How does the brain use the knowledge it abstracts from the world to make decisions? 

Our research in this area covers both innate and learned decisions. Neuroscientists at SWC are studying how the brain computes decisions by using working memory, where information is stored for short periods, to integrate incoming information with prior knowledge.

We are also disentangling how the brain chooses the most favourable decision in a given moment by exploring the impact of context, including brain state, risk and uncertainty, and social environment. To help us understand how these flexible decisions are made in real life, we are studying natural behaviours such as foraging. 

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Research News

• Scientists explain how the brain encodes lottery values

• How the brain calculates a quick escape

• Working memory depends on reciprocal interactions across the brain

• New study uncovers brain circuits that control fear responses

• Decision-making using uncertain sensory evidence and temporal expectation

• Fright and flight: deciding when to escape