People

People

The Perceptual Neuroscience Lab brings together researchers and students interested in how the brain learns regularities from the environment and uses them to guide perception, attention, and decision-making. Our team studies the interplay between top-down and bottom-up processes using behavioral experiments, computational modelling, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

 

Principal Investigator

Buse Merve Ürgen

Buse Merve Ürgen

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, TED University

Buse Merve Ürgen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, TED University. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Bilkent University in 2021. She completed her BA in Psychology at Bilkent University in 2011 and her MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London in 2012.

Following her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Aysel Sabuncu Brain Research Center and the National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM). Her research focuses on how top-down mechanisms such as expectation and attention affect visual perception and decision-making processes, using psychophysics, computational modelling, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Contact: buse.urgen@tedu.edu.tr

Current Lab Members

Zeynep Yumuşak

Zeynep Yumuşak

Zeynep is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Economics and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, both at TED University.

ceren_bilgin

Ceren Bilgin

Ceren is a third-year Psychology student interested in neuroimaging, art and neuroscience, neurodiversity, stress, psychological disorders, and animal-related research. She aims to strengthen her coding and data analysis skills to take an active role in experimental studies.

Outside of academics, she enjoys playing the drums and piano, reading, drawing, and doing sports.

Enes Berke Filik

Enes Berke Filik

Enes is a third-year student in the Psychology and Sociology departments at TED University. His interests focus on the cognitive foundations of overt and latent behaviours, as well as innovative neuroscientific approaches that may complement traditional speech-based and pharmacological therapies, with the long-term goal of integrating such approaches into clinical practice.

In his free time, he enjoys playing volleyball, reading, watching series and movies, and spending time with his loved ones.

Enes Okkay

Enes Okkay

Enes is a fourth-year Psychology student at TED University. His academic interests broadly include cognitive psychology, with a particular focus on aspects of social psychology.

Outside of his studies, he enjoys reading literature, creative writing, and exploring art in its various forms.

Meriç Yıldırım

Meriç Yıldırım

Meriç is a fourth-year Psychology undergraduate at TED University. He is interested in visual perception, memory, and comparative psychology.

Outside of academics, he spends his time reading history and listening to classical music.

Mustafa Hızarcı

Mustafa Hızarcı

Mustafa is a fourth-year Psychology undergraduate at TED University. His main areas of interest are clinical and cognitive neuroscience, with a particular focus on unconscious processes and the neural mechanisms of social learning.

In his free time, he enjoys writing books and composing music.

Dilasu Tamgül

Dilasu Tamgül

Dilasu graduated from the Department of Psychology at TED University in 2023. During her time in the lab, her interests included animal research, perception, and memory.

Lab Alumni

Ece Karaosman

Ece Karaosman

Ece graduated in Psychology from Bilkent University. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Cognitive Science at Sorbonne University and Université Paris Cité. During her time in the lab, she contributed to research on perceptual decision-making and predictive processing.

Ceren Belge

Ceren Belge

Ceren graduated from TED University with a B.Sc. degree in Psychology. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in the Cognitive Neuroscience program at Freie Universität Berlin. During her time in the lab, she was involved in research on perceptual decision-making and expectations.

Aylin Demiral

Aylin Demiral

Aylin graduated from the Department of Psychology at TED University in 2023. During her time in the lab, she was involved in research investigating the effects of expectations on visual perceptual decision-making processes. Her interests include attention, expectation, and visual perception.

Redar Atlı

Redar Atlı

Redar earned his bachelor’s degree from TED University in January 2025. He is currently pursuing Master’s studies in Behavior at Bielefeld University. His academic interests focus on behavioral and evolutionary neuroscience, emotional and social decision-making, and the neural mechanisms underlying these processes.

Aysu Kılıç

Aysu Kılıç

Aysu contributed to research on expectation and perception in the Perceptual Neuroscience Lab. Her work focused on how expectation-related processes shape perceptual decision-making. Her interests include expectation, attention, and visual perception.

Deniz Kurt

Deniz Kurt

Deniz contributed to the Perceptual Neuroscience Lab with interests in cognitive and computational neuroscience. His broader academic interests include the use of machine learning and computational modelling approaches to understand cognitive functions.