Neurophysiology of reward and economic decision-making

My research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of learning and decision-making. In particular, I aim to elucidate the biological foundations of reward processing and its potential to advance artificial intelligence and treatments for mental conditions. To this end, I study animal choices from nutrient-defined food options in controlled laboratory setting and record single-neuron activities during decision-making. I use decision theories from economics, psychology, ecology to formalise choice behaviour and apply advanced computational modelling and machine learning methods to uncover decision computation in single neurons and neural populations. My recent work has identified nutrients as biological sources of economic values. Currently, I am combining this novel nutrient-choice paradigm with cutting-edge multichannel recording and targeted neurostimulation technique to uncover neural decision mechanisms and develop safe and effective tools to modulate maladaptive reward processing, commonly seen in various neuropsychiatric disorders..

Keywords:  neuroeconomics, reward, decision-making,, macaques, neurophysiology