The Reward Positivity signals a goal prediction error The Reward Positivity (RewP) is an electroencephalogram (EEG) feature that emerges following performance feedback and is commonly understood to index both positive and negative reward-prediction error (RPE+ and RPE−, respectively) signals. In contrast to this dominant perspective, we argue that the RewP is an independent EEG feature that selectively responds to positive RPE and is superimposed on a common background signal. We further propose that the RewP signals a goal prediction error: it is elicited by abstract signals instead of by hedonic 'rewards'. This goal prediction error appears to be produced by a critic-like architecture that is associated with the actor–critic framework in reinforcement learning. This perspective emphasizes the role of the RewP in goal attainment and cognitive control as opposed to being a simple indicator of reward receipt.

Online Now: The Reward Positivity signals a goal prediction error

Neural and computational evidence for a predictive learning account of the testing effect | PNAS Testing enhances memory more than studying. Although numerous studies have demonstrated the robustness of this classic effect, its neural and compu...

Why is testing good for you(r memory)? Because it forces you(r brain) to predict. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

We moved our symposium to a bigger room so we have a few more extra seats available now! Join us September 10th for our symosium on "Flexible Definitions of Cognitive Flexibility"
shengjiexu.ugent.be/CoCoFlex_Sem.... Poster or talk submission deadline is in two weeks: July 31st!

The temporal dynamics of metacognitive experiences track rational adaptations in task performance - Communications Psychology Using computational modeling and EEG, the study suggests several metacognitive states correlate with rational adjustments in behavior; this might benefit steering behavior towards optimality

The study suggests a few metacognitive states correlate with rational behavioural adjustments; this might help steering behaviour towards optimality.
@lucvermeylen.bsky.social @sebraem.bsky.social @kobedesender.bsky.social @gonzalezgarcia.bsky.social @mruz.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

The Learning and Cognitive Control Laboratory at Ghent University (Belgium), led by Clay Holroyd, is recruiting two highly motivated postdoctoral fellows to apply a control-theoretic approach to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms of cognitive effort ( doi.org/10.1037/rev0... )

Postdoctoral fellow

Position 2: The successful candidate will train RNNs to learn the generative structure of existing behavioral, EEG and MEG data (dynamical system reconstruction), and apply linear control theory to investigate the energy demands of the resulting network architectures: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

Postdoctoral fellow

Position 1: The successful candidate will apply linear control theory to investigate the energy demands of existing artificial neural network models of working memory, task switching, and brain computer interface tasks: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

Ghent University shines with six prestigious ERC Advanced Grants Ghent University has once again proven its excellence in research by securing six coveted ERC Advanced Grants. This remarkable achievement places the university at the forefront of European scientific...

The positions are funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant ( www.ugent.be/en/news-even... ), are for 3 years with an opportunity to renew, and are available to start January 2026.

The Learning and Cognitive Control Laboratory at Ghent University (Belgium), led by Clay Holroyd, is recruiting two highly motivated postdoctoral fellows to apply a control-theoretic approach to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms of cognitive effort ( doi.org/10.1037/rev0... )

NEUROCOG 2025 is taking place in Brussels Nov 17–18!

The theme: AI and the Human Brain 🤖 🧠

We’re thrilled to welcome 6 amazing invited speakers:
@evfedorenko.bsky.social, @nicoschuck.bsky.social, @summerfieldlab.bsky.social, @jeffreybowers.bsky.social, @irisgroen.bsky.social & @mtoneva.bsky.social

A cross-cultural EEG study of how obedience and conformity influence reconciliation intentions Abstract. The study investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’

New publication in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) with @guillaumepech.bsky.social !

We investigated the influence of conformity and obedience on intentions to help a child whose relative had caused harm to the participant’s family.

academic.oup.com/scan/article...

Hear hear!
👇
@ghentccn.bsky.social
@frosas.bsky.social
@massimost.bsky.social

We're organizing a symposium in Ghent on "Flexible Definitions of Cognitive Flexibility" on Wednesday, September 10th, with six exciting speakers: shengjiexu.ugent.be/CoCoFlex_Sem.... Registration is free, but seats are limited. You can also submit poster or talk abstracts by July 31st!

Doctoral fellow

PhD fellowship to work with me and Benedetta Franceschiello on the analysis and modelling of fast sampled fMRI data!

www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

CCN meeting | Nellia Bellaert (University of Mons, Belgium), invited by Gilles Pourtois CCN meeting | Nellia Bellaert (University of Mons, Belgium), invited by Gilles Pourtois

We are hoping for a rewarding afternoon with a talk of Nellia Bellaert (University of Mons) on the mechanisms of irritability and their association with anhedonia during @ghentccn.bsky.social meeting, this Thursday at 3pm!

🥳 Happy to share that another chapter from my PhD dissertation has now been published: 👉 Bouncy bands do not improve academic performance: an ecologically valid classroom study on the role of ADHD traits 👈

rdcu.be/ehUs1

We are pleased to invite you to the first edition of the Social & Moral Brain seminar: Emotions, Others, and Morality, October 16–17, 2025, at the Ghent University Museum (GUM) Forum Belgium.

Call for abstracts until May 19th
🔗 Submission : thesmbseminar.sciencesconf.org/resource/pag...

Our lab finally just joined #BlueSky! --> moralsocialbrain.com

Don't hesitate to follow for open positions (Ph.D. or postdoc), research internships, or new publications!

#Academia #Neuroscience #Social #Moral #Cognition #DecisionMaking

PI : @emiliecaspar.bsky.social
In the @ghentccn.bsky.social

Save-the-date for the 2025 edition of the Neurocog conference. The topic this year is AI and the human brain: neurocog.be

Predictive learning as the basis of the testing effect - Communications Psychology Testing yields better memory than studying. The origin of this effect is unclear. Based on three experiments and computational modeling, this study provides evidence that predictive (error-based) lear...

Why is testing better for learning than studying? We propose because testing makes you actively predict: www.nature.com/articles/s44...

🌿 Hello, Bluesky! 🌿
We’re EcoBird—a passionate research group from Ghent University, dedicated to exploring the lives of birds and their ecosystems. 🐦✨ Our goal is to advance scientific knowledge and tackle environmental challenges impacting bird populations worldwide. ecobird.ugent.be

Taking time: Auditory statistical learning benefits from distributed exposure - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review In an auditory statistical learning paradigm, listeners learn to partition a continuous stream of syllables by discovering the repeating syllable patterns that constitute the speech stream. Here, we a...

💬🙇🏼‍♀️💬🙇🏼‍♀️💬🙇🏼‍♀️
The advantage of spaced studying is well documented for explicit learning, but is there such an advantage for incidental #StatisticalLearning of novel #Language?

Jasper de Waard from @jthee.bsky.social’s lab tested it! Find out what we found here : 🔗 doi.org/10.3758/s134...

Revisiting the electrophysiological correlates of valence and expectancy in reward processing – A Multi-lab replication Two event-related brain potential (ERP) components, the frontocentral feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the posterior P300, are key in feedback pr…

Is it valence, or is it expectancy?

Within the #EEGManyLabs project, across 13 labs we aimed to replicate Hajcak et al. (2005) findings on FRN & P300 modulation during feedback processing. Check the outcomes of this replication just published in Cortex!!

<em>Psychophysiology</em> | SPR Journal | Wiley Online Library We found pupils dilate in the final moments before a target in a Stroop task. The rate of dilation was more rapid for trials where the participant anticipated a large reward which was performance-con...

New year new paper! Now out in Psychophysiology: Reward and Efficacy Modulate the Rate of Anticipatory Pupil Dilation onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We are organizing a meeting on Relational Reasoning on April 11 and 12 in Ghent. All info, submissions and registration here: event.ugent.be/registration....

Intact Neural Responding to Hearing One’s Own Name in Children with Autism - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Diminished responding to one’s own name is one of the strongest and earliest predictors of autism. However, research on the neural correlates of this response in autism is scarce. Here we investigate ...

New paper out! The title says what we found 🙃: "Intact Neural Responding to Hearing One’s Own Name in Children with Autism" (ages 7-13, ERP analysis).
Read it here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

(by Rachida El Kaddouri, myself, Roeljan Wiersema and Marcel Brass)

Volition as a modulator of the intergroup empathy bias Neural reactions to others’ pain are usually lower when the individual is of a different ethnicity than when they are of the same ethnicity. This suggests that empathy is not only an automatic phen...

Empathy can be a motivated phenomenon. But can (will?) people increase or decrease their neural empathic responses when witnessing members of an "outgroup" as well?
With @guillaumepech.bsky.social, Eva Nicolay and Félix Banderembaho. 🧪

New paper out! --> www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Thanks 🙏!

This starter pack is still developing, so if you, or someone you know, looks after the social media in your school or dept of psychology, give them an early Xmas present of the opportunity of being added to a starter pack.

Please share.

go.bsky.app/FmgYgVj