Contact information

Email	matthew.apps@psy.ox.ac.uk
Tel	+44 (0)1865 618634

My connections

Masud Husain Profile
Somerville College College
Personal Website Personal website
Husain Lab Website Host Lab
BBSRC Future Leader Fellows Fellowship details
Cognitive Neurology Research Group Research Group

Matthew Apps

BSc, MSc, PhD

BBSRC AFL Fellow

University Research Lecturer
Somerville College Fulford Junior Research Fellow

The neural and computational basis of learning and decision-making

My research is focussed on understanding the mechanisms in the human brain that underpin learning and decision-making. Most of my research is focussed on investigating how statistical information about costs (such as risk, uncertainty or effort) and benefits (such as financial rewards) are processed in the brain, particularly when we are interacting with other people.

I use a combination of cognitive neuroscience methods, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), in conjunction with computational modelling approaches. These techniques allow me to explore basic science questions in healthy adults. I also explore individual differences in clinical and sub-clinical populations to understand more about how decision-making processes can differ in disorders of motivation and social cognition. Currently I am involved in two main projects:

Effort, apathy and reward – Examining the relationship between individual differences in apathy and how rewards are processed, when incurring physical or cognitive costs.
Social decision-making – Examining the processing of rewards in the cingulate cortex during social interactions, and examining the functional and connectional properties of this area in the autistic spectrum.

Justify Your Alpha: A Response to “Redefine Statistical Significance”
Lakens D. et al, (2017), PsyArXiv
Contributions of the medial prefrontal cortex to social influence in economic decision-making
Apps MAJ. and Ramnani N., (2017), Cerebral Cortex
The anatomy of apathy: A neurocognitive framework for amotivated behaviour.
Le Heron C. et al, (2017), Neuropsychologia
Prosocial apathy for helping others when effort is required.
Lockwood PL. et al, (2017), Nat Hum Behav, 1
Social Learning in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.
Apps MA. and Sallet J., (2017), Trends Cogn Sci, 21, 151 - 152
Neurocomputational mechanisms underlying subjective valuation of effort costs.
Chong TT. et al, (2017), PLoS Biol, 15
Distinct Subtypes of Apathy Revealed by the Apathy Motivation Index.
Ang YS. et al, (2017), PLoS One, 12
Disrupted prediction errors index social deficits in autism spectrum disorder.
Balsters JH. et al, (2017), Brain, 140, 235 - 246
'Bodily precision': a predictive coding account of individual differences in interoceptive accuracy.
Ainley V. et al, (2016), Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 371
Reputation in an economic game modulates premotor cortex activity during action observation.
Farmer H. et al, (2016), Eur J Neurosci, 44, 2191 - 2201
Neurocomputational mechanisms of prosocial learning and links to empathy.
Lockwood PL. et al, (2016), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 113, 9763 - 9768
The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus and Social Cognition: Tracking the Motivation of Others.
Apps MA. et al, (2016), Neuron, 90, 692 - 707
Connectivity-based parcellation increases network detection sensitivity in resting state fMRI: An investigation into the cingulate cortex in autism.
Balsters JH. et al, (2016), Neuroimage Clin, 11, 494 - 507
The role of cognitive effort in subjective reward devaluation and risky decision-making.
Apps MA. et al, (2015), Sci Rep, 5
Encoding of Vicarious Reward Prediction in Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Relationship with Trait Empathy.
Lockwood PL. et al, (2015), J Neurosci, 35, 13720 - 13727
Reward Pays the Cost of Noise Reduction in Motor and Cognitive Control.
Manohar SG. et al, (2015), Curr Biol, 25, 1707 - 1716
Vicarious reinforcement learning signals when instructing others.
Apps MA. et al, (2015), J Neurosci, 35, 2904 - 2913
Plasticity in unimodal and multimodal brain areas reflects multisensory changes in self-face identification.
Apps MA. et al, (2015), Cereb Cortex, 25, 46 - 55
Commentary: Noradrenaline and Dopamine Neurons in the Reward/Effort Trade-off: A Direct Electrophysiological Comparison in Behaving Monkeys.
Ang YS. et al, (2015), Front Behav Neurosci, 9
The anterior cingulate gyrus signals the net value of others' rewards.
Apps MA. and Ramnani N., (2014), J Neurosci, 34, 6190 - 6200
The free-energy self: a predictive coding account of self-recognition.
Apps MA. and Tsakiris M., (2014), Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 41, 85 - 97
The role of the midcingulate cortex in monitoring others' decisions.
Apps MA. et al, (2013), Front Neurosci, 7
Reinforcement learning signals in the anterior cingulate cortex code for others' false beliefs.
Apps MA. et al, (2013), Neuroimage, 64, 1 - 9
Predictive codes of familiarity and context during the perceptual learning of facial identities.
Apps MA. and Tsakiris M., (2013), Nat Commun, 4
The different faces of one's self: an fMRI study into the recognition of current and past self-facial appearances.
Apps MA. et al, (2012), Neuroimage, 63, 1720 - 1729
The anterior cingulate cortex: monitoring the outcomes of others' decisions.
Apps MA. et al, (2012), Soc Neurosci, 7, 424 - 435
Cerebellar information processing in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).
Lesage E. et al, (2010), Behav Neurol, 23, 39 - 49

Key Publications

The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus and Social Cognition: Tracking the Motivation of Others.
Apps MA. et al, (2016), Neuron, 90, 692 - 707
Predictive codes of familiarity and context during the perceptual learning of facial identities.
Apps MA. and Tsakiris M., (2013), Nat Commun, 4
Neurocomputational mechanisms underlying subjective valuation of effort costs.
Chong TT. et al, (2017), PLoS Biol, 15
Prosocial apathy for helping others when effort is required.
Lockwood PL. et al, (2017), Nat Hum Behav, 1

Recent Publications

Justify Your Alpha: A Response to “Redefine Statistical Significance”
Lakens D. et al, (2017), PsyArXiv
Contributions of the medial prefrontal cortex to social influence in economic decision-making
Apps MAJ. and Ramnani N., (2017), Cerebral Cortex
The anatomy of apathy: A neurocognitive framework for amotivated behaviour.
Le Heron C. et al, (2017), Neuropsychologia
Prosocial apathy for helping others when effort is required.
Lockwood PL. et al, (2017), Nat Hum Behav, 1
Social Learning in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.
Apps MA. and Sallet J., (2017), Trends Cogn Sci, 21, 151 - 152

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