Neuroeconomics and Social Neuroscience

Decisions pervade our daily lifes and are typically based on learned subjective values. We investigate the neural mechanisms underlying value-based decision making and reward learning in social and non-social contexts. For example, we investigate how the brain processes and combines constituents of subjective value, such as risk and effort, or we ask whether social learning mechanisms differ from individual learning mechanisms. We aim to elucidate the origin of value signals in the brain and focus on the role of dopamine and other neurotransmitters for value and salience processing. Our studies mainly employ behavioral methods as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging and pharmacological interventions.