skip to content
Home

Adaptive Brain Lab

 

Feed aggregator Subscribe to Adaptive Brain Lab aggregator

Fri 02 May 16:30: To be confirmed

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
To be confirmed

The host for this talk is Nicky Clayton

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 09 May 16:30: The Functions of Episodic Memory

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
The Functions of Episodic Memory

TBC

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 16 May 16:30: How do (and don't) we take other perspectives? The host for this talk is Nicky Clayton

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
How do (and don't) we take other perspectives?

Perspective taking, whether in the classic ‘Theory of Mind’ sense or in the more perceptual domain (e.g. visual perspective taking) has long been considered a cornerstone of social cognition. Recent years have given rise to new research threads, such as ‘spontaneous’ perspective taking, perceptual simulation (quasi-perceptual experiences of others’ perceptual input), and embodied or ‘grounded’ processes, particularly in spatial perspective taking paradigms. Focusing in particular on visuo-spatial perspective taking, in this talk I will present evidence for or against each of these hypotheses, argue for the separation of perceptual and cognitive perspective taking, and highlight the increasingly clear importance of individual differences.

The host for this talk is Nicky Clayton

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 23 May 16:30: To be confirmed The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
To be confirmed

The Host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 30 May 16:30: TBC

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
TBC

Abstract not available

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 30 May 16:30: TBC

Psychology Talks - Tue, 11/03/2025 - 15:18
TBC

Abstract not available

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 23 May 16:30: To be confirmed The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Psychology Talks - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 16:53
To be confirmed

The Host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

The host for this talk is Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 02 May 16:30: To be confirmed

Psychology Talks - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 16:42
To be confirmed

Abstract not available

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 30 May 16:30: TBC

Psychology Talks - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 15:51
TBC

Abstract not available

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Fri 30 May 16:30: TBC

Psychology Talks - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 15:50
TBC

Abstract not available

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Thu 13 Mar 12:30: Constructing Cognitive Maps: Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Learning and Memory

Psychology Talks - Mon, 10/03/2025 - 12:10
Constructing Cognitive Maps: Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Learning and Memory

In parallel with other species, humans possess a remarkable ability to encode detailed spatial information about our environments, forming cognitive maps that enable efficient navigation and goal-directed behaviour. Recent evidence shows this ability is crucial not only for environmental interaction but also for broader cognitive functions, with its impairment linked to several mental health disorders. In this talk, I will present our recent research findings on spatial cognition, revealing how the brain acquires and represents spatial knowledge. Using virtual reality and ultra-high field 7T MRI , we demonstrate three key findings: a graded representation of spatial novelty to familiarity along the hippocampal long axis extending to the posterior parietal cortex, a dynamic shift in large-scale brain network engagement as spatial knowledge accumulates, and a strong connection between individual differences in cortico-hippocampal connectivity and distinct real-world navigation strategies. These fundamental principles offer new insights into the brain’s spatial mapping systems and their broader significance for human cognition, behavior, and mental health.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Tue 18 Mar 16:00: Development and plasticity of control and control beliefs In-person: Ground Floor Seminar Room, Old Cavendish Building, Free School Lane / Teams Meeting ID: 359 964 811 470, Passcode: F6gXFU

Psychology Talks - Thu, 06/03/2025 - 15:16
Development and plasticity of control and control beliefs

Abstract

My research focusses on understanding processes that regulate our thoughts and actions and their mechanistic role in driving healthy psychological development. I will present recent and ongoing experimental work on two such processes, namely cognitive control and control beliefs.

In the first part I will present data from a recently completed randomized control trial aiming to improve cognitive control in 235 6-11 year old children showing no effects across a host of behavioural and neural outcomes. In the second half I will present more recent work on the relationship between control beliefs and stress. I will show data on (i) the buffering effects of heightened sense of control against later stress and (ii) that control beliefs shape adaptive responding to stress.

I will discuss these findings in line with recent frameworks characterising control as a highly rational and dynamic process and outline implications for interventions.

Biography:

I did my thesis at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences on the neuroscience of music and was awarded my PhD in 2008. I then moved to the University of Zurich for a postdoc in developmental social neuroscience at the Institute for Empirical Economics. I then returned to the Max-Planck Institute as Senior Researcher and Group Leader.

After fellowships at the Weill Cornell Medical School and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute I joined the Department of Developmental Psychology at the University of Leiden as an Assistant Professor in 2015. In 2017 I moved to UCL ’s Division of Psychology and Language Sciences as an Associate Professor and became Full Professor of Developmental Neuroscience there in 2021.

I have received various accolades and fellowships (i.e. Jacobs Research Fellowship, Humboldt Fellowship, German-Israeli Foundation Fellowship) and my work has been funded by the Jacobs Foundation, the German Research Foundation, the European Research Council, and the Economic and Social Research Council.

In-person: Ground Floor Seminar Room, Old Cavendish Building, Free School Lane / Teams Meeting ID: 359 964 811 470, Passcode: F6gXFU

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Wed 05 Mar 15:00: Encouraging sustainable food choices on food-delivery apps: which interventions work, when, and do consumers want them?

Psychology Talks - Wed, 05/03/2025 - 13:41
Encouraging sustainable food choices on food-delivery apps: which interventions work, when, and do consumers want them?

Behavioural interventions can play a crucial role in promoting more sustainable food choices, but their effectiveness depends on both design and context. In this talk, I will present findings from two large-scale online experiments that test different types of behavioural interventions within the same food-delivery app setting. The first study examines the effectiveness of three distinct approaches—an information intervention, a price incentive, and a choice architecture nudge—in shaping meal choices. The second study investigates when and why these interventions work by exploring the role of decision-making speed in shaping their impact. The results suggest that differences in decision time across contexts may help explain the varying effect sizes observed in previous studies of these nudges. Finally, I will conclude by considering whether consumers actually want to be nudged, drawing on evidence from policy support and consumers’ willingness to pay for these interventions.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Thu 06 Mar 12:30: AI in basic and clinical neuroscience

Psychology Talks - Tue, 04/03/2025 - 10:00
AI in basic and clinical neuroscience

Traditionally, artificial neural networks have been used for data analysis and as models of the mind and the brain. These two areas have both made historically significant contributions. For example, connectionism as a model of the brain has helped cognitive scientists to understand many computational principles in language acquisition, memory and control of action. Although modern AI inherited many fundamental structures and features in conventional neural network models, its current applications in neuroscience have primarily been data analysis, e.g. for MRI data. In this talk, I will show how modern AI can contribute to both data analysis in neuroscience and also help theorising computational principals implemented by the brain both in normal and diseases.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Mon 24 Mar 12:30: Principles of intensive human neuroimaging

Psychology Talks - Mon, 03/03/2025 - 14:50
Principles of intensive human neuroimaging

Speaker: Dr. Eline Kupers, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, United States.

Title: Principles of intensive functional MRI .

Abstract: Human neuroscience is experiencing a growing interest in the acquisition and openly sharing of large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets. Initial large-scale fMRI data sets have focused on either ‘wide’ sampling: acquiring a few hours of brain data from many participants (n ≥ 100; e.g., the UK BioBank (Miller et al., 2016), or ‘deep’ sampling: acquiring many hours of brain data from a few participants (n ≤ 20; e.g., the Midnight Scan Club (Gordon et al., 2017)). By collecting many hours of data from a small group of participants, these deep datasets have enabled detailed investigation of brain structure and function. In this talk, I will highlight an emerging deep sampling approach in fMRI, which we term ‘intensive’ fMRI, that aims to extensively sample cognitive phenomena within a small group of individuals to support within-subject computational modeling at the voxel level. I will discuss the key characteristics of intensive fMRI: to create datasets with well-designed experiments that enable a rich hypothesis space, that maximize both data quantity and quality, and that serve as a valuable community resource. Informed by efforts creating the Natural Scenes Dataset (Allen et al., 2022) and the upcoming Visual Cognition Dataset, I will address practical considerations and challenges of intensive fMRI, including optimizing trial and experimental design and screening and selecting participants to maximize data quality. When done well, intensive fMRI datasets enable better models of human cognition and bridge multiple neuroscience communities.

Bio: Dr. Eline Kupers is currently a postdoc working with Dr. Kendrick Kay at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research focuses on understanding the underlying organization and neural computations that support and limit human visual perception, combining computational tools, psychophysics, and neuroimaging techniques (functional MRI , EEG and MEG ). She received her PhD from New York University, working with Dr. Jonathan Winawer and Dr. Marisa Carrasco, and did her first postdoc working with Dr. Kalanit Grill-Spector at Stanford University. In the Fall of 2025, Eline will start her own lab as tenure-track faculty at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Mon 03 Mar 12:30: Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks

Psychology Talks - Thu, 27/02/2025 - 15:26
Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks

Speaker: Visiting in person – Dr Rezvan Farahibozorg, University of Oxford, UK

Title: Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks.

Abstract: The human brain is a system of networks, each underlying a specific function, and interacting with each other. Brain networks at rest; also known as resting state networks (RSNs), have been very influential in characterisation of the functional organisation of the brain. The framework of Probabilistic Functional Modes (PROFUMO) is designed to estimate RSNs simultaneously for populations and every individual therein, thus permitting us to capture individual-specific characteristics beyond what has been possible using standard group-average-based techniques such as ICA . In this talk, I will first describe this modelling framework and its various extensions. I will then show some of its applications to large fMRI datasets such as the Human Connectome Project and UK Biobank, including the characterisation of multiscale brain modes, prediction of non-imaging traits, and potential for subgroup discovery.

Bio: Rezvan Farahibozorg is a Royal Academy of Engineering research fellow at FMRIB , Oxford. Her research aims to design new machine learning tools for big functional brain imaging data such as UK Biobank, and to make predictions about personalised traits (e.g. age or cognitive scores) and disease (e.g. Dementia). Before joining FMRIB , she was trained as a Biomedical Engineer and proceeded to complete her PhD at CBU , working on developing brain connectivity methods for magnetoencephalography, and application for characterising semantic networks in the brain.

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Wed 05 Mar 15:00: Encouraging sustainable food choices on food-delivery apps: which interventions work, when, and do consumers want them?

Psychology Talks - Thu, 27/02/2025 - 11:43
Encouraging sustainable food choices on food-delivery apps: which interventions work, when, and do consumers want them?

Behavioural interventions can play a crucial role in promoting more sustainable food choices, but their effectiveness depends on both design and context. In this talk, I will present findings from two large-scale online experiments that test different types of behavioural interventions within the same food-delivery app setting. The first study examines the effectiveness of three distinct approaches—an information intervention, a price incentive, and a choice architecture nudge—in shaping meal choices. The second study investigates when and why these interventions work by exploring the role of decision-making speed in shaping their impact. The results suggest that differences in decision time across contexts may help explain the varying effect sizes observed in previous studies of these nudges. Finally, I will conclude by considering whether consumers actually want to be nudged, drawing on evidence from policy support and consumers’ willingness to pay for these interventions.

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Mon 03 Mar 12:30: Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks

Psychology Talks - Tue, 25/02/2025 - 16:41
Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks

Speaker: Visiting in person – Dr Rezvan Farahibozorg, University of Oxford, UK

Title: Probabilistic Functional Modes: population-informed individual specific modelling of brain networks.

Abstract: TBC

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Tue 04 Mar 16:00: The nature-nurture debate in education: implications for narrowing attainment gaps In-person: Ground Floor Seminar Room, Old Cavendish Building, Free School Lane / Teams Meeting ID: 376 812 611 469, Passcode: ToLLAZ

Psychology Talks - Tue, 25/02/2025 - 08:53
The nature-nurture debate in education: implications for narrowing attainment gaps

Abstract:

In this talk, I will survey the current state of the nature-nurture debate in education. I will take an educational neuroscience perspective which focuses on the translation of mechanistic insights from developmental cognitive neuroscience to educational contexts.

Inequality of educational outcomes is influenced both by environmental and genetic factors. A hundred years of twin studies had rather driven the nature-nurture debate aground (Question: is a person’s development more due to nature or to nurture? Answer: it’s about half and half).

But new developments in the cognitive neuroscience of socioeconomic status on the nurture side, and the creation of individual metrics for educational potential directly from DNA on the nature side, have given the debate new impetus.

I will finish by presenting some computational modelling work which suggests that for translation, concepts like heritability are less relevant – the key question is what developmental outcomes can be reached for an individual given their genotype. Research agendas may need to be reconfigured to address this question.

Speaker Biography:

Michael S. C. Thomas is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck University of London. Since 2010, Michael has been Director of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience, a cross-institutional research centre which aims to further translational research between neuroscience and education, and establish new transdisciplinary accounts in the learning sciences. In 2003, Michael established the Developmental Neurocognition Laboratory within Birkbeck’s world-leading Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development.

The focus of his laboratory is to use multi-disciplinary methods to understand the brain and cognitive bases of cognitive variability, including behavioural, brain imaging, computational, and genetic methods. In 2006, the lab was the co-recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education, for the project “Neuropsychological work with the very young: understanding brain function and cognitive development”.

In-person: Ground Floor Seminar Room, Old Cavendish Building, Free School Lane / Teams Meeting ID: 376 812 611 469, Passcode: ToLLAZ

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Mon 24 Feb 12:30: Playing with dice: two unusual use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI

Psychology Talks - Thu, 20/02/2025 - 10:26
Playing with dice: two unusual use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI

Speaker: Visiting in person – Dr Matan Mazor, University of Oxford, UK.

Title: Playing with dice: two unusual use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI.

Abstract: Randomisation is a defining feature of scientific experiments. In functional neuroimaging, randomising the order and timing of events allows researchers to identify activations that are causally linked to particular stimuli or cognitive processes. In this talk, I will share two additional use cases for experimental randomisation in fMRI: as a tool for identifying functional selectivity in a model-free way, and as a mechanism for time-locking of study plans as part of the pre-registration process. First, I will present TWISTER randomisation, where specific stimulus features are selectively randomised to produce differences in the similarity between experimental runs along specific dimensions in task space. This way, differences in between-run, within-voxel correlations can be taken as a measure of functional selectivity even without knowledge of the underlying data-generating model (for example, without knowing how neuronal activation is linked to the measured BOLD signal). Second, I will present a randomisation-based, cryptographic approach to pre-registration: by setting the seed of the pseudorandom number generator to a fingerprint of the pre-registered documents, we make the order and timing of events causally dependent on the pre-registered plans and hypotheses, time-locking data collection with respect to pre-registration.

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)

Add to your calendar or Include in your list

Contact us

Adaptive Brain Lab Department of Psychology Downing Site Cambridge CB2 3EB

Contact: abg@psychol.cam.ac.uk

Site Privacy & Cookie Policies

Data Protection

Opting out of your people profile on this website

Study at Cambridge

About the University

Research at Cambridge