Decision-Making and Reward
Our daily lives are shaped by what we attend in the environment, the decisions we make about that attended information and the potential rewards that follow. UC Davis faculty are leaders in the field of understanding the neurobiological bases of attention and reward and how these brain mechanisms contribute to the mind’s ability to make decisions based on experience, genetic makeup and mental state. Cross-disciplinary teams are addressing this area, from molecular mechanisms, to circuits, to behavior in multiple species and developing computational models of these functions. Advances in understanding the basis for decision-making will reveal novel approaches to treat devastating diseases with altered reward and cognitive control, from substance abuse to schizophrenia (the focus of the UC Davis Conte Center). They are also critical for developing more adaptive, human-centered algorithms for advanced artificial intelligence. This knowledge will also be of high significance for predicting human decision-making in societal settings, including for mate selection, economic choices, political decisions and medical assessment.
UC Davis has one of the largest groups of researchers in the world in this area, including 25 faculty members from 13 departments and 11 centers. Research among our faculty on this topic spans model systems from rodents to humans and ranges from questions about cellular mechanisms to cognitive control. Our faculty also have several large-scale collaborations within this area, including the UC Davis Conte Center and grants from the NIH Brain Initiative and DOD to support tool development and novel neuroengineering approaches to modify decision-making and reward.
Faculty studying decision-making and reward
| Melissa D. Bauman, Ph.D. | Behavioral neuroscience, prenatal risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Erie D. Boorman, Ph.D. | Learning and decision-making |
| Rishidev Chaudhuri, Ph.D. | Computational neuroscience and neural data analysis |
| Xiaomo Chen, Ph.D. | Cognitive control and attention |
| Jacqueline Crawley, Ph.D. | Behavioral neuroscience and neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Jochen Ditterich, Ph.D. | Neural mechanisms of decision-making; new technology for neuroscience and translational applications |
| Andrew S. Fox, Ph.D. | Neurobiology of “affective style” |
| Mark Goldman, Ph.D. | Computational neuroscience |
| Amanda E. Guyer, Ph.D. | Adolescent neurodevelopment in health and depression, anxiety, and substance use |
| Tim Hanks, Ph.D. | Neural mechanisms of decision making and related disorders of brain function |
| Johannes Hell, Ph.D. | Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurotransmission at synapses in the brain |
| Richard Huskey, Ph.D. | Cognitive control, decision-making and reward, neuroimaging, computational and behavioral modeling |
| Wilsaan M. Joiner, Ph.D. | Sensorimotor integration, motor learning/control, and clinical applications. |
| Christina Kim, Ph.D. | Molecular and optical technologies to study the neural circuits regulating motivation |
| Zhaodan Kong, Ph.D. | Robotics, human-autonomy teaming, control theory, machine learning, neuroengineering |
| A. Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D. | Synapse formation and plasticity; neuroimmune contributions to development and disease |
| Karen Moxon, Ph.D. | Neural encoding and plasticity, neuroprosthetics, neuroengineering, brain-machine interfaces |
| Yuko Munakata, Ph.D. | Cognitive control over thoughts and actions, influences, consequences and mechanisms |
| Charan Ranganath, Ph.D. | Neural Basis and Functional Organization of Human Learning and Memory |
| Julie Schweitzer, Ph.D. | Attention and impulsivity in children and adults in typical development and in ADHD |
| Kia Shahlaie, M.D., Ph.D. | Deep brain stimulation techniques to improve learning and memory function; traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease |
| Jeffrey Sherman, Ph.D. | Cognitive processes underlying social psychology and behavior; stereotyping and prejudice |
| Mitchell Sutter, Ph.D. | Neural mechanisms of sound perception and modulation by attention, decisions, actions |
| Johnna Swartz, Ph.D. | Brain development and the development of mood and anxiety disorders |
| Jennifer L. Whistler, Ph.D. | Effects of clinically important drugs and drugs of abuse on the brain |