I am interested in the dynamic cortical interactions underlying perceptual awareness and how these can be reconciled with general theories of cognitive function, such as Predictive Coding. In my research, I use neuroimaging and computational modelling techniques to track the representation of somatosensory stimuli as they are propagated through the cortical hierarchy. In particular, I use Bayesian fMRI and EEG analyses to identify neural responses and connectivity patterns associated with somatosensory awareness and to dissociate relevant signals from co-occurring cognitive processes, such as perceptual uncertainty and decision making.

Schröder, P., Nierhaus, T., & Blankenburg, F. (2021). Dissociating perceptual awareness and postperceptual processing: The P300 is not a reliable marker of somatosensory target detection. Journal of Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.01.322651

Schmidt, T. T., Schröder, P., Reinhardt, P., & Blankenburg, F. (2021). Rehearsal of tactile working memory: Premotor cortex recruits two dissociable neuronal content representations. Human Brain Mapping, 42(1), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25220

Schröder, P., Schmidt, T. T., & Blankenburg, F. (2019). Neural basis of somatosensory target detection independent of uncertainty, relevance, and reports. eLife, 8, e43410. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.43410.001

Wu, Y. H., Velenosi, L. A., Schröder, P., Ludwig, S., & Blankenburg, F. (2018). Decoding vibrotactile choice independent of stimulus order and saccade selection during sequential comparisons. Human brain mapping, 40(6), 1898-1907. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24499

Matthews, J., Schröder, P., Kaunitz, L., van Boxtel, J. J., & Tsuchiya, N. (2018). Conscious access in the near absence of attention: critical extensions on the dual-task paradigm. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373(1755), 20170352. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0352