In daily life we actively attend to specific sources of information. Attention allows the brain to selectively enhance sensory inputs for further processing, especially those that are self-relevant. My research is focused on understanding the fundamental neural and cognitive mechanisms through which we learn which inputs to attend to.
Contact: berry.van.den.berg@rug.nl

Publications
- Van den Berg, B., Krebs, R. M., Lorist, M.M. & Woldorff, M.G. (2014). Utilization of reward-prospect enhances preparatory attention and reduces stimulus conflict. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0281-z
- Clark, K., Appelbaum, L.G., Van den Berg, B., Mitroff, S. & Woldorff, M. G. (2015). Improvement in visual search with practice: Mapping learning-related changes in neurocognitive stages of processing. Journal of Neuroscience.10.1523/jneurosci.1152-14.2015
- Marini, F., Van den Berg, B., & Woldorff, M. G.(2015). Reward-prospect interacts with trial-by-trial preparation for potential distraction. Visual Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2015.1023387
- Van den Berg, B., Appelbaum, L. G., Clark, K., Lorist, M. M. & Woldorff, M. G. (2016) Visual search performance is predicted by both prestimulus and poststimulus electrical brain activity. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37718
- McKay, C.C., Van den Berg, B., & Woldorff, M. G. (2017). Neural cascade of conflict processing: not just time-on-task! Neuropsychologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.12.022
- Park, J., Van den Berg, B., Chiang, C., Woldorff, M. G. & Brannon, E.M. (2017) Developmental Trajectory of Neural Specialization for Visual Letter and Number Processing. Developmental science. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12578
- Van den Berg, B., Geib, B. R., San Martin, R., & Woldorff, M. G. (2019). A key role for stimulus-specific updating of the sensory cortices in the learning of stimulus–reward associations. SCAN. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsy116
- Van den Berg, B., de Bruin, A. B. H., Marsman, J.C., Lorist, M. M., Schmidt, H. G., Aleman, A., & Snoek, J. W. (2020). Thinking fast or slow? Functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals stronger connectivity when experienced neurologists diagnose ambiguous cases. BRAIN COMMUNICATIONS. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa023
- Van den Berg, B.*, de Jong, M.*, Woldorff, M. G. & Lorist, M.M. (2021). Caffeine boosts preparatory attention for reward-related stimulus information. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01630
- Van den Berg, B. & Snoek, J.W. (2020). https://mindwise-groningen.nl/thinking-fast-or-slow-reasoning-strategies-in-medical-diagnosis