Distinguished Lecture Series: "Model-based neuroimaging and its application to reward-learning and decision making"
Speaker John O’Doherty (Dublin)
Date 16 July 2009, 18:30
Location
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Luisenstraße 56, FESTSAAL
10117 Berlin
Contact Annette Winkelmann
Organized by Berlin School of Mind and Brain
In model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), signals derived from a computational model for a specific cognitive process are correlated against fMRI data from subjects performing a relevant task to determine brain regions showing a response profile consistent with that model. A key advantage of this technique over more conventional neuroimaging approaches is that model-based fMRI can provide insights into how a particular cognitive process is implemented in a specific brain area as opposed to merely identifying where a particular process is located. In this talk I will briefly summarize the approach of model-based fMRI, with reference to the field of reward learning and decision making, where computational models have been used to probe the neural mechanisms underlying learning of reward associations, modifying action choice to obtain reward, as well as in encoding expected value signals that reflect the abstract structure of a decision problem. Finally, I will show how model-based fMRI can be extended into the social domain in order to characterize the possible computations underlying mentalizing or theory of mind during strategic interactions.
Note bene:
There will be an opportunity for doctoral students to meet with John O’Doherty on Thursday, 30 April, 16.30–17.30.
Venue: Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Luisenstraße 56, 10117 Berlin