Judith Schomaker
Assistant professor
- Name
- J. Schomaker Ph.D.
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2727
- j.schomaker@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-8615-497X
As a neuropsychologist, Judith Schomaker aims to investigate the effects of novelty on learning, memory, and motivation
More information about Judith Schomaker
News
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Funding for science communication on deaf community and on losing your way -
Using VR to experience how it feels when a patient throws a shoe at you -
How these young researchers are preparing for their first scientific conference -
What impact does communication have on individuals dealing with advanced cancer? Looking for participants -
Psychology Connected on ChatGPT: How can we use AI without losing our own cognitive skills? -
Success with NWO for social and behavioural scientists -
A new environment boosts your memory (but not for everyone) -
No holiday plans? Go on a virtual trip this summer! -
Why the brain needs to get out and about -
Marketing tricks: keep your eyes peeled
In the media
See also
As a neuropsychologist, Judith Schomaker aims to investigate the effects of novelty on learning, memory, and motivation
Research
When visiting a new place learning about where to expect danger and where to find rewards is crucial for survival. Animal studies have reliably shown that exploring a new environment enhances plasticity in the brain, specifically in the hippocampus, to promote such learning. Thus far, very few studies have investigated the effects of spatial novelty on learning in humans. In one previous study, Schomaker showed that learning is enhanced after exploration of novel versus familiar environments in humans too.
In her future research, she aims to clarify which aspects of exploring a novel environment underlie such memory benefits by using virtual reality (VR) that allows participants to actively explore realistic, but well-controlled environments in the lab.
Short CV
- 2019 - now Assistant professor, Section Health, Medical, & Neuropsychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands
- 2014-2018 Post-doc, Department of Biological Psychology, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Germany
- 2017 (February-June) Maternity leave
- 2015 Visiting researcher, Daw Lab, Center for Neural Science, New York University, USA
- 2010-2014 PhD student, Department of Cognitive Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
(PhD defense: 9th of January,2015; Dissertation title: What’s new? The interaction between novelty and cognition) - 2010 Visiting research master student Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- 2009-2010 Research assistant at the Department of Cognitive Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- 2008-2010 Research Master Cognitive Neuropsychology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- 2007-2008 Research Assistant, Center of Education, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- 2007 Research Assistant, Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- 2005-2008 Bachelor Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Teaching
Coordinator of the first-year bachelor Bio- and Neuropsychology course.
Grants
Presidential Chair Start-up Funding, Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany - 219.846,- Euro (declined to take up an assistant professor position at Leiden University, the Netherlands).
Pre-Leiden publications
Schomaker, J. (invited review in preparation). Unexplored territory: Beneficial effects of novelty on memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Schomaker, J., Grouls, M.E., Rau, E.M., Hendriks, M., Colon, A., & Meeter, M. (in revision). Novelty processing depends on medial temporal lobe structures. Neuropsychologia
Schomaker, J., & Vriens, M. (in revision). What you see is what you want: Top-down attention biasing choice behavior. Journal of Business Research.
Vriens, M., & Schomaker, J. (accepted). Evaluation of a brand association density metric. Journal of Product & Brand Management.
Schomaker, J., & Meeter, M. (2018). Predicting the unknown: Novelty processing depends on expectations. Brain Research Article link
Schomaker, J., & Wittmann, B.C. (2017). Memory performance for everyday motivational and neutral objects is dissociable from attention. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 11:121. Full article
Schomaker, J., Rau, E., Einhaeuser, W., & Wittmann, B.C. (2017). Motivational Objects in Natural Scenes (MONS): A database of > 800 objects. Frontiers in Psychology: Emotion Science Full article
Schomaker, J., Walper, D., Wittmann, B.C., Einhäuser, W. (2017). Attention in natural scenes: Affective-motivational factors guide gaze independently of visual salience. Vision Research 133, 161-175. Article link
Schomaker, J., Rangel-Gomez, M., & Meeter, M. (2016). Happier, faster: Developmental changes in the effects of mood and novelty on responses. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(1), 37-47. Article link
Schomaker, J., Meeter, M. (2015). Short- and long-lasting consequences of novelty, deviance, and surprise on brain and cognition. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 55, 268-279.
Schomaker, J., Berendse, H.W., Foncke, E.M.J., van der Werf, Y.D., van den Heuvel, O.A., Theeuwes, J., & Meeter, M. (2014). Novelty processing and memory formation in Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychologia 62, 124-136. Article link
Schomaker, J., van Bronkhorst, M.L.V., & Meeter, M. (2014). Exploring a novel environment improves motivation and promotes recall of words. Frontiers in Psychology 5, 918. Full article
Schomaker, J., Roos, R., & Meeter, M. (2014). Expecting the unexpected: The effects of deviance on novelty processing. Behavioral Neuroscience 128, 146-160. Article link
Schomaker, J., & Meeter, M. (2014a). Facilitation of responses by task-irrelevant complex deviant stimuli. Acta Psychologica 148, 74-80. Article link
Schomaker, J., & Meeter, M. (2014b). Novelty detection is enhanced when attention is otherwise engaged: an event-related potential study. Experimental Brain Research 232, 995-1011. Article link
Schomaker, J., & Meeter, M. (2012). Novelty enhances visual perception. PLoS One 7, e50599. Full article
Schomaker, J., Tesch, J., Bülthoff, H.H., & Bresciani, J.P. (2011). It is all me: the effect of viewpoint on visual-vestibular recalibration. Experimental Brain Research 213, 246-256. Article link
Schomaker, J., & Talsma, D. (2009). The relationship between response times and the strength of top-down attentional control: An ERP study. Journal of European Psychology Students 1. Full article
Assistant professor
- Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
- Instituut Psychologie
- Gezondheids, Medische- Neuropsychologie
- Nijboer A.C.S., Sellitto M., Ruitenberg M.F.L., Kerkkänen K.I.L. & Schomaker J. (2024), Food-related exploration across the menstrual cycle, Appetite 196: 107261.
- Kerkkänen K.I.L., Ruitenberg M.F.L. & Schomaker J. (2024), Explore more!: How new environments may boost your memory, Frontiers for Young Minds 12: .
- Kerkkänen K.I.L., Ruitenberg M.F.L. & Schomaker J. (2024), Explore more! How new environments may boost your memory, Frontiers for Young Minds 12: 1205267.
- Nijboer A.C.S., Sellitto M., Ruitenberg M.F.L., Kerkkänen K.I.L. & Schomaker J. (2024), Food-related exploration across the menstrual cycle, Appetite 196: 107261.
- Schomaker J., Ruitenberg M.F.L. & Takeuchi T. (2023), Memory’s penumbra in the older or pathological brain, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 27(2): 118-119.
- Lorents. A.L., Ruitenberg M.F.L. & Schomaker J. (2023), Novelty-induced memory boosts in humans: the when and how, Heliyon 9(3): e14410.
- Ruitenberg M.F.L., Koppelmans V., Seidler R.D. & Schomaker J. (2023), Developmental and age differences in visuomotor adaptation across the lifespan, Psychological Research 87: 1710-1717.
- Hall J.M., Park H.R.P., Krebs R.M. & Schomaker J. (2023), The effect of target-related and target-irrelevant novel stimuli on response behaviour, Acta Psychologica 232: 103818.
- Schomaker J., Raza S., Quent J.A. & Anderson M. (2023), Proactive and retroactive effects of novelty and rest on memory, PsyArXiv : .
- Antariksa C., Besse C., De Bruijn T., Kroes B., Schaap L., De Vink E., Schomaker J. & Gómez-Maureira M.A. (2023), Modifying a game to study the impact of an hostile environments on foraging behavior. Lopes P., Luz F., Liapism A. & Engström H. (Eds.), FDG '23: Proceedings of the 18th international conference on the foundations of digital games. FDG '23: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games 12 April 2023 - 14 April 2023. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. 1-4.
- Petzke T.M. & Schomaker J. (2022), A bias toward the unknown: individual and environmental factors influencing exploratory behavior, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1512: 61-75.
- Schomaker J., Vriens M. & Jarva H.A. (2022), Healthy or not: influencing attention to bias food choices, Food Quality and Preference 96: 104384.
- Schomaker J., Baumann V. & Ruitenberg M.F.L. (2022), Effects of exploring a novel environment on memory across the lifespan, Scientific Reports 12: 16631.
- Ruitenberg M.F.L., Koppelmans V., Seidler R.D. & Schomaker J. (2022), Novelty exposure induces stronger sensorimotor representations during a manual adaptation task, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1510(1): 68-78.
- Petzke T.M. & Schomaker J. (2022), A bias toward the unknown: individual and environmental factors influencing exploratory behavior, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1512(1): 61-75.
- Ruitenberg M.F.L., Koppelmans V., Seidler R.D. & Schomaker J. (2021), Novelty exposure induces stronger sensorimotor representations during a manual adaptation task, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1510: 68-78.
- Schomaker J., Grouls M., Linden C.G.M. van der, Rau E.M., Hendriks M., Colon A. & Meeter M. (2021), Novelty processing depends on medial temporal lobe structures, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 183: 107464.
- Schomaker J. Wittmann B.C. (2021), Effects of active exploration on novelty-related declarative memory enhancement, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 179: 107403.
- Vriens M., Vidden C. & Schomaker J. (2020), What I see is what I want: top-down attention biasing choice behavior, Journal of Business Research 111: 262-269.
- Schomaker J. (2019), Unexplored territory: Beneficial effects of novelty on memory, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 161: 46-50.
- Vriens M., Chen S. & Schomaker J. (2019), The evaluation of a brand association density metric, Journal of Product and Brand Management 28(1): 104-116.
- Schomaker J., Rau E. & Wittmann B.C. (2019), The effects of exploring novel environments on learning: individual differences and the role of volition, Brain and Cognition 137: 103643.