Recent News

Conference Homepage: https://predcommlab.github.io/symposium-2026/#about
Upcoming Events
<i>Philosophy</i> <br>Lukas Kob (Czech Academy of Sciences) <br><b>Holistic Representations in Large Language Models</b>
Workshop:<br><b>Perception-Thought Transitions</b>
<i>Psychology</i> <br>Michael Levin (Tufts University) <br><b>Model systems for diverse intelligence research: technological approach to minds everywhere</b>
<i>Biopsychology</i> <br>Merel Jager (RUB) <br><b>Reality, survivorship bias, smooth sailing & the paradox of individuality</b>
<i>Psychology</i> <br>Katja Langer (RUB) <br><b>Accute stress effects on flexible emotion regulation choices: The moderation of working memory capacity </b>
<i>Philosophy</i> <br>Gualtiero Piccinini (University of Missouri) <br><b>Thought as an Inner Navigation: A Neurocognitive Architecture for Propositional Thought</b>
Relevant Publications
For full list of selected publications, see the publications page
Representational dynamics during extinction of fear memories in the human brain
A computationally efficient music processing algorithm for cochlear implants based on an auditory adaptation model
Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness
Predictive acoustical processing in human cortical layers
Neural subspace reorganization reflects value-based decision-making
The role of episodic memory in causal reasoning with counterfactuals: A perspective from predictive processing and trace minimalism
Animal empathy reconsidered: a multidimensional profile account
Learning What to Remember: Semantic Attention in Generative Episodic Memory Model. In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN).
Fayyaz, Z., Rathjens, J., Cheng, S., & Wiskott, L.. (2026). Learning What to Remember: Semantic Attention in Generative Episodic Memory Model. In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN).
Enhancing metacomprehension accuracy and regulation decisions in writing from multiple texts: The role of rubrics
Accuracy of self-control judgments by informants: can others tell where and how much we care, struggle, and succeed?
Representational dynamics during extinction of fear memories in the human brain
Abstract Extinction learning—the suppression of a previously acquired fear response—is critical for adaptive behaviour and core for understanding the aetiology and treatment of anxiety disorders. Electrophysiological studies in rodents have revealed critical roles of theta (4–12 Hz) oscillations in amygdala and …
Posttraining noradrenergic stimulation maintains hippocampal engram reactivation and episodic-like specificity of remote memory
Abstract Recent findings indicate that noradrenergic arousal maintains long-term episodic-like specificity of memory. However, the neural mechanism of how norepinephrine can alter the temporal dynamics of systems consolidation to maintain hippocampus dependency of remote memory is currently unknown. Memories are …
Prior knowledge activation as preparation prior to instruction: does the coverage of relevant prior knowledge affect learning?
Abstract Two-phase instructional designs such as Productive and Vicarious Failure employ preparatory activities before explicit instruction. It is assumed that during this preparatory activity, students need to activate their prior knowledge in order to be prepared for subsequent instruction. However, …
Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability
The multidimensional profile methodology (MPM) for comparative cognition: towards a universal strategy of understanding animal minds
Abstract How can we develop an adequate scientific understanding of the minds of nonhuman animals? We argue for a methodology based on multi-dimensional profile accounts. Such accounts are already used for the comparative study of norm cognition, consciousness, empathy and …
When is learning “effortful”? Scrutinizing the concept of mental effort in cognitively-oriented research from a motivational perspective
Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence
Extinction context is learned by pigeons, not given by the environment
Abstract The saying “context is everything” underscores the importance of interpreting things, be they quotes, events, actions, or stimuli, not in isolation but in the light of a bigger picture – their context. This is evident even in fundamental forms …
Reference in memories from perceptual and non-perceptual experiences: a non-disjunctivist account including vicarious, oneiric and fictional remembering
Abstract The paper argues for a non-disjunctivist account of reference in episodic memory. Our account provides a uniform theory of reference for episodic memories that root in veridical and non-veridical experiences. It is independent from the particular mechanisms that subserve …

