Learning lays the foundation for motivated behavior enabling us to anticipate and respond to salient events in our environment. Research in Dr. Catherine Hartley's lab focuses on characterizing the diverse learning, memory, and decision-making processes that support adaptive behavioral flexibility. Her lab uses an array of methodological techniques in this work including neuroimaging, psychophysiology, and computational modeling in conjunction with experimental paradigms that draw upon both animal learning and economic decision theories. Her lab's work addresses these two central questions:
1) What cognitive, computational, and neural processes inform our motivated actions and choices?2) How (and why) do behavioral control processes change over development and vary across individuals?
Key Research Areas:
Learning, Motivated Behavior, Memory, Decision-Making Processes, Adaptive Behavioral Flexibility, Neuroimaging, Psychophysiology, Computational Modeling, Animal Learning, Economic Decision Theories, Cognitive & Neural Processes, Behavioral Control Systems, Pavlovian, Goal-Directed, Information Representation, Brain Circuits, Behavioral Capabilities, Brain Dynamics
