Decision Neuroscience
Instructor
Dr. Kerstin Preuschoff,Dr. Christian Ruff
Day, Time, Location
Tuesday, 14:00-15:45 Room Y13-L-03/05
Course description
This seminar provides an introduction to different aspects of decision neuroscience by exploring the neural processes and computations that underlie decision making in humans, non-human primates and rodents. The seminar will begin with a brief introduction to methods in neuroscience and economics and outline neural and economic theories of decision making. Discussions of specialized topics will ensue, covering issues such as neural representations of valuation, strategic decisions, learning, social decision making, perceptual decisions, and multiplicity of decision-making systems. The seminar will be divided between overview lectures, student presentations of research papers, and general discussions of how neural data can inform theories of decision making.
Course materials
The course materials can be downloaded from OLAT.
Intended audience
Doctoral and postdoctoral students in economics, neuroscience, and psychology with an interest/focus in interdisciplinary research
Credit points
3 ECTS
Language
English
Course topics
| Day | Topic |
|---|---|
| 21-09-2010 | Introduction and overview |
| 28-09-2010 | Basics: Models of decision making and models of the brain |
| 05-10-2010 | Valuation: Neural value signals in animal models |
| 12-10-2010 | Valuation: Neural value signals in the human brain |
| 19-10-2010 | Decision mechanisms: Parietal cortex |
| 26-10-2010 | Decision mechanisms: Prefrontal cortex |
| 02-11-2010 | Decision mechanisms: Context factors (risk, ambiguity) |
| 09-11-2010 | Learning: Reinforcement learning and reward prediction |
| 16-11-2010 | Learning: Context-dependent changes in neural valuation |
| 23-11-2010 | Learning: Strategic mechanisms supporting value-based learning |
| 30-11-2010 | Social decision making: Social influences on reward processing |
| 07-12-2010 | Social decision making: Social choices |
| 14-12-2010 | Multiple decision-making systems |
| 21-12-2010 | Final discussion |