Research Project

The neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) are the minimal neural mechanisms sufficient to generate conscious experience. While traditionally identified through contrasts between perceived and unperceived stimuli (“hits vs. misses”), reliable NCC should also be present when perception occurs without external input—such as in visual illusions. My PhD project, “Neural Correlates of Consciousness in the context of illusory perception”, therefore focuses on illusion-based paradigms. In an EEG study, we will use the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI) to compare brain activity in false alarm (illusion) and correct rejection (no-illusion) trials. The project also includes a systematic review of studies involving false alarms/illusion paradigms to identify shared mechanisms and inform theoretical and methodological NCC research. Building on these insights, we will prospectively examine how pre-stimulus oscillatory activity influences illusory perception. Overall, the project aims to advance our understanding of the universality and prerequisites of NCCs by integrating illusion paradigms—contributing to a more complete account of how consciousness arises from neural activity.

PhD Committee

Prof. Dr. Thomas Straube

Apl. Prof. Dr. Jens Bölte

Dr. phil. Maximilian Bruchmann

Publications

Publications

1.         Staiger, A., Schroeter, M. L., Ziegler, W., Pino, D., Regenbrecht, F., Schölderle, T., Rieger, T., Müller-Sarnowski, F., & Diehl-Schmid, J. (2023). Speech motor profiles in primary progressive aphasia. AJSLP. 32(3), 1296-1321. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-22-00319

2.         Büttner-Kunert, J., Blöchinger, S., Falkowska, Z., Rieger, T. & Oslmeier, C. (2022). Interaction of discourse processing impairments, communicative participation, and verbal executive functions in people with chronic traumatic brain injury. Front. Psychol. 13:892216. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.892216

Conference Contributions

  1. Rieger, T., Feuerstein, J., Straube, T., & Bruchmann, M. (2025). Electrophysiological Correlates of Conscious Perception in the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion. Talk: 28th annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC), Crete, Greece
     
  2. Rieger, T., Feuerstein, J., Straube, T., & Bruchmann, M. (2025). More than meets the eye: neural correlates of conscious perception in the sound-induced flash illusion. Poster Presentation: 50th Annual Conference on Psychology and the Brain – Psychologie und Gehirn (PuG), Wuerzburg, Germany
  3. Rieger, T., Diehl-Schmid, J., Knels, C., & Staiger, A. (2022). Leben mit primär progredienter Aphasie: eine Interviewstudie mit Betroffenen und Angehörigen (Living with Primary Progressive Aphasia: An Interview Study with Patients and Relatives). Talk: 21. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Aphasieforschung und –behandlung (GAB; 21st Annual Conference of the Society for Aphasia Research and Therapy), Bielefeld, Germany
     
  4. Staiger, A., & Rieger, T. (2022). Primär progrediente Aphasie – Ein Überblick (Primary Progressive Aphasia – An Overview). Workshop: 21. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Aphasieforschung und -behandlung (GAB; 21st Annual Conference of the Society for Aphasia Research and Therapy), Bielefeld, Germany
     
  5. Rieger, T., Siemons-Lühring, D., Alfakiani M., & Neumann, K. (2022). Behandlungssettings in der Therapie umschriebener Sprachentwicklungsstörungen: Vergleich der Präsenz-Standardtherapie mit einer Tele-Sprachtherapie bei Kindern im Kindergartenalter (Treatment Settings in Therapy of Specific Language Impairments: Comparison of Standard Face-to-Face Therapy with Tele-Speech Therapy in Kindergarten Children). Talk: 38. Wissenschaftliche Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie (DGPP; 38th Scientific Annual Meeting of the German Society of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology), Leipzig, Germany. GMS, doi: 10.3205/22dgpp27
     
  6. Staiger, A., Schroeter, M., Müller-Sarnowski, F., Pino, D., Regenbrecht, F., Rieger, T., Ziegler, W., Diehl-Schmid, J. (2021). Subtype classification in primary progressive aphasia using operationalized criteria. 8th International Conference on Speech Motor Control, Groningen, Netherlands. EasyChair Preprint, No. 6525

CV


 
*1994 Augsburg, Germany
2015-2019 Bachelor studies in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
2019-2022 Master studies in Academic Speech- and Language Therapy with specialization in Neurolinguistics and –psychology at the University of Munich
2019-2023 Student Assistant at the Clinical Neuropsychology Research Group (EKN; Entwicklungsgruppe Klinische Neuropsychologie), Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing, University of Munich
since 2023 Beginning of Doctoral Program Medical Sciences (Dr.rer.medic.) at the Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Psychology and System Neurosciences, University of Muenster
since 2024 Beginning of PhD research project at the Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Medical Psychology and System Neurosciences and the Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster