Daniel M. Wolpert

Implicit vs. explicit choice promotes the combination vs. selection of sensorimotor memories under contextual uncertainty

This study investigates how implicit vs. explicit context processing affects sensorimotor memory expression under uncertainty, finding that implicit processing leads to belief-weighted combination while explicit processing favors categorical selection.

Adaptive integration of model-based and model-free strategies in human reinforcement learning of reachable space

This study shows humans adaptively use model-based and model-free strategies in learning to reach around obstacles in reachable space, with increased model-free reliance as learning progresses.

Motor cortex flexibly deploys a high-dimensional repertoire of subskills

This study shows that motor cortex activity is high-dimensional and flexible, with distinct neural dynamics for different subskills during a force-tracking task.

Direct observation of the neural computations underlying a single decision

The paper directly observes the neural computations underlying a single decision by analyzing population activity in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex during motion direction decisions.

Age-dependent predictors of effective reinforcement motor learning across childhood

This study shows that reinforcement motor learning improves with age in children, with younger children showing limited learning due to immature spatial processing and probabilistic reasoning, which can be improved by adjusting task demands.

Divisive attenuation based on noisy sensorimotor predictions accounts for excess variability in self-touch

The paper develops a computational model explaining why self-generated forces are perceived as weaker, showing that attenuated sensations have greater variability due to added motor prediction noise.

Exploration biases how forelimb reaches to a spatial target are learned

This study shows that exploratory behavior during training biases the movement strategies mice use to reach a spatial target.

Ouvrai: Opening access to remote VR studies of human behavioral neuroscience

Ouvrai enables remote VR studies by providing an open-source platform with web technologies and integration tools for behavioral neuroscience research.

Judging the difficulty of perceptual decisions

The paper examines how people judge the difficulty of perceptual tasks and finds that decisions are based on accumulated evidence differences rather than confidence.

Uncertainty underlies geometric effects on navigation and grid-cell tuning

The paper shows that spatial uncertainty, influenced by environmental geometry, explains navigational behavior and grid-cell properties through a Bayesian model.

Contextual inference underlies the learning of sensorimotor repertoires

The paper develops a theory of motor learning based on contextual inference, showing it explains key features of motor memory formation and predicts novel phenomena.

Motor memories of object dynamics are categorically organized

The paper investigates how motor memories of object dynamics are organized, finding that they are categorically structured based on visual and mechanical properties.

Multiple decisions about one object involve parallel sensory acquisition but time-multiplexed evidence incorporation

The paper investigates how the brain processes two decisions about one object, finding parallel sensory acquisition but time-multiplexed evidence incorporation.

Gaze Behaviour Reveals Flexible Encoding of Competing Reach Goals Under Conditions of Target Uncertainty

This study shows that the brain often encodes multiple motor goals before target selection under uncertainty, based on gaze behavior analysis during a reach task.

Sensory attenuation is related to dopamine dose in Parkinson’s disease

This study investigates how dopamine levels in Parkinson’s disease patients affect sensory attenuation during voluntary movements, finding a negative correlation with motor severity and a positive correlation with dopamine dose.

Counterfactual reasoning underlies the learning of priors in decision making

Participants learned base rates from decision-making without feedback by updating their beliefs using counterfactual confidence representations, improving accuracy and confidence.

Motor learning decline with age is related to differences in the explicit memory system

The paper investigates age-related decline in motor adaptation, finding that explicit memory performance and associated brain regions become stronger predictors of motor learning in older adults.