Abstract: Humans and other mammals exhibit a high degree of control when selecting actions in a dynamic and constantly changing world. This flexibility in decision-making is mediated by a set of cortical-subcortical circuits in the brain that control both how sensory information drives action selection and how feedback signals modify future decisions. In this talk I will highlight the neural mechanics of this flexible decision-making and show how this gives us insights into the algorithms by which the mammalian brain changes its mind. 

Speaker: Dr. Timothy Verstynen received his Ph.D. in Psychology from UC Berkeley and went on to do postdoctoral training in computational neuroscience at UCSF and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Department of Psychology and the Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute, with a cross appointment in Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Verstynen directs the Cognitive Axon Lab, where he studies decision-making and learning. He was co-founder and co-director of the CMU-Pitt BRIDGE Center, a research dedicated MRI center with a strong emphasis on computational neuroimaging, and is currently interim director of the Neuroscience Institute.