On Monday, February 16th, 2026, Dr. Hans Kirschner (University of Magdeburg) will be a guest in our CRC Lecture Series.
When: Monday, February 16th, 2026 / 2:30 pm
Where: DZNE, room 121
Title: Computations and Mechanisms of Decision Making and Cognitive Control
Abstract: Successful goal-directed behavior requires organisms to continuously update their beliefs and adjust their actions in response to changing environmental demands. This capacity for flexible adaptation—classically referred to as cognitive control—operates across multiple timescales: from rapid, trial-by-trial adjustments following errors or surprising outcomes to longer-term strategic decision making. A central computational challenge underlying cognitive control is determining how strongly new information should update existing beliefs and how decision policies should be regulated over time.
Optimal decision-making depends on dynamically adjusting learning rates as a function of environmental volatility and noise, while simultaneously calibrating response caution to balance speed and accuracy. Although these processes are well characterized computationally, their neural implementation and modulation remain incompletely understood.
In this talk, I will report on a series of complementary studies that examine adaptive control across computational, neural, pharmacological, and clinical levels of analysis. Together, these studies show that learning-rate dynamics are shaped not only by environmental demands but also by task-irrelevant influences, neuromodulatory mechanisms, and psychopathology, and that adaptive behavior further depends on dynamic regulation of decision thresholds over time. By combining computational modeling with single-trial EEG, pharmacological manipulation, and transdiagnostic approaches, this work provides converging evidence for multi-timescale mechanisms that jointly govern belief updating and decision policy regulation.
Guests are very welcome.