Marco K Wittmann
@mkwittmann.bsky.social
Associate Professor @ UCL. Experimental Psychologist. Interested in neural computations underlying social cognition.
https://www.wittmann-lab.com
https://www.wittmann-lab.com
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
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 Marco K Wittmann
Very proud to be part of this team! 🤓Our new preprint is out, where we examine how social basis functions develop during adolescence. 🥳🥳
🥳!!NEW PREPRINT!!🥳
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
November 27, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Very proud to be part of this team! 🤓Our new preprint is out, where we examine how social basis functions develop during adolescence. 🥳🥳
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
This study shows that human pairs adopt stable cooperative, competitive, or mixed strategies. A computational model predicts dyadic choices and links these strategies to interaction dynamics, payoffs, and cost of cooperation.
@violapriesemann.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
@violapriesemann.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Continuous dynamics of cooperation and competition in social decision-making - Communications Psychology
Using a continuous social foraging game, this study shows that human pairs adopt stable cooperative, competitive, or mixed strategies. A computational model predicts dyadic choices and links these str...
www.nature.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:48 AM
This study shows that human pairs adopt stable cooperative, competitive, or mixed strategies. A computational model predicts dyadic choices and links these strategies to interaction dynamics, payoffs, and cost of cooperation.
@violapriesemann.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
@violapriesemann.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Did cooperation evolve because of conflict? Or is conflict an (avoidable) ‘by-product’ of evolved capacities to cooperate. I think the latter—>
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Did cooperation evolve because of conflict? Or is conflict an (avoidable) ‘by-product’ of evolved capacities to cooperate. I think the latter—>
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Check out this preprint by @simyciri.bsky.social on the role of basis functions in social decision-making across development 🚀!
🥳!!NEW PREPRINT!!🥳
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
November 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Check out this preprint by @simyciri.bsky.social on the role of basis functions in social decision-making across development 🚀!
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
** Recruiting a postdoc ** We are looking for a postdoc to work on emotion, mental health, and interoception, based in London at @ucl.ac.uk in my lab (Clinical and Affective Neuroscience). Part of a large Wellcome Grant (co-led with the brilliant @camillanord.bsky.social)
November 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
** Recruiting a postdoc ** We are looking for a postdoc to work on emotion, mental health, and interoception, based in London at @ucl.ac.uk in my lab (Clinical and Affective Neuroscience). Part of a large Wellcome Grant (co-led with the brilliant @camillanord.bsky.social)
New work with @simyciri.bsky.social. Adults make more accurate decisions than adolescents—yet show more intrusion from irrelevant players. We explain this paradox via efficient information compression: adults rely on combinatorial social basis functions that use group structure as a mental scaffold.
🥳!!NEW PREPRINT!!🥳
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
We show that the tendency to compress complex social information into priors about social structures becomes more pronounced during adolescence.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
I am soooooo excited to share this work, together with @mkwittmann.bsky.social and @yongling.bsky.social.
November 21, 2025 at 4:57 PM
New work with @simyciri.bsky.social. Adults make more accurate decisions than adolescents—yet show more intrusion from irrelevant players. We explain this paradox via efficient information compression: adults rely on combinatorial social basis functions that use group structure as a mental scaffold.
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Come work with us!
There are 3 Oxford-based post doc positions for this Wellcome Trust project that will be advertised soon!
If you have experinece in neurostimulation (tms/tus) and/or modelling of cogneuro data in humans do contact one of us (me, @mkflugge.bsky.social @lilweb.bsky.social, Jacinta OShea) to discuss!
If you have experinece in neurostimulation (tms/tus) and/or modelling of cogneuro data in humans do contact one of us (me, @mkflugge.bsky.social @lilweb.bsky.social, Jacinta OShea) to discuss!
Repetitive negative thoughts will be investigated using a range of cutting-edge brain science techniques as part of a new study led by the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and funded by Wellcome @wellcometrust.bsky.social 👇
tinyurl.com/364es88k
tinyurl.com/364es88k
November 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Come work with us!
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
I'm recruiting PhD students for my lab at Northwestern! I'm reviewing applications for the Department of Psychology for the Cognitive Affective Neuroscience and Clinical areas, due 12/1. 🧠
Come join the CATS Lab: nucatslab.com
Learn about our latest research: iamh.northwestern.edu/research/res...
Come join the CATS Lab: nucatslab.com
Learn about our latest research: iamh.northwestern.edu/research/res...
CATS Lab
Child & Adolescent Translational Science Lab at Northwestern University
nucatslab.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:39 PM
I'm recruiting PhD students for my lab at Northwestern! I'm reviewing applications for the Department of Psychology for the Cognitive Affective Neuroscience and Clinical areas, due 12/1. 🧠
Come join the CATS Lab: nucatslab.com
Learn about our latest research: iamh.northwestern.edu/research/res...
Come join the CATS Lab: nucatslab.com
Learn about our latest research: iamh.northwestern.edu/research/res...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
1/ Excited to share that our symposium review covering cognitive mapping in the PFC just came out in the Journal of Neuroscience: www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Cognitive Maps in the Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for our ability to rapidly and flexibly adapt our behavior in new environments based on our previous experience. Despite its importance, the neural substrates a...
www.jneurosci.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
1/ Excited to share that our symposium review covering cognitive mapping in the PFC just came out in the Journal of Neuroscience: www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Super pleased with this one, led by the amazing PhD student and foraging expert @emmavscholey.bsky.social!
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Super pleased with this one, led by the amazing PhD student and foraging expert @emmavscholey.bsky.social!
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
In our new paper (open access in PSPB), we asked where children’s greater moral concern for animals stems from. We find that children place less moral weight on species membership alone (i.e. are less speciesist) than adults. #socialpsyc #devpsy #philsky journals.sagepub.com/eprint/ZMRUM...
November 11, 2025 at 1:09 PM
In our new paper (open access in PSPB), we asked where children’s greater moral concern for animals stems from. We find that children place less moral weight on species membership alone (i.e. are less speciesist) than adults. #socialpsyc #devpsy #philsky journals.sagepub.com/eprint/ZMRUM...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
📢 PhD opportunity 📢
Looking for a PhD in neuroeconomics, social, or decision neuroscience? I'm looking to support an application for the MIBTP ESRC program starting Fall 2026. Details below, but please get in touch with me before applying!
Pls share!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Looking for a PhD in neuroeconomics, social, or decision neuroscience? I'm looking to support an application for the MIBTP ESRC program starting Fall 2026. Details below, but please get in touch with me before applying!
Pls share!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Cooperative Behaviour at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Cooperative Behaviour at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM
📢 PhD opportunity 📢
Looking for a PhD in neuroeconomics, social, or decision neuroscience? I'm looking to support an application for the MIBTP ESRC program starting Fall 2026. Details below, but please get in touch with me before applying!
Pls share!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Looking for a PhD in neuroeconomics, social, or decision neuroscience? I'm looking to support an application for the MIBTP ESRC program starting Fall 2026. Details below, but please get in touch with me before applying!
Pls share!
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
🚀 We're hiring !
🕵️ Seeking a postdoc to study the development & individual-level organization of brain circuits supporting (in)flexible behavior in psychiatric populations.
🧠 Precision functional mapping, fMRI, normative modelling
Details 👉 tinyurl.com/3h8tcv2e
🗓️ Apply by Dec 10! Please RT 🙌
🕵️ Seeking a postdoc to study the development & individual-level organization of brain circuits supporting (in)flexible behavior in psychiatric populations.
🧠 Precision functional mapping, fMRI, normative modelling
Details 👉 tinyurl.com/3h8tcv2e
🗓️ Apply by Dec 10! Please RT 🙌
Postdoctoral Researcher (2288) - Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck
cis7.bbk.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:56 AM
🚀 We're hiring !
🕵️ Seeking a postdoc to study the development & individual-level organization of brain circuits supporting (in)flexible behavior in psychiatric populations.
🧠 Precision functional mapping, fMRI, normative modelling
Details 👉 tinyurl.com/3h8tcv2e
🗓️ Apply by Dec 10! Please RT 🙌
🕵️ Seeking a postdoc to study the development & individual-level organization of brain circuits supporting (in)flexible behavior in psychiatric populations.
🧠 Precision functional mapping, fMRI, normative modelling
Details 👉 tinyurl.com/3h8tcv2e
🗓️ Apply by Dec 10! Please RT 🙌
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Do you like RSA analysis, M/EEG and Bayes? Then you'll love Variational RSA for M/EEG, by recently completed PhD student @alexlepauvre.bsky.social from Lucia Melloni's group. It's a method and SPM toolbox for multivariate analysis of M/EEG data. arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01784 . 🧵 [1/4]
November 6, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Do you like RSA analysis, M/EEG and Bayes? Then you'll love Variational RSA for M/EEG, by recently completed PhD student @alexlepauvre.bsky.social from Lucia Melloni's group. It's a method and SPM toolbox for multivariate analysis of M/EEG data. arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01784 . 🧵 [1/4]
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Please repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026.
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
November 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Please repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026.
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
(1/3) Focused ultrasound stimulation is a versatile neuroscience tool. Depending on parameter settings it can safely and reversibly alter brain function, or it can lead to lasting tissue damage. That’s why we have safety guidelines (see ITRUSST: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... ).
November 4, 2025 at 2:17 PM
(1/3) Focused ultrasound stimulation is a versatile neuroscience tool. Depending on parameter settings it can safely and reversibly alter brain function, or it can lead to lasting tissue damage. That’s why we have safety guidelines (see ITRUSST: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... ).
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
New preprint by
@annalinavmayer.bsky.social and team members together with @tobikube.bsky.social
💫
„Self-esteem modulates beneficial causal attributions in the formation of novel self-beliefs“
#affectedbeliefs #sociallearning #beliefformation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@annalinavmayer.bsky.social and team members together with @tobikube.bsky.social
💫
„Self-esteem modulates beneficial causal attributions in the formation of novel self-beliefs“
#affectedbeliefs #sociallearning #beliefformation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Self-esteem modulates beneficial causal attributions in the formation of novel self-beliefs
Healthy individuals typically attribute successes to internal causes, such as their abilities, and failures to external factors, like bad luck. In contrast, individuals with depression and low self-es...
www.biorxiv.org
October 28, 2025 at 2:04 PM
New preprint by
@annalinavmayer.bsky.social and team members together with @tobikube.bsky.social
💫
„Self-esteem modulates beneficial causal attributions in the formation of novel self-beliefs“
#affectedbeliefs #sociallearning #beliefformation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@annalinavmayer.bsky.social and team members together with @tobikube.bsky.social
💫
„Self-esteem modulates beneficial causal attributions in the formation of novel self-beliefs“
#affectedbeliefs #sociallearning #beliefformation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Check out this chapter on recent methods in measuring brain plasticity - by the amazing @luiantaverra.bsky.social et al ✨🧠!
📘🧠💥@fabianrenz.bsky.social , @nicoschuck.bsky.social & I thought about methods to measure brain plasticity and wrote an overview of exciting new methods and developments!
Read our chapter, out now in The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
Read our chapter, out now in The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
Validate User
academic.oup.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Check out this chapter on recent methods in measuring brain plasticity - by the amazing @luiantaverra.bsky.social et al ✨🧠!
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
🚀 We’re hiring - Join our lab 🚀
🔍 Hiring: PhD (75% TV-L) & Postdoc (100% TV-L)
🧠 fMRI, VR, EEG, modelling
We combine a range of cognitive neuroscience methods to study flexible behaviour.
📅 Start: Feb 2026 or later | ⏳ Apply by Nov 3!
More details:
tinyurl.com/ms3a9ajt
#CognitiveNeuroscience
🔍 Hiring: PhD (75% TV-L) & Postdoc (100% TV-L)
🧠 fMRI, VR, EEG, modelling
We combine a range of cognitive neuroscience methods to study flexible behaviour.
📅 Start: Feb 2026 or later | ⏳ Apply by Nov 3!
More details:
tinyurl.com/ms3a9ajt
#CognitiveNeuroscience
October 27, 2025 at 11:57 AM
🚀 We’re hiring - Join our lab 🚀
🔍 Hiring: PhD (75% TV-L) & Postdoc (100% TV-L)
🧠 fMRI, VR, EEG, modelling
We combine a range of cognitive neuroscience methods to study flexible behaviour.
📅 Start: Feb 2026 or later | ⏳ Apply by Nov 3!
More details:
tinyurl.com/ms3a9ajt
#CognitiveNeuroscience
🔍 Hiring: PhD (75% TV-L) & Postdoc (100% TV-L)
🧠 fMRI, VR, EEG, modelling
We combine a range of cognitive neuroscience methods to study flexible behaviour.
📅 Start: Feb 2026 or later | ⏳ Apply by Nov 3!
More details:
tinyurl.com/ms3a9ajt
#CognitiveNeuroscience
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Looking for a PhD? Interested in cognitive computational neuroscience, motivation and decision-making? See our project listed in the BBSRC MIBTP competition for funding for a 4-year PhD in the @msnlab.bsky.social in the @thechbh.bsky.social. Deadline 27/11. More info: tinyurl.com/5d5vz8m7
The computational and neural dynamics of human motivation and cognitive control at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - The computational and neural dynamics of human motivation and cognitive control at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Looking for a PhD? Interested in cognitive computational neuroscience, motivation and decision-making? See our project listed in the BBSRC MIBTP competition for funding for a 4-year PhD in the @msnlab.bsky.social in the @thechbh.bsky.social. Deadline 27/11. More info: tinyurl.com/5d5vz8m7
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
** We have up to TWO funded PhD positions available in our lab!! Apply below to find new ways to enhance memory👇 Pls retweet **
Deadline: 2nd December
1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6
2. TUS and TMR in humans:
tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj
Happy to chat to interested applicants.
Deadline: 2nd December
1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6
2. TUS and TMR in humans:
tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj
Happy to chat to interested applicants.
Enhancing memory using cross-species closed-loop Targeted Memory Reactivation | mrcbndu
tinyurl.com
October 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
** We have up to TWO funded PhD positions available in our lab!! Apply below to find new ways to enhance memory👇 Pls retweet **
Deadline: 2nd December
1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6
2. TUS and TMR in humans:
tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj
Happy to chat to interested applicants.
Deadline: 2nd December
1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6
2. TUS and TMR in humans:
tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj
Happy to chat to interested applicants.
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
job alert 🚨 come join us in beautiful Würzburg 🏰🌳🍷🫧this 3yrs Postdoc position is for German speakers interested in child&adolescent clinical psych. Although initially limited to 3 years, this position offers a possibility of tenure! happy to answer any question in advance-shoot me an📨&pls share🙃
October 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM
job alert 🚨 come join us in beautiful Würzburg 🏰🌳🍷🫧this 3yrs Postdoc position is for German speakers interested in child&adolescent clinical psych. Although initially limited to 3 years, this position offers a possibility of tenure! happy to answer any question in advance-shoot me an📨&pls share🙃
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
New #job alert! Clinical research fellow / postdoc in #computationalpsychiatry at the @mpc-comppsych.bsky.social / @uclqsion.bsky.social and UCL psychiatry. We will aim to understand the computations engaged by serotonin in the treatment of depression. Please re-sky. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
October 1, 2025 at 3:58 PM
New #job alert! Clinical research fellow / postdoc in #computationalpsychiatry at the @mpc-comppsych.bsky.social / @uclqsion.bsky.social and UCL psychiatry. We will aim to understand the computations engaged by serotonin in the treatment of depression. Please re-sky. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Marco K Wittmann
Hello everyone! Along with our first post here on Bluesky, we look forward to the new academic year, hosting our first #LJDM2025 session next week with Dr Simon Ciranka @simyciri.bsky.social. For more info and to keep updated, check our website!
October 2, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Hello everyone! Along with our first post here on Bluesky, we look forward to the new academic year, hosting our first #LJDM2025 session next week with Dr Simon Ciranka @simyciri.bsky.social. For more info and to keep updated, check our website!