The occurrence of perceptual illusions, the misinterpretation of sensory input, is a common characteristic of several neurological and psychiatric disorders. This study shows that such illusions have ...

journals.plos.org

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Simon van Gaal @svangaal.bsky.social · Jun 25

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

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.

elifesciences.org

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Reposted by Simon van Gaal

Clare Press @clarepress.bsky.social · Jun 19

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 · Jun 18

🥳 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 · Jun 7

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...

Call for Commentary Proposals - Conscious artificial intelligence and biological

Call for Commentary Proposals - Conscious artificial intelligence and biological naturalism

www.cambridge.org

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eLife @elife.bsky.social · Jun 2

🧠 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 · May 30

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...

Large-scale interactions in perception and prediction across species | HiLIFE – Helsinki Institute of Life Science | University of Helsinki

Andres Canales-Johnson research group

www.helsinki.fi

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Johannes Fahrenfort @fahrenfort.bsky.social · May 29

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 · May 28

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...

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 ...

academicpositions.nl

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Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · May 24

(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 · May 23

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...

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...

www.biorxiv.org

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Nicolás Sánchez-Fuenzalida @n41c0.bsky.social · May 20

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 · Dec 3

🎉 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...

Criterion placement threatens the construct validity of neural measures of consciousness

elifesciences.org

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Stijn Nuiten @stijnnuiten.bsky.social · May 19

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 · May 19

For more details, go check out the full preprint at: dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.... (6/6)

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...

dx.doi.org

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Stijn Nuiten @stijnnuiten.bsky.social · May 19

⚠️ 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....

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...

www.researchsquare.com

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Karin Roelofs @epanlab.bsky.social · May 6

Protect international education in Dutch Academia! openletter.earth/against-lang...

Against Language Barriers: A Call to Protect International Education in Dutch Academia

openletter.earth

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eLife @elife.bsky.social · May 8

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 · May 2

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!

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...

doi.org

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