A pervasive idea in cognitive science is that decisions are the result of a comparison of sensory evidence that is accumulated over time. Findings from both neurophysiology and neuroimaging now suggest that the brain solves the problem of perceptual decision-making using a similar accumulator mechanism. Using accumulators as a framework, the PANLab seeks to understand how the brain processes sensory evidence, how that sensory evidence interacts with previous experiences, how that interaction contributes to decision making, and how those decisions lead to environmentally-appropriate actions. The research program emphasizes the understanding of fudamental sensory operations and how they may differ across typical and atypical populations. Research involves a combination of experimental methods and analysis techniques, including fuctional MRI, resting state and task-based functional connectivity, structural connectivity, psychophysics, self-report, daily diaries, TMS, and EEG.
