Research

Decision-making and metacognition

We are interested in how humans make decisions across different domains, ranging from perceptual information, memory to subjective value. Across various projects, we investigate how people evaluate the quality of their decisions through confidence reports and uncertainty judgments. This introspective knowledge of one’s own decisions is critical for guiding behavior and is closely related to a range of topics in psychology and neuroscience, including planning, cognitive control and visual awareness. Ongoing and future projects in the lab explore various aspects of decision-making and metacognition.

Related publications

Ling, H., Chung, H. K. & Li, H. H. (Under review) Probabilistic neural code supports metacognition in value-based decisions in the human brain.
Di, Y., An, W., & Li, H. H. (2026). Distinct oscillatory neural rhythms support representational precision and confidence in working memory. Current Biology.
Li, H. H., Sprague, T. C., Yoo, A. H., Ma, W. J., & Curtis, C. E. (2021). Joint representation of working memory and uncertainty in human cortex. Neuron, 109(22), 3699-3712.
Li, H. H., & Ma, W. J. (2020). Confidence reports in decision-making with multiple alternatives violate the Bayesian confidence hypothesis. Nature communications, 11(1).

Neural code of working memory and attention

Working memory and attention are two intertwined cognitive processes central to cognitive neuroscience. Working memory holds information internally online for an agent's current usage while attention allows the brain to selectively process information. We are interested in the computational principles and the neural substrates of working memory and attention. In one line of research, we used fMRI and machine learning techniques to unveil how human cortex represents the content and uncertainty of items held in working memory. In another line of research, we built models for population neural response to investigate how attention regulates competing visual information.

Related publications

Li, H. H., Ma, W. J., & Curtis, C. E. (2026). Dynamics of working memory drift and information flow across the cortical hierarchy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(4), e2518110123.
Yang, Q., & Li, H. H. (2025). Efficient Allocation of Working Memory Resource for Utility Maximization in Humans and Recurrent Neural Networks. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS)
Li, H. H., Sprague, T. C., Yoo, A. H., Ma, W. J., & Curtis, C. E. (2025). Neural mechanisms of resource allocation in working memory. Science Advances.
Li, H. H., & Curtis, C. E. (2023). Neural population dynamics of human working memory. Current Biology, 33(17), 3775-3784.
Li, H. H., Rankin, J., Rinzel, J., Carrasco, M., & Heeger D. J. (2017) Attention model of binocular rivalry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (30), E6192-E6201.

Eye movements in perception and cognition

Much of human visual experience results from moving our gaze to actively explore the visual world and gather information. By scanning the scene with saccadic eye movements, we bring relevant objects into our fovea, where visual information is processed with high precision. The link between eye movements and visual perception is so tight that perception is already facilitated before our gaze has reached a location of interest. We are interested how eye movements interact with other cognitive processes such as visual attention or working memory in various contexts.

Related publications

Li, H. H., Pan, J., & Carrasco, M. (2021). Different computations underlie overt presaccadic and covert spatial attention. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(10), 1418-1431.
Li, H. H., Hanning, N. M., & Carrasco, M. (2021). To look or not to look: dissociating presaccadic and covert spatial attention. Trends in neurosciences, 44(8), 669-686.
Li, H. H., Pan, J., & Carrasco, M. (2019). Presaccadic attention improves or impairs performance by enhancing sensitivity to higher spatial frequencies. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 2659.
Li, H. H., Barbot, A., & Carrasco, M. (2016). Saccade preparation reshapes sensory tuning. Current Biology, 26(12), 1564-1570.