Connectionists: Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] REMINDER: World wide VVTNS series (6th season): Dynamic Expectations Wednesday | April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am ET - Dvora Marciano, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

[David Hansel]

[image: VVTNS.png]
https://www.wwtns.online
<https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.online>
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on twitter: wwtns at TheoreticalWide

You are cordially invited to  the lecture

Dvora Marciano
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 on the topic of

Dynamic Expectations

The lecture will be held on zoom on April 29, 2026 at *11:00 am ET *

> https://www.wwtns.online/register-page
>

*Abstract: *Reward expectations – one’s prediction about the likelihood of
future outcomes - play a central role in shaping the satisfaction derived
from those outcomes. Most existing research treats expectations as static,
assuming they remain fixed in time. However, real-life expectations are
often dynamic, fluctuating as new information becomes available. For
example, during a soccer game, your expectations of seeing your team
winning will likely rise and fall as the game unfolds. In the main part of
this talk, I will present a series of studies demonstrating that human
expectations can be tracked at sub-second timescales. Using slot machines
as a case study, we leverage the continuous deceleration of the reels to
elicit moment-by-moment fluctuations in rewardexpectations. To capture
these dynamics, we take complementary approaches: we use the high temporal
resolution of electroencephalography (EEG) to track neural signatures of
evolving expectations, and we develop a novel behavioral paradigm (“Slot or
Not”) designed to measure changes in expectations via betting behavior.
Across four studies, we show that expectations fluctuate continuously and
can be tracked both behaviorally and neurally. Extending these findings, a
subsequent intracranial study shows that the human orbitofrontal cortex
(OFC) encodes the moment-by-moment changes of reward expectations. In the
second part of this talk, I will return to the relationship between
expectations andsatisfaction. If expectations shape satisfaction, and if
they are best conceptualized as dynamic trajectories rather than static
quantities, a key question arises: does the trajectory leading up to an
outcome influence how that outcome is evaluated? I will outline a new
research direction aimed at formalizing this relationship using
computational modeling. This is ongoing work, and I welcome feedback on how
best to formalize these ideas. Finally, I will discuss potential extensions
of this framework to psychopathology, asking whether alterations in dynamic
expectations may characterize conditions such as Major Depressive Disorder
and Gambling disorder. Together, this work introduces a new framework for
studying expectations as dynamic processes, offering a richer understanding


*About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide  Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar
(WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in
Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about
theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting
where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The
seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,**  are 45-50 min long followed
by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker
and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*


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