Perception and decision-making are not automatic processes, but strongly shaped by internal brain states, which incorporate our goals, attention, expectations, and knowledge about the world.
The mechanisms by which these “top-down factors” affect perception, cognition, and behavior are still largely unknown. Where do the neuronal top-down signals come from? How do they change communication between sensory and decision-related brain regions? And how do these factors affect our perception and decision-making? These questions are the focus of investigation of our group. We use a combination of behavioural and neuroimaging methods (MEG, fMRI, TMS) in healthy volunteers to examine how percepts and decisions are shaped by what we expect (prediction) and deem relevant (attention).
