Research mission

We study the attentional and motivational control of decision making and its modulation by dopamine and serotonin, two of the four major ascending neuromodulators. Our focus is on processing in fronto-striatal brain circuits, which depends on, but also influences their innervation by dopamine and serotonin. Although dopamine has long been implicated in decision making, debate continues over its precise contribution. Furthermore, we have an even less specific understanding of the mechanisms by which serotonin regulates decision making. We aim to shed light on these issues by integrating functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), psychopharmacology and patient work, all guided by animal research and computational modeling work conducted by national and international colleagues.