From March 31 to April 2, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming around 50 researchers from the SFB 1372 network to our Biopsychology Group at Ruhr University Bochum.

Incentive salience theory both explains the directional component of motivation (in terms of cue attraction or “wanting”) and its energetic component, as a function of the strength of cue attraction. This theory characterizes cue- and reward-triggered approach behavior.

In our daily lives, we encounter new objects from various categories through different sensory modalities, such as vision and touch. Yet, how learning new categories reshapes brain connectivity networks to adapt to these objects remains poorly understood.

Wir gratulieren unserer Kollegin Dr. Marlies Pinnow und ihrer Gruppe herzlich zur Preisverleihung des Awards #HREA!

When: December 13th, 2024, at 14 c.t. | Where: IB 4-115 | Zoom: Meeting-ID 666 1535 7896, Password 390776.

For further details, please click here.

On Thursday, May 16., Alina Steinemer successfully defended her PhD thesis, entitled "Investigating avian navigation: Magnetic sense, motor projections, and the role of nitric oxide in memory formation." In her thesis, Alina examined key aspects of bird navigation using pigeons as a model species known for their exceptional homing abilities.

Our recent study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology examined how acute stress influences empathy using a new online stress test, the TSST-OL.

Making decisions and investing effort to obtain rewards may depend on various factors, such as the delay to reward, the probability of its occurrence, and the information that can be collected about it. As predicted by various theories, pigeons and other animals indeed mind these factors when deciding.

Thank you for successful and inspiring days!

The distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and their related motivations (exploitation and exploration, respectively) has been a major concern in educational psychology for decades.