Neurophysiological Assays of Reward and Cognitive Domains

The overarching goal of this multi-disciplinary research program is to develop and optimize new cross-species translational assessments of reward and cognition that will not only be assessed in parallel in humans and rats, but also produce neurophysiological and behavioral metrics that can be objectively compared across species. The research will build on prior studies by further developing and optimizing (in Phase 1), then validating via pharmacological challenge (in Phase 2), the following assays in both humans and rats: 1. advanced neurophysiological and computational modeling techniques to record and analyze EEG activity within and across species; and 2. behavioral assessments of reward learning, cognitive control, and cognitive flexibility will be analyzed within and across species. The second phase of the study will test the translational validity of these assays, by assessing the impact of a targeted drug on task performance and EEG activity in both species.