Investigating neural signals during risky decision making

This research will investigate brain signals during risky decisions to identify brain regions and cell types involved in different aspects of gambling-related behaviour. Dopamine is a signalling molecule released by certain brain cells during rewarding events that is thought to be important for shaping motivation and learning from positive and negative outcomes. We will measure how different dopamine signals are affected by the degree of risk, reward, and uncertainty with an aim to identify pathways relevant for reducing gambling harms.

Project lead is Dr Paul Dodson (School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience) at the University of Bristol