M.Sc. Markus Becker

Research Interest

I am a doctoral student in the Emmy Noether Group. I want to understand how and why visual learning and plasticity change over the life span. I have experience in psychophysics and advanced imaging techniques in human participants (including functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging). I am especially interested in the contribution of inhibitory brain networks to changes in visual learning and plasticity from childhood to young adulthood, and then to older adulthood.

Professional Experience

Since 06/2022: Graduate student (Ph.D.) in the Emmy Noether group. University of Regensburg, Germany.
06/2018 – 05/2022: Research Associate. University of Regensburg, Germany.
09/2014 – 07/2015: Student Research Assistant. Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

Academic Education

03/04/2018: M.Sc. Psychology. University of Regensburg, Germany.
10/2015 – 04/2018: Studies of Psychology (M.Sc.). University of Regensburg, Germany.
09/09/2014: B.Sc. Psychology. Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
10/2011 – 09/2014: Studies of Psychology (B.Sc.). Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
10/2009 – 09/2011: Studies of Physics (B.Sc.). Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.

Teaching

2018 – 2022: Experimentalpsychologisches Projektseminar. University of Regensburg, Germany.

Talks

Babu S, Becker M, Wang Z, Frank SM (2025). Pupil dilation modulates visual perceptual learning. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Mainz, Germany.
Wang Z, Wittmann A, Wiborg S, Becker M, Frank SM (2025). Differential engagement of early visual and dorsolateral prefrontal areas with increasing visual working memory load. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Mainz, Germany.
Frank SM, Becker M, Jacob R, Wittmann A, Frank U, Wang Z (2025). Impaired stabilization of visual perceptual learning with age-related decline in GABAergic processing. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Mainz, Germany.
Becker M, Frank SM (2025). Filtering mechanisms in early visual cortex modulate the occurrence of visual plasticity and learning. Vision Sciences Society (VSS), St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.
Frank SM, Wiborg S, Wittmann A, Beck N, Becker M, Wang Z (2025). Goal-directed visual information processing with glutamatergic excitation and GABAergic inhibition in posterior parietal cortex. Vision Sciences Society (VSS), St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.
Wiborg S, Becker M, Wittmann A, Wang Z, Frank SM (2024). Dynamic modulations of glutamate with visual attentional load in posterior parietal cortex. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Aberdeen, UK.
Greenlee MW, Becker M, Frank SM, Beer AL (2024). The anterior-medial vestibular-visual network in humans. International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF), Reno, Nevada, USA.
Becker M, Frank SM (2024). Filter mechanisms in early visual cortex modulate the occurrence of task-irrelevant visual perceptual learning. TeaP, Regensburg, Germany.
Becker M, Lubich J, Frank SM (2023). Plasticity in early visual cortex is modulated by feature salience in task-irrelevant visual perceptual learning. Vision Sciences Society (VSS), St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

Posters

Becker M, Frank SM (2025). Differential processing of salient task-irrelevant visual features in early visual areas between children and adults. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Mainz, Germany.
Becker M, Frank SM (2024). Neuronal mechanisms involved in filtering out a salient task-irrelevant signal in visual perceptual learning. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Aberdeen, UK.
Frank SM, Wittmann A, Wandl AS, Hegmann E-R, Wiborg S, Becker M (2024). The role of expertise and training in suppressing task-irrelevant sensory input. European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Aberdeen, UK.
Frank SM, Becker M, Hegmann E-R, Hartl S, Wandl AS, Greenlee MW (2023). Training of visual attentional tracking modulates fronto-parietal activation and cross-modal GABAergic suppression. Vision Sciences Society (VSS), St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

Publications

Wang Z, Wiborg S, Wittmann A, Beck N, Hirschle S, Aschenbrenner D, Becker M, Frank SM (2026). Goal-directed visual information processing with GABAergic inhibition in parietal cortex. eLife, 15, RP109344.https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.109344.1
Becker M, Babu S, Wang Z, Frank SM (2025). Suppression of task-irrelevant learning achieved through withdrawal of excitation in early sensory areas. Cerebral Cortex, 35(12), bhaf333:1-14.https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf333
Frank SM, Becker M, Malloni WM, Sasaki Y, Greenlee MW, Watanabe T (2023). Protocol to conduct functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy in different age groups of human participants. STAR Protocols, 4:102493. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102493
Beer AL, Becker M, Frank SM, Greenlee MW (2023). Vestibular and visual brain areas in the medial cortex of the human brain. Journal of Neurophysiology, 129:948-962.
Frank SM, Becker M, Qi A, Geiger P, Frank UI, Rosedahl LA, Malloni WM, Sasaki Y, Greenlee MW, Watanabe T (2022). Efficient learning in children with rapid GABA boosting during and after training. Current Biology, 32:5022-5030.e7.