20–21 Apr 2026
Goethe University
Europe/Berlin timezone

Neural alignment of knowledge structures supports reasoning

20 Apr 2026, 14:45
1h 30m
Casino Festsaal (Goethe University)

Casino Festsaal

Goethe University

Campus Westend Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 2 60323 Frankfurt am Main CoBIC Heinrich-Hoffmann-Straße 9 60528 Frankfurt am Main

Speaker

Rebekka Tenderra (MPI for Empirical Aesthetics)

Description

Rather than learning everything from first principles, humans can exploit structural similarities across contexts, allowing knowledge acquired in one domain to be applied in another. Cognitive-computational research suggests this process is essential to human reasoning. Here we combine representational geometry analyses of task-based fMRI with cognitive tests to probe the neural basis of structure mapping and its relation to cognitive performance. We identify brain regions where knowledge structures align and show that the strength of neural alignment supports learning and inference, and predicts general reasoning ability.

Authors

Rebekka Tenderra (MPI for Empirical Aesthetics) Stephanie Theves

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.