We study the biological basis of learning and decision-making by monitoring, manipulating, and modeling neural activity
How do we remember something good and pursue it? How do we remember something bad and avoid it?
How do we make decisions and commit actions in complicated situations (e.g., things are uncertain)?
What are the computational causes and consequences of brain disorders?
What can we learn about how the brain works from artificial intelligence?
We address these questions by monitoring and manipulating neuronal activities in rodents🐁, NHPs🐵, and artificial neural network agents💻. We use molecular, electrophysiological, and computational methods to understand how neural activity underlies cognition and behavior.
If we figure out the essence of the brain, we can understand ourselves better - the origin of consciousness and intelligence. It will also contribute to developing treatments for mental illnesses such as addiction. Furthermore, we may apply the neural mechanisms of intelligent behaviors to improve artificial intelligence technologies.
Recent news
Feb 14, 2025 - Nawoon was awarded in the Korean Society For Cognitive and Biological Psychology conference “An active avoidance task in augmented reality to investigate responses to visual fear memory”. Congratulations!
Jan 31, 2025 - Lumi, undergraduate RA in the lab, was admitted to Neurobiology Ph.D. program at Duke University. Congratulations!
Oct 7, 2024 - Mijoo gave a talk “A derivative-like dopaminergic computation across valences” in Nanosymposium at Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 2024. Great job!
Sep 24, 2024 - Our manuscript entitled “A Normative Framework Dissociates Need and Motivation in Hypothalamic Neurons” was accepted by Science Advances. This was a joyful collaboration with Dr. Hyung Jin Choi’s lab. Congratulations Jongwon and all the authors!
Topics related to what we do in the lab.
Lab introduction video (Korean ver.)
