Johannes Algermissen
@johalgermissen.bsky.social
Postdoc UniOxford with MKFlugge, past PhD
DondersInst, into decision-making, learning, ultrasound stimulation, improving psychology & neuroscience. he/him
DondersInst, into decision-making, learning, ultrasound stimulation, improving psychology & neuroscience. he/him
Pinned
I'm very happy to announce that I'll move to the Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE) @econ.uzh.ch to work with @ccruff.bsky.social and many others in September, funded by personal postdoc grant by the @snsf.ch (Swiss version of Marie-Curie) and the UZH Research Priority Program URPP Adabd!
🎉⛰️🧀🍫🎉
🎉⛰️🧀🍫🎉
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Out now in Translational Psychiatry! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 28, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Out now in Translational Psychiatry! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
New study out today in Nature Comms: www.nature.com/articles/s41..., in which we set out to test whether ultrasound could influence the reward-related learning computations of the nucleus accumbens, building on decades of work on dopaminergic prediction error and reinforcement learning. And it did.
Non-invasive ultrasonic neuromodulation of the human nucleus accumbens impacts reward sensitivity - Nature Communications
This study shows that non-invasive ultrasound to the human nucleus accumbens can modulate deep brain activity and enhance reward-guided learning, offering a potential alternative to invasive neuromodu...
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:26 PM
New study out today in Nature Comms: www.nature.com/articles/s41..., in which we set out to test whether ultrasound could influence the reward-related learning computations of the nucleus accumbens, building on decades of work on dopaminergic prediction error and reinforcement learning. And it did.
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Synesthetes claim sensory experiences, such as seeing color when reading or hearing a (black) number.
But how genuine are these reports and sensations? We introduce a rather direct measure of synesthetic perception: Synesthetes’ pupils respond to evoked color as if it was real color #vision! 👁️🎨🧪
November 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Synesthetes claim sensory experiences, such as seeing color when reading or hearing a (black) number.
But how genuine are these reports and sensations? We introduce a rather direct measure of synesthetic perception: Synesthetes’ pupils respond to evoked color as if it was real color #vision! 👁️🎨🧪
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
🚨Friends, we’re happy to share that our book is available for pre-order! 🎉
We aimed to cover all the foundations of the topic in an accessible manner for a large audience.
It could help set up a bachelor-level curriculum on the topic.
Pre-orders are very key for the fate of books: shorturl.at/Dxbif
We aimed to cover all the foundations of the topic in an accessible manner for a large audience.
It could help set up a bachelor-level curriculum on the topic.
Pre-orders are very key for the fate of books: shorturl.at/Dxbif
November 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM
🚨Friends, we’re happy to share that our book is available for pre-order! 🎉
We aimed to cover all the foundations of the topic in an accessible manner for a large audience.
It could help set up a bachelor-level curriculum on the topic.
Pre-orders are very key for the fate of books: shorturl.at/Dxbif
We aimed to cover all the foundations of the topic in an accessible manner for a large audience.
It could help set up a bachelor-level curriculum on the topic.
Pre-orders are very key for the fate of books: shorturl.at/Dxbif
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Andy Conway and I are honored to serve as inaugural co-Editors of this new Psychonomics journal, focused on the rigorous study of individual differences in cognition. Please spread the word to potentially interested colleagues; we hope that you will send us your best relevant work!
PS is excited to announce the launch of "Individual Differences in Cognition” (IDIC), an open-access journal on research in cognitive psychology, science, and neuroscience. Co-Editors-in-Chief are Andrew R.A. Conway & Michael J. Kane. Manuscripts accepted this spring. More information coming soon!
November 24, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Andy Conway and I are honored to serve as inaugural co-Editors of this new Psychonomics journal, focused on the rigorous study of individual differences in cognition. Please spread the word to potentially interested colleagues; we hope that you will send us your best relevant work!
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
‼️Now published in @imagingneurosci.bsky.social‼️
(with @judithschepers.bsky.social & @benediktehinger.bsky.social)
Do you have RTs in your 🧠📈-data? Fixation durations?
How do event-durations affect your data? And how to deal with this?
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
🧵 ⤵ 1 / 7
🧪 #EEG #fMRI #neuroimage
(with @judithschepers.bsky.social & @benediktehinger.bsky.social)
Do you have RTs in your 🧠📈-data? Fixation durations?
How do event-durations affect your data? And how to deal with this?
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
🧵 ⤵ 1 / 7
🧪 #EEG #fMRI #neuroimage
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 AM
‼️Now published in @imagingneurosci.bsky.social‼️
(with @judithschepers.bsky.social & @benediktehinger.bsky.social)
Do you have RTs in your 🧠📈-data? Fixation durations?
How do event-durations affect your data? And how to deal with this?
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
🧵 ⤵ 1 / 7
🧪 #EEG #fMRI #neuroimage
(with @judithschepers.bsky.social & @benediktehinger.bsky.social)
Do you have RTs in your 🧠📈-data? Fixation durations?
How do event-durations affect your data? And how to deal with this?
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
🧵 ⤵ 1 / 7
🧪 #EEG #fMRI #neuroimage
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
So excited to see our latest paper out today in @natcomms.nature.com! Studies led by the amazing @margestelzner.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41.... VTA GABA neurons have a unique role in economic decision making - they integrate reward seeking motivation and the current cost of seeking
Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence - Nature Communications
The role of ventral tegmental area GABA neurons in behavior is unclear. Here, authors show that VTA GABA but not dopamine neurons integrate positive and negative valence to encode motivational conflic...
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:18 PM
So excited to see our latest paper out today in @natcomms.nature.com! Studies led by the amazing @margestelzner.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41.... VTA GABA neurons have a unique role in economic decision making - they integrate reward seeking motivation and the current cost of seeking
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Another nail in the coffin for PCA?
- doesn’t linearize, distorting similarity metrics
- is biased by temporal jitter across epochs
- may miss important dimensions for transient amplification
If you think there is a state space, use a state space model!
- doesn’t linearize, distorting similarity metrics
- is biased by temporal jitter across epochs
- may miss important dimensions for transient amplification
If you think there is a state space, use a state space model!
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification
Most behaviors involve neural dynamics in high-dimensional activity spaces. A common approach is to extract dimensions that capture task-related variability, such as those separating stimuli or choice...
www.biorxiv.org
November 23, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Another nail in the coffin for PCA?
- doesn’t linearize, distorting similarity metrics
- is biased by temporal jitter across epochs
- may miss important dimensions for transient amplification
If you think there is a state space, use a state space model!
- doesn’t linearize, distorting similarity metrics
- is biased by temporal jitter across epochs
- may miss important dimensions for transient amplification
If you think there is a state space, use a state space model!
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
New paper in @cognitionjournal.bsky.social, where we show how attention impacts political choices. With an eye-tracking study, we find that people's votes aren't set in stone - they take longer to vote on divisive issues and can be swayed by gaze manipulations. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:21 PM
New paper in @cognitionjournal.bsky.social, where we show how attention impacts political choices. With an eye-tracking study, we find that people's votes aren't set in stone - they take longer to vote on divisive issues and can be swayed by gaze manipulations. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute
Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
It's out out. Saying that your favourite signal is an oscillation is not enough, it would be good to quantify to what extent.
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Siqi Zhang, James J. Bonaiuto, et al:
Multi-scale parameterization of neural rhythmicity with lagged Hilbert autocoherence
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Multi-scale parameterization of neural rhythmicity with lagged Hilbert autocoherence
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 18, 2025 at 12:44 PM
It's out out. Saying that your favourite signal is an oscillation is not enough, it would be good to quantify to what extent.
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Horror stories of sexual harassment from Oxford University
'Prof Hewstone turned up unannounced & dropped his trousers ... touched women inappropriately ... made comments about relationships with students'
Oxford will do nothing, betcha
Brutal from Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
'Prof Hewstone turned up unannounced & dropped his trousers ... touched women inappropriately ... made comments about relationships with students'
Oxford will do nothing, betcha
Brutal from Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Oxford University Has Failed Women Over Harassment Concerns, Staff Say
The university has repeatedly been slow to act against male academics accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior, a Bloomberg investigation found.
www.bloomberg.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Horror stories of sexual harassment from Oxford University
'Prof Hewstone turned up unannounced & dropped his trousers ... touched women inappropriately ... made comments about relationships with students'
Oxford will do nothing, betcha
Brutal from Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
'Prof Hewstone turned up unannounced & dropped his trousers ... touched women inappropriately ... made comments about relationships with students'
Oxford will do nothing, betcha
Brutal from Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
🚨New publication!
I am extremely happy to share this new review article in elife on #Traveling_Waves!
@erc.europa.eu
@upcite.bsky.social
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
I am extremely happy to share this new review article in elife on #Traveling_Waves!
@erc.europa.eu
@upcite.bsky.social
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Traveling waves across scales: Different mechanisms but same canonical computation?
The review proposes a novel mechanistic distinction between first- and second-order traveling waves that subserves a same canonical computation by ordering neuronal processing to impose a computationa...
elifesciences.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
🚨New publication!
I am extremely happy to share this new review article in elife on #Traveling_Waves!
@erc.europa.eu
@upcite.bsky.social
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
I am extremely happy to share this new review article in elife on #Traveling_Waves!
@erc.europa.eu
@upcite.bsky.social
elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
New pontification piece with @awestbrook.bsky.social and Jean Daunizeau, just out in TICS:
Why is cognitive effort experienced as costly?
(or why does it hurt to think)
never written a review paper before in my life, that was a new and unusual experience
Why is cognitive effort experienced as costly?
(or why does it hurt to think)
never written a review paper before in my life, that was a new and unusual experience
Why is cognitive effort experienced as costly?
A widespread observation is that people avoid mentally effortful courses of action,
and much recent work examining cognitive effort has explained subjective effort evaluation
– and, consequently, pref...
www.cell.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:48 PM
New pontification piece with @awestbrook.bsky.social and Jean Daunizeau, just out in TICS:
Why is cognitive effort experienced as costly?
(or why does it hurt to think)
never written a review paper before in my life, that was a new and unusual experience
Why is cognitive effort experienced as costly?
(or why does it hurt to think)
never written a review paper before in my life, that was a new and unusual experience
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
📢 New preprint! 📢
Very excited to be a part of the project led by
@saurabhbedi.bsky.social on how the brain learns from multimodal inputs (e.g. audiovisual):
Separable neurocomputational mechanisms underlying multisensory learning
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Very excited to be a part of the project led by
@saurabhbedi.bsky.social on how the brain learns from multimodal inputs (e.g. audiovisual):
Separable neurocomputational mechanisms underlying multisensory learning
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 19, 2025 at 10:09 AM
📢 New preprint! 📢
Very excited to be a part of the project led by
@saurabhbedi.bsky.social on how the brain learns from multimodal inputs (e.g. audiovisual):
Separable neurocomputational mechanisms underlying multisensory learning
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Very excited to be a part of the project led by
@saurabhbedi.bsky.social on how the brain learns from multimodal inputs (e.g. audiovisual):
Separable neurocomputational mechanisms underlying multisensory learning
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
The default prior for the intercept in both {rstanarm} and {brms} are very wide.
Counterintuitively - being on the logit scale, this is actually translates to a **strong** prior that p(y=1) is near 1 or near 0.
Always check your priors!
#rstats
Counterintuitively - being on the logit scale, this is actually translates to a **strong** prior that p(y=1) is near 1 or near 0.
Always check your priors!
#rstats
November 18, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The default prior for the intercept in both {rstanarm} and {brms} are very wide.
Counterintuitively - being on the logit scale, this is actually translates to a **strong** prior that p(y=1) is near 1 or near 0.
Always check your priors!
#rstats
Counterintuitively - being on the logit scale, this is actually translates to a **strong** prior that p(y=1) is near 1 or near 0.
Always check your priors!
#rstats
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
An international collaboration fails to replicate one FUS (/TUS) protocol previously thought to change motor cortex excitability.
We're firmly in the phase of 'okay, so what *really* works?' with FUS. Great to see these kinds of efforts to find robust effects 👍
direct.mit.edu/imag/article...
We're firmly in the phase of 'okay, so what *really* works?' with FUS. Great to see these kinds of efforts to find robust effects 👍
direct.mit.edu/imag/article...
A Double-Blind Replication Attempt of Offline 5Hz-rTUS-Induced Corticospinal Excitability
Abstract. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is a promising new form of non-invasive neuromodulation. As a nascent technique, replication of its effects on brain function is important. Of parti...
direct.mit.edu
November 18, 2025 at 12:06 PM
An international collaboration fails to replicate one FUS (/TUS) protocol previously thought to change motor cortex excitability.
We're firmly in the phase of 'okay, so what *really* works?' with FUS. Great to see these kinds of efforts to find robust effects 👍
direct.mit.edu/imag/article...
We're firmly in the phase of 'okay, so what *really* works?' with FUS. Great to see these kinds of efforts to find robust effects 👍
direct.mit.edu/imag/article...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
My paper is out!
Computational modeling of error patterns during reward-based learning show evidence that habit learning (value free!) supplements working memory in 7 human data sets.
rdcu.be/eQjLN
Computational modeling of error patterns during reward-based learning show evidence that habit learning (value free!) supplements working memory in 7 human data sets.
rdcu.be/eQjLN
A habit and working memory model as an alternative account of human reward-based learning
Nature Human Behaviour - In this study, Collins proposes an alternative dual-process (working memory and habit) model of reinforcement learning in humans.
rdcu.be
November 17, 2025 at 5:18 PM
My paper is out!
Computational modeling of error patterns during reward-based learning show evidence that habit learning (value free!) supplements working memory in 7 human data sets.
rdcu.be/eQjLN
Computational modeling of error patterns during reward-based learning show evidence that habit learning (value free!) supplements working memory in 7 human data sets.
rdcu.be/eQjLN
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Happy to share my new paper published in @nathumbehav.nature.com: A critical look at statistical power in computational modeling studies, particularly those based on model selection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Happy to share my new paper published in @nathumbehav.nature.com: A critical look at statistical power in computational modeling studies, particularly those based on model selection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence
How do internal bodily rhythms influence #brain activity & motor function? @tahnee-engelen.bsky.social &co show that #cardiac, #respiratory & #gastric rhythms independently modulate motor excitability, revealing distinct #interoceptive profiles across individuals @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4nMtpLT
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Metacognition is a term with lots of meanings, especially in mental health. Together with Lena Jelinek and Steffen Moritz, @seowxft.bsky.social has taken on the mammoth task of bringing these different fields together in our latest paper.
Have a read how we think they can inform each other 👇🏼
Have a read how we think they can inform each other 👇🏼
Very pleased to share our new review in @natrevpsychol.nature.com on integrating cognitive neuroscience and clinical perspectives of metacognition in mental health! With @tobiasuhauser.bsky.social, Lena Jelinek, and Steffen Moritz. (1/3)
Web: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
PDF: rdcu.be/ePxUG
Web: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
PDF: rdcu.be/ePxUG
Integrating cognitive neuroscience and clinical perspectives on metacognitive mechanisms in psychopathology - Nature Reviews Psychology
Cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology have made substantial advances in knowledge about metacognitive processes, but these fields have progressed in parallel. In this Review, Seow et al. inte...
eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Metacognition is a term with lots of meanings, especially in mental health. Together with Lena Jelinek and Steffen Moritz, @seowxft.bsky.social has taken on the mammoth task of bringing these different fields together in our latest paper.
Have a read how we think they can inform each other 👇🏼
Have a read how we think they can inform each other 👇🏼
Reposted by Johannes Algermissen
Reminder: the deadline to apply for 🎆funded 🎆PhD positions in the Marlene Porsche Graduate School of Neuroeconomics at the University of Zurich is coming up on 1 December 2025. www.econ.uzh.ch/en/study/phd...
@econ.uzh.ch @socforneuroecon.bsky.social
@econ.uzh.ch @socforneuroecon.bsky.social
Marlene Porsche Graduate School of Neuroeconomics
www.econ.uzh.ch
November 12, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reminder: the deadline to apply for 🎆funded 🎆PhD positions in the Marlene Porsche Graduate School of Neuroeconomics at the University of Zurich is coming up on 1 December 2025. www.econ.uzh.ch/en/study/phd...
@econ.uzh.ch @socforneuroecon.bsky.social
@econ.uzh.ch @socforneuroecon.bsky.social