Common mechanisms for decision-making and working memory in health and old age

Descripción del proyecto

Elementos comunes entre la toma de decisiones y la memoria funcional

Los recientes desarrollos teóricos sugieren que la toma de decisiones y la memoria funcional podrían surgir de los mismos mecanismos neuronales fundamentales, mientras que, hasta ahora, estos dos tipos de función cognitiva se han estudiado por separado. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos COMDM evaluará por primera vez esta hipótesis. Para ello, se utilizarán novedosas herramientas de neurociencia humana para encontrar los elementos comunes entre la toma de decisiones y la memoria funcional, así como una posible base neuronal común de las deficiencias en ambas funciones en una gran parte de la población mundial: las personas mayores sanas. Entre los fines del proyecto se incluye difundir los hallazgos, ampliar la red mundial de investigación y preparar el camino para oportunidades de financiación de más alto nivel.

Objetivo

We are constantly required to keep recently encountered information about the world in mind, and to use that information to make appropriate decisions. These essential cognitive functions, known as working memory (WM) and decision-making (DM), are conventionally studied in isolation by psychologists and neuroscientists. Yet, recent theoretical developments suggest that both DM and WM could emerge from the same fundamental neural mechanisms. With this Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, hosted by Trinity College Dublin and IDIBAPS Barcelona, I will empirically test this exciting proposal for the first time. In my career thus far, I have characterised new neural signatures of DM and established a non-invasive proxy for powerful neural systems linked to both DM and WM. Now, I will supplement these breakthroughs with a number of cutting-edge approaches in cognitive neuroscience specialised in by my host supervisors Prof. Robert Whelan and Dr. Albert Compte. This suite of tools will allow me to expose commonalities between DM and WM at an unprecedented level of detail, and interrogate a possible common neural basis for DM and WM deficits that exist in a large part of the global population – healthy elderly individuals. During my Fellowship, I will publish my findings in leading journals and work to communicate my research activities to the largest possible audience. I will participate in professional development programs to develop essential competencies in personnel management and grant writing, and will capitalise on my secondment in Barcelona to grow my global research network. Additionally, I will receive advanced training in sophisticated methodological and analytical approaches, which will continue my progression toward becoming a leading cognitive neuroscientist capable of competing for high-level funding opportunities. Thus, this Fellowship will prepare me well for a future career as the principle investigator of a multidisciplinary European research laboratory.