As 2025 comes to a close, here is a short review of what we’ve been up to. This time written collaboratively as a lab!
See previous years: 2021 in review, 2022 in review, 2023 in review, 2024 in review
In the past year, …
- Isabelle joined the lab and has been exploring the use of disentangled recurrent neural networks to decompose decision strategies in a data-driven way. She also has won the CogPsy department’s wildcard prize for her role as a young investigator and team scientist!
we preprinted and published several papers that have been in the works for the past several years:
- the International Brain Laboratory published two of its flagship papers, including a large and well-curated dataset of neural activity across the mouse brain. This got plenty of (international) press attention, including a nice interview showcasing how the lab uses these IBL data.
- Fenying published her first preprint, describing how ageing affects single-neuron variability across the mouse brain. This paper was nominated by the Cognitive Psychology Unit as the ‘best PhD paper of the year’ award!
- Philippa published her postdoc’s first preprint, showing how a double-well dynamical systems model can explain fluctuations in engagement state during decision-making. This started a fun and very informative collaboration with Jorge Mejias at UvA.
- Isabelle published her first paper from her previous postdoc with Stefano Palminteri: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2422144122
- Philippa visited Kobe Desender’s lab at KU Leuven, focusing on fitting hMFC models to IBL mouse data.
- Robin’s paper on the hMFC model was published in PLoS Computational Biology.
- Anne’s review piece on modelling temporal structure in decision variability was published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
- with Kianté Fernandez and Alex Fengler, Anne preprinted a short preprint on fitting history-modulated drift diffusion models to data from IBL mice.
we connected with colleagues locally, nationally and internationally:
- we attended CCN in Amsterdam, where we met up with many old and new friends and collaborators
- Philippa gave her first invited conference talk at Trieste Encounters in Cognitive Sciences
- we hosted visiting PhD students Jade Duffy and Emily Stirling in Leiden.
- we enjoyed continued CO2 (cognition x computation) joint lab meetings in Leiden, and a fun joint lab meeting with several groups at UvA.
- we hosted a panel discussion on the ethics of animal research in Leiden.
we experimented with different ways of doing science:
- we did two successful writing weeks together, spending several days focused on writing grants, papers, conference abstracts and proposals.
- we launched a collaborative lab project (nickname ‘hivemind’), around which we gathered for a week, brainstorming ideas and intensely coding. We worked on replicating the findings of Findling et al. (2025) on human data previously collected in the lab. It was a fun and productive break for our projects, and we are already excited for next year!
next to the CoCoSys lab, Anne has been active in the broader academic community. She…
- was awarded a Rising Stars award by the Transmitter.
- joined the DJA and Green Young Academy in writing a manifesto for sustainability in Dutch higher education. Leiden University has signed!
- (co-)wrote opinion and review pieces on the role of formal modelling in environmental psychology; academic-industry ties; and giving workshops to change research culture.
- taught a new course Psychology of the Climate Crisis at Leiden University
- became the vice-chair of the Young Academy Leiden
- joined multiple strikes and protests against the budget cuts to higher education in NL.
we read, listened, watched and experienced exciting things:
- (Isabelle’s favorite books of the year, in no specific order):
- Tiny Experiments – Anne-Laure Le Cunff: defy your limiting beliefs by designing experiments in your life, following the scientific method
- Work Clean – Dan Charnas: building inspiration from the kitchens of the best restaurants in the world to organise your work
- Research Data Visualization and Scientific Graphics – Martins Zaumanis: one book of a very enjoyable series about skills to have in research. All the series is worth a read!
- Seven Brief Lessons in Physics – Carlo Rovelli: opening the mysteries of how our world is built. Potential for great bedtime stories
- Small Country – Gaël Faye: a novel inspired by the author’s life events, describing the situation in Burundi at the time of the Rwandan genocide in the 90’s. A heavy read (emotionally), but beautifully written.
- (Isabelle’s favorite podcasts): The Lonely Pipette
- Anne’s favorites this year: fairly recognized podcast, Elusive cures by Nicole Rust, The cloudspotters guide, Free by Lea Ypi, Monk & robot by Becky Chambers.
- Philippa’s podcast recs: Brain Inspired, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man
- Fenying’s podcast recommendations: Huberman Lab, Philosophize This!, Overthink, The Imperfects, ReThinking.
- We played “Publish or Perish”, it definitely tested our ability to defend crazy ideas and build bridges. We also played “Non-sense”.
- Philippa represented the Netherlands at the European Opens Touch Rugby Cup
In the coming year, we look forward to
- wishing Philippa all the best in her new position at UCL – we will miss you!
- welcoming Magdalena Sabat, who will start a project on social tipping points together with Anne and Jan Willem Bolderdijk at UvA.
- continuing to learn more about leadership, and experiment with fun ways to work together as a lab.
CoCoSys lab 