Biology subjects

van Wingerden, M.

Publications and source records attributed to van Wingerden, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

MEGaNorm: Normative Modeling of MEG Brain Oscillations Across the Human Lifespan

Normative modeling provides a principled framework for quantifying individual deviations from typical brain development and is increasingly used to study heterogeneity in neuropsychiatric conditions. While widely applied to structural phenotypes, functional normative models remain underdeveloped. Here, we introduce MEGaNorm, the first normative modeling framework for charting lifespan trajectories of resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain oscillations. Using a large, multi-site dataset comprising 1,846 individuals aged 6-88 and spanning three MEG systems, we model relative oscillatory power in canonical frequency bands using hierarchical Bayesian regression, accounting for age, sex, and site effects. To support interpretation at multiple scales, we introduce Neuro-Oscillo Charts, visual tools that summarize normative trajectories at the population level and quantify individual-level deviations, enabling personalized assessment of functional brain dynamics. Applying this framework to a Parkinsons disease cohort (n = 160), we show that normative deviation scores reveal disease-related abnormalities and uncover a continuum of patients in theta-beta deviation space. This work provides the first lifespan-encompassing normative reference for MEG oscillations, enabling population-level characterization and individualized benchmarking. All models and tools are openly available and designed for federated, continual adaptation as new data become available, offering a scalable resource for precision neuropsychiatry.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Cross-species comparison of human and rodent primary reward consumption under budget constraints

Optimal use of resources is of great importance for survival of all species. Previous studies have shown that rats optimize their allocation of a limited number of operant responses (akin to a finite budget) to trade for food rewards. Here, we propose a novel human cost-benefit decision paradigm translated from an economic task initially developed for rodents, to conduct a cross-species comparison of primary reward consumption under budget constraints. Participants had a limited budget of effortful button-presses to obtain the opportunity to drink milk rewards or watch erotic pictures. Like rodents, they adapted their choice allocation when the price (i.e. fixed-ratio requirement for reward) and the budget changed when purchasing milk rewards. However, this was not the case when purchasing the opportunity to watch erotic pictures: compared to the milk and to the rodent task, participants made more internally inconsistent, hence, irrational choices, despite otherwise identical task structures. We found non-linear changes in arousal as a function of reward selection that might underlie the irrationality in the picture task. Our study shows that the type of reward matters not only for capturing the convergence in human and non-human economic decision-making, but also for understanding the factors behind compromised economic rationality.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Social value unblocks Pavlovian reinforcement learning in male rats

Many species, including humans, are sensitive to social signals and their valuation is important in social learning. When social cues indicate that another is experiencing reward, they could convey vicarious reward value and prompt social learning. Here, we introduce a task that investigates if vicarious reward delivery in male rats can drive reinforcement learning in a formal associative learning paradigm. Using the blocking/unblocking paradigm, we found that when actor rats have fully learned a stimulus-self reward association, adding a cue that predicted additional partner reward unblocked associative learning about this cue. In contrast, additional cues that did not predict partner reward remained blocked from acquiring associative value. Preventing social signal exchange between the partners resulted in cues signaling partner reward remaining blocked. Taken together, these results suggest that vicarious rewards can drive reinforcement learning in rats, and that the transmission of social cues is necessary for this learning to occur.

animal behavior and cognition↗