tilman stephani (PHD)
Short Bio. Tilman obtained his bachelor's and master´s degrees in Psychology from Humboldt University Berlin, followed by a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig (Germany). In May 2024, he joined the Somatosensation & Gargalesis lab at the Donders Institute as a postdoc.
Research. Tilman´s research seeks to understand the neurocognitive principles of perceptual variability: How do sensorimotor interactions shape the processing of sensory information? Tilman is going to study this in the context of gargalesis (ticklish touch) and self-generated somatosensory stimuli, using EEG, MEG, and modeling approaches.
Contact. tilman.stephani@donders.ru.nl
Sample Publications
Stephani, T., Nierula, B., Villringer, A., Eippert, F., & Nikulin, V. V. (2022). Cortical response variability is driven by local excitability changes with somatotopic organization. NeuroImage, 264, 119687.
Stephani, T., Hodapp, A., Jamshidi Idaji, M., Villringer, A., & Nikulin, V. V. (2021). Neural excitability and sensory input determine intensity perception with opposing directions in initial cortical responses. eLife, 10, e67838.
Stephani, T., Waterstraat, G., Haufe, S., Curio, G., Villringer, A., & Nikulin, V. V. (2020). Temporal Signatures of Criticality in Human Cortical Excitability as Probed by Early Somatosensory Responses. The Journal of Neuroscience, 40, 6572–6583.
Stephani, T., Kirk Driller, K., Dimigen, O., & Sommer, W. (2020). Eye contact in active and passive viewing: Event-related brain potential evidence from a combined eye tracking and EEG study. Neuropsychologia 143, 107478.