https://hdl.handle.net/11000/1421 2026-05-26T18:55:32Z 2026-05-26T18:55:32Z Kaswan, Ram R. Prior-Peral, Ángel M. Font-Sanchis, Enrique Gutiérrez-Vílchez, Ana M. Fernández-Lázaro, Fernando D’Souza, Francis https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39886 2026-05-12T01:04:01Z 2026-05-11T11:59:14Z

Título : Geometry-Governed Symmetry-Breaking Charge Separation and Photocatalysis of Benzoperylenetriimide Dimers Autor : Kaswan, Ram R.; Prior-Peral, Ángel M.; Font-Sanchis, Enrique; Gutiérrez-Vílchez, Ana M.; Fernández-Lázaro, Fernando; D’Souza, Francis Resumen : An in-depth understanding of the structure−property relationships in multichromophoric systems undergoing excited electron transfer is essential for designing reliable photocatalytic and optoelectronic devices. However, creating architectures to govern electron-transfer events in a controlled manner remains challenging due to synthetic challenges and suboptimal conditions. Here, we report two novel benzoperylenetriimide (PTI) dimers, PTI-PTI and PTI-Ph-PTI, utilizing an easily reducible PTI. The former dimer features a direct connection through the bay positions of the PTI, whereas the latter has a phenyl ring spacer. Their ability to undergo symmetrybreaking charge separation (SB-CS) and subsequent performance in photocatalytic electron pooling is probed. For the PTI-PTI dimer, which is rigid and orthogonal, SB-CS was not observed due to a lack of electronic communication between the PTI moieties, namely, a perfect “nullexciton”system. In contrast, the flexible PTI-Ph-PTI dimer showed clear evidence of SB-CS due to its ability to communicate between the macrocycles. Steady-state and time-resolved emission studies revealed significant quenching, especially in PTI-Ph-PTI compared to the monomer PTI, indicating initial signs of SB-CS. The redox gap obtained from electrochemical studies confirmed that the SB-CS state can be populated from the singlet excited state in both polar and nonpolar solvents without appreciable energy loss, a much-sought-after property. Additionally, DFT calculations supported experimental results, showing an asymmetric distribution of electron density in frontier orbitals. Meanwhile, TD-DFT studies identified the excited states responsible for the observed SB-CS. Subsequent femtosecond pump−probe studies provided conclusive evidence of charge separation in the PTI-Ph-PTI dimer, independent of the solvent polarity. The lifetimes of the charge-separated states were found to be 119 and 228 ps in benzonitrile and toluene, respectively, which were sufficient to engage them in photocatalytic studies. Consequently, the PTI-Ph-PTI dimer was used for photocatalytic electron-pooling experiments from an application perspective. Higher yields of electron-pooling were observed compared to the monomer, indicating the potential application of this class of systems in developing future photocatalytic systems that function at higher efficiency. Importantly, how “perfect orthogonal rigidity” prohibits SB-CS and its photocatalytic activity, helping future design of symmetric dimers to observe SB-CS, is borne out from this study.

2026-05-11T11:59:14Z Brotons Martinez, Jose Manuel Camara Zapata, Jose Maria https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39817 2026-05-01T01:04:12Z 2026-04-30T08:12:56Z

Título : Values of the impact category indices in the life cycle analysis (LCA) of Muchamiel tomato production in screenhouse without additional shade from the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) method and of the processes with the greatest contributions Autor : Brotons Martinez, Jose Manuel; Camara Zapata, Jose Maria

2026-04-30T08:12:56Z Marcos, Encarni Sánchez-Fibla, Martí Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39217 2026-02-24T12:16:04Z 2026-02-12T08:45:30Z

Título : The Complementary Roles of Allostatic and Contextual Control Systems in Foraging Tasks Autor : Marcos, Encarni; Sánchez-Fibla, Martí; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : To survive in an unknown environment an animal has to learn how to reach specific goal states. The animal is firstly guided by its reactive behavior motivated by its internal needs. After exploring the environment, contextual information can be used to optimally fulfill these internal needs. However, how a reactive and a contextual control system complement each other is still a fundamental question. Here, we address this problem from the perspective of the Distributed Adaptive Control architecture (DAC). We extend DAC’s reactive layer with an allostatic control system and integrate it with its contextual control layer. Through robot foraging tasks we test the properties of the allostatic and contextual control systems and their interaction. We assess how they scale with task complexity. In particular, we show that the behavior generated by the contextual control layer is of particular importance when the system is facing conflict situations.

2026-02-12T08:45:30Z Duff, Armin Rennó-Costa, César Marcos, Encarni Luvizotto, Andre L. Giovannucci, Andrea Sanchez Fibla, Marti Bernardet, Ulysses Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39216 2026-02-24T12:15:25Z 2026-02-12T08:40:31Z

Título : Distributed Adaptive Control: A Proposal on the Neuronal Organization of Adaptive Goal Oriented Behavior Autor : Duff, Armin; Rennó-Costa, César; Marcos, Encarni; Luvizotto, Andre L.; Giovannucci, Andrea; Sanchez Fibla, Marti; Bernardet, Ulysses; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : In behavioral motor coordination and interaction it is a fundamental challenge how an agent can learn to perceive and act in unknown and dynamic environments. At present, it is not clear how an agent can – without any explicitly predefined knowledge – acquire internal representations of the world while interacting with the environment. To meet this challenge, we propose a biologically based cognitive architecture called Distributed Adaptive Control (DAC). DAC is organized in three different, tightly coupled, layers of control: reactive, adaptive and contextual. DAC based systems are self-contained and fully grounded, meaning that they autonomously generate representations of their primary sensory inputs, hence bootstrapping their behavior form simple to advance interactions. Following this approach, we have previously identified a novel environmentallymediated feedback loop in the organization of perception and behavior, i.e. behavioral feedback. Additionally, we could demonstrated that the dynamics of the memory structure of DAC, acquired during a foraging task, are equivalent to a Bayesian description of foraging. In this chapter we present DAC in a concise form and show how it is allowing us to extend the different subsystems to more biophysical detailed models. These further developments of the DAC architecture, not only allow to better understand the biological systems, but moreover advance DACs behavioral capabilities and generality.

2026-02-12T08:40:31Z Marcos, Encarni Ringwald, Milanka Duff, Armin Sánchez-Fibla, Martín Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39215 2026-02-24T12:16:40Z 2026-02-12T08:35:05Z

Título : The Hierarchical Accumulation of Knowledge in the Distributed Adaptive Control Architecture Autor : Marcos, Encarni; Ringwald, Milanka; Duff, Armin; Sánchez-Fibla, Martín; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : Animals acquire knowledge as they interact with the world. Several authors define this acquisition as a chain of transformations: data is acquired and converted into information that is converted into knowledge. Moreover, theories on cumulative learning suggest that different cognitive layers accumulate this knowledge, building highly complex skills from low complexity ones. The biologically, based Distributed Adaptive Control cognitive architecture (DAC) has been proposed as a cumulative learning system. DAC contains different layers of control: reactive, adaptive and contextual. This hierarchical organization allows for acquisition of knowledge in a bottom-up interaction, i.e. sampled data is transformed into knowledge. DAC has already been used as a framework to investigate fundamental problems encountered in biology. Here we describe the DAC architecture and present some studies focused on its highest cognitive layer where knowledge is constructed and used. We investigate the roles of reactive and contextual control depending on the characteristics and complexity of the tasks. We also show how multi-sensor information could be integrated in order to acquire and use knowledge

2026-02-12T08:35:05Z López, Lucas L. Vouloutsi, Vasiliki Escuredo Chimeno, Alex Marcos, Encarni Bermúdez i Badia, Sergi Mathews, Zenon Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Ziyatdinov, Andrey Perera i Lluna, Alexandre https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39214 2026-02-13T02:09:41Z 2026-02-12T08:32:50Z

Título : Moth-Like Chemo-Source Localization and Classification on an Indoor Autonomous Robot Autor : López, Lucas L.; Vouloutsi, Vasiliki; Escuredo Chimeno, Alex; Marcos, Encarni; Bermúdez i Badia, Sergi; Mathews, Zenon; Verschure, Paul F.M.J.; Ziyatdinov, Andrey; Perera i Lluna, Alexandre

2026-02-12T08:32:50Z Marcos, Encarni Pani, Pierpaolo Brunamonti, Emiliano Deco, Gustavo Ferraina, Stefano Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39213 2026-02-13T02:09:42Z 2026-02-12T08:27:25Z

Título : Neural variability in premotor cortex is modulated by trial history and predicts behavioral performance Autor : Marcos, Encarni; Pani, Pierpaolo; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Deco, Gustavo; Ferraina, Stefano; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : In the study of decision making, emphasis is placed on different forms of perceptual integration, while the influence of other factors, such as memory, is ignored. In addition, it is believed that the information underlying decision making is carried in the rate of the neuronal response, while its variability is considered unspecific. Here we studied the influence of recent experience on motor decision making by analyzing the activity of neurons in the dorsal premotor area of two monkeys performing a countermanding arm task. We observe that the across-trial variability of the neural response strongly correlates with trial history-dependent changes in reaction time. Using a theoretical model of decision making, we show that a trial history-monitoring signal can explain the observed behavioral and neural modulation. Our study reveals that, in the neural processes that culminate in motor plan maturation, the evidence provided by perception and memory is reflected in mean rate and variance respectively.

2026-02-12T08:27:25Z Maffei, Giovanni Santos-Pata, Diogo Marcos, Encarni Sanchez Fibla, Marti Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39212 2026-02-13T02:09:38Z 2026-02-12T08:25:35Z

Título : An embodied biologically constrained model of foraging: from classical and operant conditioning to adaptive real-world behavior in DAC-X Autor : Maffei, Giovanni; Santos-Pata, Diogo; Marcos, Encarni; Sanchez Fibla, Marti; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : Animals successfully forage within new environments by learning, simulating and adapting to their surroundings. The functions behind such goal-oriented behavior can be decomposed into 5 top-level objectives: 'how', 'why', 'what', 'where', 'when' (H4W). The paradigms of classical and operant conditioning describe some of the behavioral aspects found in foraging. However, it remains unclear how the organization of their underlying neural principles account for these complex behaviors. We address this problem from the perspective of the Distributed Adaptive Control theory of mind and brain (DAC) that interprets these two paradigms as expressing properties of core functional subsystems of a layered architecture. In particular, we propose DAC-X, a novel cognitive architecture that unifies the theoretical principles of DAC with biologically constrained computational models of several areas of the mammalian brain. DAC-X supports complex foraging strategies through the progressive acquisition, retention and expression of task-dependent information and associated shaping of action, from exploration to goal-oriented deliberation. We benchmark DAC-X using a robot-based hoarding task including the main perceptual and cognitive aspects of animal foraging. We show that efficient goal-oriented behavior results from the interaction of parallel learning mechanisms accounting for motor adaptation, spatial encoding and decision-making. Together, our results suggest that the H4W problem can be solved by DAC-X building on the insights from the study of classical and operant conditioning. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the proposed biologically constrained and embodied approach towards the study of cognition and the relation of DAC-X to other cognitive architectures.

2026-02-12T08:25:35Z Marcos, Encarni Cos, Ignasi Girard, Benoît Verschure, Paul F.M.J. https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39211 2026-02-13T02:09:34Z 2026-02-12T08:23:58Z

Título : Motor Cost Influences Perceptual Decisions Autor : Marcos, Encarni; Cos, Ignasi; Girard, Benoît; Verschure, Paul F.M.J. Resumen : Perceptual decision making has been widely studied using tasks in which subjects are asked to discriminate a visual stimulus and instructed to report their decision with a movement. In these studies, performance is measured by assessing the accuracy of the participants' choices as a function of the ambiguity of the visual stimulus. Typically, the reporting movement is considered as a mere means of reporting the decision with no influence on the decision-making process. However, recent studies have shown that even subtle differences of biomechanical costs between movements may influence how we select between them. Here we investigated whether this purely motor cost could also influence decisions in a perceptual discrimination task in detriment of accuracy. In other words, are perceptual decisions only dependent on the visual stimulus and entirely orthogonal to motor costs? Here we show the results of a psychophysical experiment in which human subjects were presented with a random dot motion discrimination task and asked to report the perceived motion direction using movements of different biomechanical cost. We found that the pattern of decisions exhibited a significant bias towards the movement of lower cost, even when this bias reduced performance accuracy. This strongly suggests that motor costs influence decision making in visual discrimination tasks for which its contribution is neither instructed nor beneficial.

2026-02-12T08:23:58Z Carland, Matthew A. Marcos, Encarni Thura, David Cisek, Paul https://hdl.handle.net/11000/39210 2026-02-13T02:09:33Z 2026-02-12T08:22:44Z

Título : Evidence against perfect integration of sensory information during perceptual decision making Autor : Carland, Matthew A.; Marcos, Encarni; Thura, David; Cisek, Paul Resumen : Perceptual decision making is often modeled as perfect integration of sequential sensory samples until the accumulated total reaches a fixed decision bound. In that view, the buildup of neural activity during perceptual decision making is attributed to temporal integration. However, an alternative explanation is that sensory estimates are computed quickly with a low-pass filter and combined with a growing signal reflecting the urgency to respond and it is the latter that is primarily responsible for neural activity buildup. These models are difficult to distinguish empirically because they make similar predictions for tasks in which sensory information is constant within a trial, as in most previous studies. Here we presented subjects with a variant of the classic constant-coherence motion discrimination (CMD) task in which we inserted brief motion pulses. We examined the effect of these pulses on reaction times (RTs) in two conditions: 1) when the CMD trials were blocked and subjects responded quickly and 2) when the same CMD trials were interleaved among trials of a variable-motion coherence task that motivated slower decisions. In the blocked condition, early pulses had a strong effect on RTs but late pulses did not, consistent with both models. However, when subjects slowed their decision policy in the interleaved condition, later pulses now became effective while early pulses lost their efficacy. This last result contradicts models based on perfect integration of sensory evidence and implies that motion signals are processed with a strong leak, equivalent to a low-pass filter with a short time constant.

2026-02-12T08:22:44Z