#30 – Armin Lak: Dopaminergic circuits in decision making

Armin Lak is a neuroscientist and is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow at the University of Oxford, studying the neuronal circuits that govern learning and decision making. In particular, his research focuses on the role of dopaminergic neurons in different types of decision making through a combination of state-of-the-art neuronal circuit tools with novel behavioural methods and computational models.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:35) – Most beautiful aspect about biology

(09:32) – Dopamine

(11:34) – Reward prediction error hypothesis

(22:41) – Decision making

(33:41) – Incentive salience theory

(39:04) – Computing value in the brain

(44:10) – Experimental and computational techniques

(50:42) – What is the right level of explanation

(53:18) – Favourite part about doing science

(55:04) – Wolfram Schultz

(57:49) – Advice for young scientists