We’re interested in understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie cognitive & affective processes of relevance to psychopathology. This work is organized into two general arms:

• Reward processing and decision making: Human decision making often involves deciding whether to stick with what we know (i.e. ‘exploiting’ familiar options; e.g. eating at the same restaurant), or deciding to try a new option we’re not sure we will enjoy (i.e. ‘exploring’ novel options; e.g. trying a new restaurant). In this line of work, we examine the brain circuits underlying this ‘explore-exploit’ tradeoff, how differential recruitment of these circuits might drive different decision making patterns, and how pathological ‘explore-exploit’ behavior might be related to problematic decision making in patients with psychiatric and neurological illness.
• Emotional awareness and regulation: Humans have evolved a capacity to consciously ‘feel’ our emotions. In this line of work, we examine the neural mechanisms driving this ‘emotional awareness,’ how it helps us to manage and respond to our emotions, and how these mechanisms might be impaired in patients with mental health challenges.