Research
Neurobiology of Decision-Making and Reinforcement Learning
We make countless decisions every day. My lab studies how the brain evaluates outcomes, learns from experience, and chooses actions — in algorithmic, circuit, and biological terms. We focus on midbrain dopamine systems because they provide a link between formal reinforcement-learning (RL) theories and the activity of neurons. Our long-term goal is to explain how the brain implements learning algorithms across levels (molecules → cells → circuits → behavior), how different learning systems are coordinated, and how these mechanisms go awry in disease.