Research

Learning and decision-making

Our research on reward learning and decision-making delves into how we form predictions about future rewards, and how these processes influence decision-making. This involves exploring the mechanisms that underlie the valuation of possible outcomes, the learning processes that inform these valuations, and the ways in which predictions are formed and updated. In particular, we focus on mechanisms that allow individuals to generate flexible predictions by making inferences based on internal models of the world. By combining behavioral experiments with neuroimaging, neuromodulation and computational modeling, we seek to unravel the complex interactions between sensory inputs, cognitive processes and behavioral outputs, and how they are disrupted in disorders characterized by compulsive behaviors, such as substance use disorder.

Example projects

Liu Q, Zhao Y, Attanti S, Voss JL, Schoenbaum G, Kahnt T. Midbrain signaling of identity prediction errors depends on orbitofrontal cortex networks. Nature Communications. 2024 Feb 24; 15:1704.

Tegelbeckers J, Porter DB, Voss JL, Schoenbaum G, Kahnt T. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex integrates predictive information across multiple cues to guide behavior. Current Biology. 2023 Oct 23; 33(20):4496-4504.e5.

Wang F, Schoenbaum G, Kahnt T. Interactions between human orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus support model-based inference. PLoS Biology. 2020 Jan 21; 18(1):e3000578.

Olfactory neuroscience

Odors are uniquely powerful drivers of learning and approach-avoidance behaviors. Our research aims to understand how odors are processed and represented in the brain, how odors influence learning and behavior, and how olfactory processing is modulated by internal and external states. We also study impairments in olfactory function in neuropsychiatric disorders and dementia. By combining olfactory psychophysics with functional MRI and pattern-based imaging data analysis, our research aims to understand the brain processes underlying olfactory perception and odor-guided behavior.

Example projects

Sagar V, Shanahan LK, Zelano CM, Gottfried JA, Kahnt T. High-precision mapping reveals the structure of odor coding in the human brain. Nature Neuroscience. 2023 Sep; 29(9):1595-1602.

Echevarria-Cooper SL, Zhou G, Zelano C, Pestilli F, Parrish TB, Kahnt T. Mapping the Microstructure and Striae of the Human Olfactory Tract with Diffusion MRI. Journal of Neuroscience. 2022 Jan 5; 42 (1):58-68.

Shanahan LK, Bhutani S, Kahnt T. Olfactory perceptual decision-making is biased by motivational state. PLoS Biology. 2021 Aug 26; 19(8):e3001374.