Through computational neuroscience, we try to work out what steps someone takes, in their brain, when they think or act. Our research applies this to understanding neurological diseases. We focus on motivation and memory, and how a neural network could do these things.
Motivation drives us to do things. Many brain disorders impair motivation, causing apathy or impulsivity. This can be catastrophically disabling. Understanding the anatomy and chemistry of motivation may permit treatments.
Remembering what we have just done gives us agency and identity. However certain diseases can interfere with this memory. By studying how neurons interact to retain information, we aim to understand how this goes wrong in dementia.
Artificial intelligence simulates thought by representing neurons by numbers in a computer program. We ask whether artificial networks of neurons behave like the brain, and whether damaging them mimics disease.