Predictive Cognition
Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr
Faculty of Psychology
Ruhr University Bochum
Universitätsstr. 150
44801 Bochum
Room:
IB 6/109
Phone:
+49 (0)234 32-21453.
Email:
helen.blank@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Our research focuses on identifying the neural mechanisms that integrate sensory signals and prior expectations in cognition. We aim to understand how humans adapt to changing contexts, learn from experiences, and generalize prior knowledge to new sensory inputs under uncertainty.
To explore these questions, we combine computational modeling based on deep neural nets and large language models with behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, including eye tracking, pupillometry, EEG, and structural and functional MRI (s/fMRI). Predictive processing, particularly predictive coding, offers a potential framework for understanding adaptive behavior. By testing these theories against alternative models in areas like learning, perception, and memory, my research seeks to uncover the neuro-computational mechanisms underlying human cognition, specifically in speech and face perception.
Additionally, our work explores individual differences in the weighting of prior expectations versus new sensory information, with the goal of applying our findings to clinical populations.
Overall, our research supports the notion that the brain actively learns and applies prior knowledge from experience and context to facilitate successful perception under uncertainty in social interactions.
Becker, J., Viertler, M., Korn, C. W., & Blank, H. (2024). The pupil dilation response as an indicator of visual cue uncertainty and auditory outcome surprise. The European Journal of Neuroscience, 59(10), 2686–2701. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16306
Garlichs, A., & Blank, H. (2024). Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy. Nature Communications, 15(1), 3407. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47749-9
Ufer, C., & Blank, H. (2024). Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability. IScience, 27(9), 110611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110611
Blank, H., Alink, A., & Büchel, C. (2023). Multivariate functional neuroimaging analyses reveal that strength-dependent face expectations are represented in higher-level face-identity areas. Communications Biology, 6(1), 135. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04508-8
Ufer, C., & Blank, H. (2023). Multivariate analysis of brain activity patterns as a tool to understand predictive processes in speech perception. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2023.2166679
Blank, H., & Bayer, J. (2022). Functional imaging analyses reveal prototype and exemplar representations in a perceptual single-category task. Communications Biology, 5(1), 896. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03858-z
Krumbiegel, J., Ufer, C., & Blank, H. (2022). Influence of voice properties on vowel perception depends on speaker context. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 152(2), 820. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0013363
Alink, A., & Blank, H. (2021). Can expectation suppression be explained by reduced attention to predictable stimuli? NeuroImage, 231, 117824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117824
Blank, H., Spangenberg, M., & Davis, M. H. (2018). Neural Prediction Errors Distinguish Perception and Misperception of Speech. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 38(27), 6076–6089. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3258-17.2018
Blank, H., & Davis, M. H. (2016). Prediction Errors but Not Sharpened Signals Simulate Multivoxel fMRI Patterns during Speech Perception. PLoS Biology, 14(11), e1002577. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002577
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Last update: Sep 04, 2024
