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Richard Höchenberger

Neuroscience, Data Science, Software Development.

Research Center Jülich, Cologne Area, Germany

About Me

Hi, I’m Richard, a neuroscientist with a strong interest in software development. I wish to better understand how we perceive our environment and how we make decisions on a fundamental level. I’m currently part of the Cognitive Electrophysiology group headed by Kathrin Ohla, with a focus on taste processing.

I will be joining the Parietal team at Inria Saclay – Île-de-France next spring to work on MNE-Python full-time.

Interests

  • Psychophysics & Multisensory Interactions
  • Decision Making & System Dynamics
  • Urban Planning & City Development
  • Social Movements

Education

  • PhD in Psychology, 2017

    University of Münster, Germany

  • Diploma in Biosystems Engineering (M.Eng.), 2013

    University of Magdeburg, Germany

Methods & Technologies

An incomplete selection of what I do, and some of the tools I use for getting things done.

Psychophysics

Response times, adaptive methods, temporal order and synchrony judgment

EEG

Sensor- and source-level analysis via MNE-Python

Lab Tools

Development, setup, and maintenance of laboratory equipment

Python

pandas, xarray, NumPy, matplotlib, seaborn, PsychoPy

R

Linear mixed models, ggplot2

Machine Learning

scikit-learn, TensorFlow(.js), statsmodels

Frontend

React & JavaScript

Backend

Flask, sqlalchemy, MariaDB

Containerization

Docker

Software

Some of the scientific software I have developed or significantly contributed to. Please also refer to my GitHub account.

webtaste

Web-based taste and smell sensitivity estimation using adaptive procedures.

questplus

A Python implementation of QUEST+, a modern Bayesian adaptive method for use in the psychophysics lab.

pyqmix

Control Cetoni syringe pump systems via an intuitive, high-level Python interface. Developed together with Lorenzo Alfine.

pyqmix-web

Browser-based remote control of Cetoni syringe pump systems via pyqmix. Developed by Camilla Arndal Andersen under my supervision.

pphelper

A collection of tools for device control in our psychophysiology lab, and a response time analysis toolbox.

Recent Publications

Also see my ORCID and my Google Scholar profile.

Richard Höchenberger, Kathrin Ohla
January 2020 Nutrients

Repeatability of Taste Recognition Threshold Measurements with QUEST and quick Yes–No

DOI
Stefan Appelhoff, Matthew Sanderson, Teon Brooks, Marijn van Vliet, Romain Quentin, Chris Holdgraf, Maximilien Chaumon, Ezequiel Mikulan, Kambiz Tavabi, Richard Höchenberger, Dominik Welke, Clemens Brunner, Alexander Rockhill, Eric Larson, Alexandre Gramfort, Mainak Jas
December 2019 Journal of Open Source Software

MNE-BIDS: Organizing electrophysiological data into the BIDS format and facilitating their analysis

DOI
Richard Höchenberger, Kathrin Ohla
June 2019 Nutrients

Estimation of olfactory sensitivity using a Bayesian adaptive method

DOI
Jonathan Peirce, Jeremy R. Gray, Sol Simpson, Michael MacAskill, Richard Höchenberger, Hiroyuki Sogo, Erik Kastman, Jonas Kristoffer Lindeløv
February 2019 Behavior Research Methods

PsychoPy2: Experiments in behavior made easy

DOI
Camilla Arndal Andersen, Lorenzo Alfine, Kathrin Ohla, Richard Höchenberger
December 2018 Behavior Research Methods

A new gustometer: Template for the construction of a portable and modular stimulator for taste and lingual touch

DOI
See all publications

Experience

Where I’ve worked and what I’ve done.

 
 
 
 
 

Post-doctoral researcher

Research Center Jülich

Jan 2018 – Present Cologne area, Germany

Supervisor: Kathrin Ohla

Tasks include:

  • Establishment of an EEG source estimation pipeline based on the MNE-Python software.
  • Refinement and extension of our gustatory stimulator and its Python control software.
  • Supervision of the development of a web-based gustometer control interface, which was carried out by Camilla Arndal Andersen.
  • Adding gustometer support to PsychoPy for simplified creation of taste studies via a graphical user interface.
  • Implementation and validation of a “taste memory” paradigm for use in the Master’s thesis work of Iryna Ruda, and extension of this paradigm together with Xue Li Lim.
  • Implementation of the QUEST+ adaptive algorithm in Python.
  • Validation of the QUEST+ method for gustatory sensitivity estimation.
  • Development and deployment of a web-based software for gustatory and olfactory sensitivity measurement.
  • Electrodermal activity (EDA) recordings time-locked to taste stimulation.
 
 
 
 
 

Post-doctoral researcher

German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Apr 2017 – Dec 2017 Berlin area, Germany

Supervisor: Kathrin Ohla

Tasks included:

  • Successful development of a new gustatory stimulator, together with Lorenzo Alfine and Camilla Arndal Andersen. The control software is written in Python.
  • Validation of new methods for gustatory and olfactory sensitivity estimation.
 
 
 
 
 

Doctoral student

German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Mar 2013 – Mar 2017 Berlin area, Germany

Thesis: “Olfactory stimuli in multisensory perception.” (two psychophysical, one EEG study; grade: magna cum laude)

Supervisors: Kathrin Ohla and Niko A Busch

Tasks included:

  • Investigation of visual-olfactory interactions via response time modeling.
  • Development of a new method for taste sensitivity estimation.
  • Setup and calibration of laboratory equipment, and thorough verification of temporal properties of the entire stimulation apparatus.
  • ECG recordings.
  • Supervision of Bachelor’s and Master’s students and interns.
 
 
 
 
 

Graduate and postgraduate studies

University of Magdeburg

Oct 2005 – Jun 2013 Magdeburg, Germany
Diploma (M.Eng.) program in Biosystems Engineering. From 2009 to 2013, I worked as a student research assistant at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, supervised by Lars T Boenke in the department led by Frank W Ohl. The work was focused on audio-visual interactions and time perception, specifically, temporal-order judgment (TOJ) and simultaneity judgment (SJ). My student research project employed the sound-induced flash illusion, and my thesis work – which was partially conducted at the University of Sydney under supervision of David Alais and Lars T Boenke – investigated the McGurk/MacDonald illusion.

Funding

Funds & grants I’ve managed to acquire.

Wikimedia Germany Open Science Fellowship

  • Amount: € 5,000
  • Period: 2017 – 2018
  • Funding Agency: Wikimedia Germany

Internal Research Project Grant (Phase II)

  • Amount: € 7,500
  • Project: “Investigations of fat taste”
  • Period: 2017
  • Funding Agency: German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke

PhD travel grant

  • Amount: € 500
  • Period: 2017
  • Funding Agency: Organizers of the 37th Blankenese Conference, Hamburg, Germany

Internal Research Project Grant (Phase I)

  • Amount: € 10,000
  • Project: “Investigation of lateralized taste perception and taste-taste interactions”
  • Period: 2016 – 2017
  • Funding Agency: German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke

Supervision

Theses and projects I’m currently supervising, or have supervised in the past.

Theses

QUEST+ in the estimation of gustatory sensitivity.

  • Student: Luise Münchhausen
  • Type: Bachelor’s thesis
  • Period: 2019 – Present

Taste-taste interactions and their influence on bitterness perception.

  • Student: Julia Streicher
  • Type: Bachelor’s thesis
  • Period: 2017

Lateralized perception of taste: Stimulation, psychophysics, and neural correlates.

  • Student: Lorenzo Alfine
  • Type: Master’s thesis
  • Period: 2016 – 2017

A new method for rapid taste sensitivity estimation.

  • Student: Katharina Hamann
  • Type: Master’s thesis
  • Period: 2016 – 2017

Development and validation of methods for rapid estimation of taste thresholds.

  • Student: Maria J Pie
  • Type: Master’s thesis
  • Period: 2015 – 2017

Contact

Don’t hesitate to get in touch.