Here’s an exchange of emails between PL and MC on a recently published paper (Balleine et al., 2007). Email 1 (from PL): Have a look at this introductory paragraph from a recent (Aug 2007) J Neurosci article by Balleine, Delgado and Hikosaka. What do they mean by “cognition” here? The Role of the Dorsal Striatum …
Continue reading “The role of reward and cognitive control in decision making”
My latest scientific publication is entitled Selection and maintenance of stimulus–response rules during preparation and performance of a spatial choice-reaction task (authors: Schumacher, Cole, and D'Esposito). It is a study using functional MRI with humans to investigate how we prepare for and execute willful action. In this post I'll attempt to translate the article's findings …
Continue reading “The neural basis of preparation for willful action”
Several news articles have come out today which seem to imply that a recent Science report's main finding is that the mind wanders for a purpose (see this Forbes article), and that "daydreaming improves thinking" (see this Cosmos article). These are typical of fabrications used by popular science journalists to pique the public's interest. Mason, …
Continue reading “Wandering Minds and the Default Brain Network”
