| My research is focused on the intersection
between learning, memory and decision making. How are decisions shaped
by past experience? When are decisions guided by explicit knowledge,
and when by implicitly learned associations or biases? Are explicit
and implicit memories supported by independent cognitive and neural
systems (as popular view suggests)? Or, is there some form of cross-talk
between them? If so, do the underlying systems cooperate or compete?
To answer these questions, I adopt an integrative approach that
draws broadly on neuroscience to make predictions about cognition.
Predictions are tested in behavioral and neuroimaging studies in
healthy individuals, and in patients with isolated damage to specific
brain systems. Neuroimaging studies tell us about the spatial and
temporal characteristics of neural mechanisms involved in cognition.
Neuropsychological studies augment this approach and provide direct
evidence of the necessity of a brain region for specific cognitive
processes. Converging evidence from these complementary approaches
produces a fuller picture of the cognitive and neural processes
involved, and necessary, for different aspects of behavior. |
