Rasmus Bruckner

Dr. Rasmus Bruckner is a Group Leader and Researcher at the Neurocognitive and Experimental Psychology Department, Freie Universität Berlin, and a Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Hamburg. He co-leads the DFG Research Unit 5389 since 2024. His research focuses on computational models of learning and decision-making under uncertainty, leveraging behavioral and neuroimaging experiments to uncover neural and cognitive mechanisms. Key areas include lifespan learning differences, resource-rational computations, and uncertainty bias effects.

Education:

• PhD, Psychology (Summa cum Laude), Freie Universität Berlin (2015–2020), advised by Hauke Heekeren
• M.Sc. Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin (2012–2015)
• B.Sc. Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen (2008–2011)

Research Interests: Computational neuroscience, decision-making under uncertainty, neuroimaging, lifespan learning dynamics, and adaptive learning mechanisms.

Recent Article Trends: Recent work emphasizes uncertainty quantification, lifespan learning differences, and neural correlates of prediction errors. For example, his 2025 Psychological Review paper demonstrates lifespan learning differences via resource-rational models, while 2024 studies explore uncertainty-weighted prediction errors and adaptive integration of reward/perceptual signals.

Grants & Awards: Co-PI in DFG Research Unit 5389 (since 2024). No named awards listed.

Labs & Teams: Leads the Learning Lab at FU Berlin, focusing on simulation-based learning and neural mechanisms of decision-making. Collaborates with institutions like the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the International Max Planck Research School LIFE.