Motivation as Neural Context for Learning (CANCELLED)

R. Alison Adcock, MD, PhD
Duke University

Talk Abstract: Although researchers often discuss how the brain produces behavior, it is also true that behavior and experience influence the brain. Our research has shown that distinct motivational states elicited by expectation of reward or punishment and influence learning and memory via distinct brain systems. These different motivational states correspond to differential activity and connectivity in brain circuits implicated not only in motivation but also in learning and memory. This selectivity in memory mechanisms, in turn, determines whether the information in memory is detailed versus general or flexible versus rigid. Our recent work has shown that people can self-induce activation of in neuromodulatory systems capable of broadly influencing brain function, implying that we can actively leverage these neural contexts to shape learning during education and therapy, a process we refer to as behavioral neurostimulation.