Peter R.

Murphy, PhD January 2020

Department of Neurophysiology & Pathophysiology murphyp7@tcd.ie

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf www.peterrmurphy.net
Hamburg, GERMANY Google scholar | GitHub | ResearchGate

Education & Employment

Forthcoming Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow (H2020-MSCA-IF)

Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity
College Dublin. Host PI: Prof. Robert Whelan
In October 2020 I will begin a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship to identify
common neural mechanisms for decision-making and working memory, and
expose a shared basis for age-related impairments in these functions.

2015-present SFB Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology University Medical
Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. PI: Prof. Tobias Donner
My current work focusses on uncovering neural mechanisms for contextually-
appropriate adaptation of decision-making, driven by manipulation of both
stimulus statistics and environmental volatility.

2012-2015 ERC Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department of Cognitive Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and
Cognition, Leiden University. PI: Prof. Sander Nieuwenhuis
For my first postdoc I investigated the modulation of perceptual decisions by
both intrinsic fluctuations in arousal state, and changes in arousal elicited by
varying incentive schemes (speed/accuracy tradeoff).

2009-2012 PhD in Psychology

Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity
College Dublin. Co-PIs: Prof. Redmond O’Connell & Prof. Ian Robertson
Thesis: ‘Measurement of locus coeruleus-noradrenergic function in the
human brain and its influence on executive function’.
My PhD work established the utility of putative assays of locus coeruleus
activity in humans, and explored interactions of arousal and performance
monitoring during the formation of ‘metacognitive’ error detection decisions.

2010-2011 Higher Diploma in Statistics

Department of Statistics, Trinity College Dublin
Grade: First Class Honours

2005-2009 BA (Hons) Psychology

School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin
Grade: First Class Honours (with Gold Medal award)

Publications

Murphy, P.R., Wilming, N., Hernandez-Bocanegra, D.C., Prat Ortega, G. & Donner, T.H. (in prep).
Normative circuit dynamics across human cortex during evidence accumulation in changing
environments.
Wilming, N., Murphy, P.R., Meyniel, F. & Donner, T.H. (in prep). Cortical feedforward and
feedback signals underlying an elementary decision.
van den Brink, R.L., Murphy, P.R., Desender, K., de Ru, N., & Nieuwenhuis, S. (in prep).
Temporal expectation hastens sensory encoding rather than the rate of decision formation.
Melnychuk, M.C., Murphy, P.R., O’Connell, R.G., Dockree, P.M., Robertson, I.H. & Balsters, J.H.
(in prep). Respiration and attention: a coupled system with locus coeruleus as nexus.
Naber, M. & Murphy, P.R. (2019). Pupillometric investigation into the speed-accuracy trade off in
a visuomotor aiming task. Psychophysiology.
Desender, K., Murphy, P.R., Boldt, A., Verguts, T. & Yeung, N. (2019). A post-decisional neural
marker of confidence predicts information seeking in decision-making. Journal of Neuroscience.
O’Connell, R.G. & Murphy, P.R. (2018). U-turns in the brain. Nature Neuroscience.
Jepma, M., Brown, S.B.R.E., Murphy, P.R., van den Maagdenberg, A.M., Koelewijn, S.C. et al.
(2018). Noradrenergic and cholinergic modulation of belief updating. Journal of Cognitive
Neuroscience.
Melnychuk, M.C., Dockree, P.M., O’Connell, R.G., Murphy, P.R., Balsters, J.H. & Robertson, I.H.
(2018). Coupling of respiration and attention via the locus coeruleus: Effects of meditation and
pranayama. Psychophysiology.
Harty, S., Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H. & O’Connell, R.G. (2017). Parsing the neural signatures
of reduced error detection in older age. NeuroImage.
Murphy, P.R., Boonstra, E. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2016). Global gain modulation generates time-
dependent urgency during perceptual choice in humans. Nature Communications.
Murphy, P.R., van Moort, M. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2016). The pupillary orienting response predicts
adaptive behavioural adjustment after errors. PLoS One.
Jepma, M., Murphy, P.R., Nassar, M.R., Rangel-Gomez, M., Meeter, M. et al. (2016).
Catecholaminergic regulation of learning rate in a dynamic environment. PLoS Computational
Biology.
Tona, K.D., Murphy, P.R., Brown, S.B.R.E. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2016). The accessory stimulus
effect is mediated by phasic arousal: A pupillometry study. Psychophysiology.
van den Brink, R.L., Pfeffer, T., Warren, C.M., Murphy, P.R. et al. (2016). Catecholaminergic
neuromodulation shapes intrinsic MRI functional connectivity in the human brain. Journal of
Neuroscience.
van den Brink, R.L., Murphy, P.R. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2016). Pupil diameter tracks lapses of
attention. PLoS One.
Urai, A.E.* & Murphy, P.R.* (2016). Commentary: Sensory integration dynamics in a hierarchical
network explains choice probabilities in cortical area MT. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience.
[*shared authorship]
Warren, C.M., Murphy, P.R. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2016). Cognitive control, dynamic salience and
the imperative toward computational accounts of neuromodulatory function. Behavioural and Brain
Sciences.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Harty, S. & O’Connell, R.G. (2015). Neural evidence accumulation
persists after choice to inform metacognitive judgments. eLife. [commentary]
Twomey, D.M., Murphy, P.R., Kelly, S.P. & O‘Connell, R.G. (2015). The classic P300 encodes a
build-to-threshold decision variable. European Journal of Neuroscience. [most cited 2015 EJN
paper] [commentary]
Murphy, P.R., O’Connell, R.G., O’Sullivan, M., Robertson, I.H. & Balsters, J.H. (2014). Pupil
diameter covaries with BOLD activity in human locus coeruleus. Human Brain Mapping.
Murphy, P.R., Vandekerckhove, J. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2014). Pupil-linked arousal determines
variability in perceptual decision making. PLoS Computational Biology.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Allen, D., Hester, R. & O’Connell, R.G. (2012). An
electrophysiological signal that precisely tracks the emergence of error awareness. Frontiers in
Human Neuroscience. [commentary]
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Balsters, J.H. & O’Connell, R.G. (2011). Pupillometry and P3 index
the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic arousal function in humans. Psychophysiology.
Conference Proceedings and Posters

Murphy, P.R., Wilming, N., Hernandez-Bocanegra, D.C., Prat Ortega, G. & Donner, T.H. (2019).
Evidence accumulation in changing environments: linking normative computation and neural
implementation. Society for Neuroscience. Chicago.
Murphy, P.R., Wilming, N., Hernandez-Bocanegra, D.C., Prat Ortega, G. & Donner, T.H. (2019).
Evidence accumulation in changing environments: linking normative computation and neural
implementation. Computational Cognitive Neuroscience. Berlin.
Murphy, P.R., Hernandez Bocanegra, D.C., Wilming, N. & Donner, T.H. (2018). Surprise-
dependent modulation of perceptual evidence accumulation in a rapidly changing environment.
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies: Forum of Neuroscience. Berlin.
Murphy, P.R., Pfeffer, T., Tsetsos, K. & Donner, T.H. (2017). Pupil-linked arousal adjusts the
perceptual decision process to changing environments. Society for Neuroscience. Washington DC.
Desender, K., Wilming, N., Murphy, P.R., Verguts, T. & Donner, T.H. (2017, forthcoming). The
role of previous decision confidence in current speed-accuracay tradeoff for perceptual choice.
European conference on Visual Perception. Berlin.
Naber, M., Murphy, P.R., Hommel, B. & Colzato, L. (2016). Disentangling aspects of vision-guided
motor coordination with pupillometry and choline supplementation. Vision Sciences Society.
Florida.
Murphy, P.R., Boonstra, E. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2015). Lateralized motor oscillations in the human
EEG reveal evidence-independent urgency as a mechanism of speed-accuracy tradeoff.
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies - Brain Conferences: Bridging Neural
Mechanisms and Cognition. Copenhagen.
Murphy, P.R., O’Connell, R.G., O’Sullivan, M., Robertson, I.H. & Balsters, J.H. (2013). Pupil
diameter covaries with BOLD activity in human locus coeruleus. Society for Psychophysiological
Research. Florence.
Murphy, P.R., Vandekerckhove, J. & Nieuwenhuis, S. (2013). Arousal, gain and perceptual
decision making in humans. Motivation and Cognitive Control. Paris.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H. & O’Connell, R.G.(2013). Medial frontal cortex provides an
evidence signal for second-order decision making. Motivation and Cognitive Control. Paris.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Allen, D., Hester, R. & O’Connell, R.G. (2012). An
electrophysiological signal that precisely tracks the emergence of error awareness. Organisation of
Human Brain Mapping. Beijing.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Hester, R., Balsters, J.H. & O’Connell, R.G. (2011).
Psychophysiological precursors of error awareness: Pupil diameter and alpha power predict
conscious error detection. International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience. Mallorca.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Balsters, J.H. & O’Connell, R.G. (2011). Pupillometry and P3 index
the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic arousal function in humans. Cognitive Neuroscience Society.
San Francisco.
O’Connell, R.G., Barnes, J., Murphy, P.R., Nandam, S., Dean, A., Robertson, I.H. & Bellgrove,
M.A. (2011). Exploring the neurochemical basis of the P300: Evidence of dopaminergic and
noradrenergic influence. Cognitive Neuroscience Society. San Francisco.
Murphy, P.R., Robertson, I.H., Balsters, J.H. & O’Connell, R.G. (2010). Do pupil diameter and the
P3 interact to reflect the activity of the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system? Motivation and
Cognitive Control. Oxford.

Invited Oral Presentations

Decision-making in rapidly changing environments: linking normative computation and neural

implementation (June 2019). Cognitive Control and Performance Monitoring, Oostduinkerke,
Belgium.
 Surprise-dependent modulation of perceptual evidence accumulation in a rapidly changing
environment (February 2019). Department of Psychology Colloquium Series, Utah State
University, USA.
Adaptive recruitment of pupil-linked arousal systems over the course of single decisions (October
2017). Trinity College Institute for Neuroscience Seminar Series, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
The drift diffusion model: background and applications (November 2016). DFG-SFB 936 retreat,
University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Signatures of time-dependent urgency during human perceptual choice (June 2016). Department
of Experimental Psychology Seminar Series, University of Oxford, UK.
Evidence for static and time-dependent urgency as elementary features of the perceptual decision
process (July 2015). Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Characterizing neural evidence accumulation after perceptual choice and its relevance for
metacognitive judgments (June 2015). Dutch Neuroscience Meeting, Lunteren, The Netherlands.
Centro-parietal positivities as accumulation-to-bound decision variables: a simple, computationally
explicit account of P3-like signals across a range of decision-making contexts (June 2015).
Psychology and the Brain, University of Frankfurt, Germany.
Pupillometric, electrophysiological and model-based investigations of accumulation-to-bound
decision making in humans (2014). Amsterdam Centre for Brain and Cognition, University of
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Investigating the effects of pupillary synchronization on cognitive performance (2014). Amsterdam
Centre for Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Arousal, neuromodulation and perceptual decision making in humans (2013). The Dutch
Association for Psychonomics (NVP Wintercongres), Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands.
The role of noradrenaline in human cognitive function (2011). Neurosoc seminar series, Trinity
College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Grants and Awards

 European Commission Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (H2020-

MSCA-IF) (2020-2022), €184,591.
 Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) Embark Initiative
Postgraduate Scholarship (2009-2012), €72,000.
 Best Presentation Award at inaugural University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf Department
of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology summer retreat (2018)
 Trinity College George White Memorial Prize for outstanding research-based publication by a
Psychology graduate student (2012)
 Trinity College Gold Medal Award for academic excellence during undergraduate studies (2009)
 Trinity College Book Prize (2007, 2008)
 Trinity College Entrance Exhibition Award (2005)

Teaching and Supervision

 2019/20: Medical doctorate research thesis (Gina Monov); Co-supervisor, University Medical
Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
 2019/20: Medical doctorate research thesis (Natalia Kudlek); Co-supervisor, University Medical
Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
 2018: Masters in Neuroscience internship and research thesis via Albert-Ludwigs-University
Freiburg (Julia Schipp); Supervisor, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
 2017: Masters in Cognitive Science internship and research thesis via TU Kaiserslautern (Carolina
Hernandez); Supervisor, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
 2017: Masters in Cognitive Science internship and research thesis via University of Osnabruck
(Kristina Baumgart); Supervisor, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf.
  2015: Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience internship and research thesis (Evert Boonstra); Co-
supervisor, Leiden University.
 2014/15: Four Research Bachelor theses†; Supervisor, Leiden University [†highest supervisor
evaluation grades in entire programme].
 2013/14: Honours Research Bachelor thesis (Evert Boonstra); Supervisor, Leiden University.
 2012/13: Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience research thesis (Marloes van Moort); Co-supervisor,
Leiden University.
 2012: Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology (Sophister Undergraduate, Psychology); Guest
Lecturer, Trinity College Dublin.
 2011: Practicals, Methodology and Statistics (Sophister Undergraduate, Psychology); Guest
Lecturer, Trinity College Dublin.

Ad-hoc Reviewing

Attention Perception & Psychophysics · Behavioural Brain Research · Biological Psychiatry ·

Biological Psychology · Cerebral Cortex · Current Biology · Cognitive Behavioural & Affective
Neuroscience · eLife · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · JEP: General · Journal of
Neurophysiology · Journal of Neuroscience · Nature Human Behaviour · Neuroimage ·
Neuropsychologia · PLoS One · Psychophysiology · Scientific Reports · Social Cognitive &
Affective Neuroscience

Research Skills

Measurement: psychophysics, pupillometry, EEG, MEG, eye-tracking, fMRI

Modelling: hierarchical and non-hierarchical sequential sampling models, normative belief updating
under volatility, connectionist models, biophysical spiking network model of decision-
making and associated mean-field reduction
Programming: Matlab, Python, Linux shell, SPSS, WinBUGS