Berlin School of Mind and Brain: Alumni

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmidt
Prof. Dr. Hans-Ludwig Kröber

Moral responsibility and normative capacities

Research Project	Moral responsibility and normative capacities My research project addresses questions concerning the conditions of moral responsibility in an interdisciplinary framework. Philosophical accounts typically spell out these conditions in terms of normative capacities, i.e. capacities such as “being able to grasp moral reasons” and “being able to control one’s behaviour in accord with moral reasons”. My work circles mainly around the two following questions: First, in how far is it possible to come up with empirical criteria for the presence or absence of these capacities? Second, in how far is it possible, in general, to spell out these capacities in empirical terms, i.e., in terms of psychology or neuroscience?
Funding	Mind and Brain scholarship
Supervisors	Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmidt Prof. Dr. Hans-Ludwig Kröber
M&B Topics	Topic 5: Brain disorders and mental dysfunction
Degrees	M.A. (Magister Artium) in Philosophy (Universität Göttingen), doctorate (Dr. phil.) completed in July 2010
Institute	Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Philosophy
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E-mail	malte.engel-please remove this text-@web.de
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Prof. Dr. Klaus Obermayer
Prof. Dr. John-Dylan Haynes

Processing of expected values in human visual cortex

Research Project	Processing of expected values in human visual cortex Visual processing might not be merely a bottom-up process of transmission of afferent information, but rather it appears to be strongly modified by internal states such as attention, expectation, or past history of the stimulus. This thesis investigates the modulation of attention with the expected value of the stimulus.
Funding	Mind and Brain scholarship
Supervisors	Prof. Dr. Klaus Obermayer Prof. Dr. John-Dylan Haynes
M&B Topics	Topic 2: Decision-making
Degrees	Dipl.-Ing, Dipl.-Psych. (Technische Universität Berlin); doctorate (Dr.-ing.) completed in Spring 2009
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Prof. Dr. Arno Villringer
Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer

The role of spontaneous intrinsic neural activity in the variability of perception and behavior

Research Project	The role of spontaneous intrinsic neural activity in the variability of perception and behavior Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to explore the organizational properties of correlated spontaneous fluctuations during the resting-state. I intend to look at how baseline fluctuations account for variability in measures of perception and behavior by exploring such phenomena as self-initiated movement and conscious perception of sensory stimuli.
Funding	Mind and Brain scholarship; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Supervisors	Prof. Dr. Arno Villringer Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer
M&B Topics	Topic 1: Conscious and unconscious perception Topic 4: Brain plasticity and lifespan ontogeny Topic 5: Brain disorders and mental dysfunction
Degrees	B.A. in Philosophy (New York University); doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) completed in October 2009
Institute	Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Phone	+49 176 96504440
E-mail	daniel.margulies-please remove this text-@gmail.com
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Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer
Prof. Dr. Isabell Wartenburger

Thinking hands: how co-speech gestures reflect cognitive processes

Research Project	Thinking hands: how co-speech gestures reflect cognitive processes I am interested in the relationship between gestures that are produced while speaking and thinking. In my empirical work I ask several questions: (1) how task demand affects gesture production, (2) vice versa: how gesture production affects the performance in a task, and (3) what the relationship is between cognitive skills, brain structure, and gesture production (individual differences).
Funding	Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes; Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Supervisors	Prof. Dr. Elke van der Meer Prof. Dr. Isabell Wartenburger
M&B Topics	Topic 3: Language
Degrees	B.Sc. in Psychology and Criminology (University of Lincoln), M.Sc. in Psycholinguistics (University of Edinburgh), doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) completed in December 2009
Institute	Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Psychology
Phone	+49 30 20939397
E-mail	u.sassenberg-please remove this text-@hu-berlin.de
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