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
Selective spatial attention to competing speakers in azimuth and depth: Evidence from real and virtual environments
Neural subspace reorganization reflects value-based decision-making
The effects of pre-extinction stress vs. physical exercise on contextual retrieval and generalization
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
The role of episodic memory in causal reasoning with counterfactuals: A perspective from predictive processing and trace minimalism
From Gut Feeling to Gray Matter: Mapping Defecation Urgency in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Selective spatial attention to competing speakers in azimuth and depth: Evidence from real and virtual environments
Reading media and multitasking: effects on comprehension and metacomprehension when reading multiple texts
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 …
Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence
Predictive processing’s flirt with transcendental idealism
Abstract The popular predictive processing (PP) framework posits prediction error minimization (PEM) as the sole mechanism in the brain that can account for all mental phenomena, including consciousness. I first highlight three ambitions associated with major presentations of PP: (1) …
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, …
Positive mental health predicts amelioration of suicidal ideation in patients undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy
Background Positive mental health has been shown to confer resilience against suicidal ideation and behavior. Yet, studies on treatment seeking populations are rare. The aim of the present study was to investigate, whether PMH predicts the amelioration of suicidal ideation …
An Experimental Investigation of the Causal Role of Mental Imagery in the Experience of Involuntary Memories
Involuntary memories are thought to affect emotion, cognition, and behaviour, and it is often assumed that their impact is amplified when they are rich in mental imagery. However, this assumption has yet to be directly investigated. The current study tested …
Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability
Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection
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 …

