Benjamin Y. Hayden

A population code for semantics in human hippocampus

The paper investigates how semantic information is encoded in human hippocampal activity during speech processing, finding that distributed neural patterns capture semantic relationships similar to language models.

Electrophysiological dissociation of human posterior cingulate cortex contributions to value- and memory-based decision-making

This study identifies a functional dissociation in human posterior cingulate cortex, showing dorsal PCC integrates value and memory-based decisions while ventral PCC does not.

Electrophysiological features of signals recorded from white matter

The paper analyzes electrophysiological signals from white matter and finds they have distinct spectral features and higher complexity compared to gray matter.

Estimation of neuronal tuning for word meaning from passively recorded naturalistic speech

The paper develops a pipeline to estimate neuronal tuning for word meaning from naturalistic speech and validates it using patient data and ground-truth controls.

A number simplex in the human medial temporal lobe

The paper identifies simplex-shaped neural manifolds for number representation in the human medial temporal lobe and finds similarities with large language models.

Shared neural geometries for bilingual semantic representations in human hippocampal neurons

The paper investigates how bilinguals represent semantic concepts in two languages, finding shared neural geometries that support translation despite language-specific neuron responses.

The Computational and Neural Basis of Zero-Shot Control in Dynamic Pursuit

The paper proposes a computational framework for zero-shot control in dynamic pursuit tasks and demonstrates its implementation in a graph convolutional network, showing transferability and change-of-mind behavior, supported by neural recordings.

Neural signatures of impaired semantic contextualization in Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study uses large language models to analyze neural responses in autistic individuals, finding reduced contextualization signatures compared to controls.

Polysemanticity in human hippocampal neurons

This study shows that human hippocampal neurons use polysemantic coding, where neurons represent multiple unrelated semantic features through high-dimensional superposition, enabling efficient contextualization of meaning.

Distinct tasks engage a shared neural subspace in human hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex

The paper investigates how neural circuits in the human hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex support multiple tasks, finding shared neural subspaces across distinct behaviors.

A geometric foundation for word meaning in the brain

The paper shows that semantic features in word meaning are encoded in the brain through geometric structures similar to those in language models.

Accumulation of virtual tokens towards a jackpot reward enhances performance and value encoding in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex

This study shows that accumulating tokens toward a jackpot reward improves decision-making accuracy and speed in macaques, with neural activity in dACC reflecting reference-dependent value encoding.

A semantotopic map in human hippocampus

The paper maps semantic organization in the human hippocampus, finding semantotopic patterns and multiscale semantic similarity along the mediolateral axis.

The neural basis of emotional generalization in empathy

This study investigates how the brain generalizes emotions across individuals, finding that the insula encodes emotions and persons separately, enabling cross-person generalization.

Hippocampus serves as a repository for spoken and heard word meanings during conversations

The paper shows hippocampal neurons encode meanings of spoken and heard words using shared geometric embeddings, enabling abstract cross-personal representations while preserving speaker identity binding.

Human neuronal firing is modulated by the frequency of local field potential oscillations

The paper investigates frequency tuning in human neurons using intracranial recordings and finds 27% of neurons show firing preferences within specific oscillatory frequencies, particularly low-theta.

Linguistic contextualization in the human hippocampus

The paper shows that hippocampal neurons encode word position and context in a way similar to self-attention in large language models.

Parietal cortex is recruited by frontal and cingulate areas to support action monitoring and updating during stopping

The paper shows that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) is functionally connected to frontal and cingulate regions during action stopping, with different connectivity patterns during successful stopping and control failures.

Plasticity and Language in the Anesthetized Human Hippocampus

This study shows that the human hippocampus can process oddball tones and language stimuli, including semantic and grammatical features, even under general anesthesia.

Complementary roles for hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex in composing continuous choice

The paper examines brain activity during a continuous prey-pursuit task, identifying distinct roles for hippocampus, ACC, and OFC in decision-making processes.

Independent Continuous Tracking of Multiple Agents in the Human Hippocampus

The paper investigates how hippocampal neurons track multiple agents during pursuit tasks, finding multiplexed neural maps and semi-orthogonal subspaces for distinguishing agents.

Rational inattention in neural coding for economic choice

The paper investigates how reward rate influences attentional effort in economic decision-making using neural data from macaques.

Irrational choices via a curvilinear representational geometry for value

The paper shows that value is represented in a curved manifold in the vmPFC, leading to irrational decision-making when decoy options are worse in value.

Gaze-centered gating and reactivation of value encoding in orbitofrontal cortex

The paper shows that during decision-making, macaques' gaze at empty locations reactivates value encoding in orbitofrontal cortex, influencing choices even after offers are no longer visible.

Insula uses overlapping codes for emotion in self and others

The paper shows that the insula uses overlapping neural patterns for recognizing self and others' emotions, while other regions use different patterns.

Control over a mixture of policies determines change of mind topology during continuous choice

The paper uses a control theoretic approach to analyze neural activity in macaques during a continuous pursuit task, revealing how latent control variables influence decision-making and change of mind.

Foraging Under Uncertainty Follows the Marginal Value Theorem with Bayesian Updating of Environment Representations

This study shows that mice follow a modified marginal value theorem with Bayesian updating of environment representations when foraging under uncertainty.

State-dependent Online Reactivations for Different Learning Strategies in Foraging

The paper shows that different learning strategies in foraging lead to distinct reactivation patterns in specific brain regions.

The entire brain, more or less, is at work: 'Language regions' are artefacts of averaging

The paper shows that 'language regions' identified in neuroimaging are artefacts of averaging, as linguistic representations are distributed across the whole brain and coordinated by dynamic connectivity hubs.

Widespread coding of navigational variables in prefrontal cortex

This study shows navigational variables are widely encoded in prefrontal cortex of macaques during foraging, challenging the idea that such encoding is limited to the hippocampal complex.