Latest News | Blank Lab – Predictive Cognition

Predictive Processing Network Symposium, Bochum, 6-8 October

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are delighted to confirm that our Predictive Processing Network Symposium will take place in Bochum from the 6th to the 8th of October. This event is funded by a DFG network grant: Research network for the Interdisciplinary Study of Predictive Processing in Memory and Perception (PPiMP) – jointly with Andrea Greve from Cambridge – We are looking forward to great talks and stimulating discussions! https://predcommlab.github.io/symposium-2026/

Conference Summer

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Carina will be at the CCN in NYC this August: Come and find her to discuss “The Role of Prior Precision and Prior Probability in Voice Perception” Poster Session B, Tue Aug 4, 2:00-3:45 pm
Carina will also give a talk at the Voice ID
Henrik will give a talk on “Adaptive Information Sampling Under Uncertainty: A Multi-Level Investigation of Predictive Gaze Control” at the European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM 2026)
Helen was at the PUG in Heidelberg

Fabian's paper published in PLOS Biology

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How do priors influence speech processing? Do they enhance expected signals or highlight the unexpected (prediction errors)? Fabian’s computational EEG study shows: It depends…! Many congratulations to Fabian on his new paper Sensory sharpening and semantic prediction errors unify competing models of predictive processing in human speech comprehension in PLOS Biology!

Welcome Dr. Hanna Ringer and Henrik Eichhorn

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A very warm welcome to Dr. Hanna Ringer and Henrik Eichhorn to join the team at the RUB!

New lab at the RUB in Bochum

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We started our new lab at the RUB in Bochum. Would you be interested in working here? The core infrastructure of THINK (for human research) consists of a 3T human MRI, a High-Performance Computing Cluster, multiple laboratories, amongst others for electrophysiological and behavioral studies, EEG, and virtual reality. All current positions are filled, but if you’re interested in a Postdoc or PhD on how expectations and context shape perception, and are considering applying for your own funding, I’d be very happy to hear from you!

Fabian presented his work at CCN Amsterdam

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fabian presented his work at the CCN in Amsterdam – you can have a look at his latest EEG work in this preprint.

Congratulations Dr. Garlichs!

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to Dr. Garlichs on your PhD!! Not only our group, but the whole institute will miss you! We wish you all the best for your future endeavours!

Annika's eye tracking paper accepted in iScience

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to Annika on the acceptance of her exciting eye tracking paper: Expectations Guide Predictive Eye Movements and Information Sampling During Face Recognition in iScience. Both predictive and active sampling were influenced by priors! Plus, we found a link between eye movements and perceptual choices!

Carina presented her work at the VoiceID conference

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Carina presented her work at the VoiceID conference.

Now Professor of Predictive Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I am now a Professor of Predictive Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum. My deepest gratitude goes to my team, colleagues, friends, and family for their support along this journey.

TRR 289 Treatment Expectation extended

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to be part of the newly extended TRR 289 Treatment Expectation in a joint project with Katja Wiech! Welcome to Philipp Schumann and Mai-Carmen Requena-Komuro to join us on this exciting project! We will investigate how communication priors shape speech and pain perception in a clinical context.

Carina's new paper in iScience

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to Carina on her new paper Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability that was just published in iScience!

Annika's first paper in Nature Communications

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to Annika on her first paper Prediction Error Processing and Sharpening of Expected Information Across the Face-Processing Hierarchy in Nature Communications.

Janika's second paper in Scientific Reports

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Janika did it again: Congratulations to paper #2! Pupil diameter as an indicator of sound pair familiarity after statistically structured auditory sequence in Scientific Reports.

Janika's first first-author paper in European Journal of Neuroscience

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Many congratulations to Janika on her first first-author paper! The pupil dilation response as an indicator of visual cue uncertainty and auditory outcome surprise in the European Journal of Neuroscience.

Organizing PUG 2024 in Hamburg

Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We are organizing the Annual Conference “Psychology and Brain” at the University of Hamburg from May 29 to June 01 – PUG 2024 – Come and join us!

Talk at LingCologne2023

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Looking forward to giving a talk at LingCologne2023: Prediction in Language, University of Cologne, Germany, 16-17 June 2023.

Annika presenting at PUG 2023 in Tübingen

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Annika will present her work “I Knew I Would See You Here! Combining Computational Modelling with Multivariate fMRI to Investigate the Influence of Scene Context on Face Representations” at the PUG 2023 in Tübingen.

Carina's first first-author paper

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Congratulations! Carina published her first first-author paper: Multivariate analysis of brain activity patterns as a tool to understand predictive processes in speech perception in Language, Cognition and Neuroscience.