1.

Neural circuits and cognition lab:

- Cost vs benefit decision making
- Tested in rats using operant reward tests: small reward vs large rewards but
with increase uncertainty, effort, punishment, delay, etc…
- Mesocortical reward system: highly interconnected circuits moderated by
dopamine
- Anatomical tracing, fiber photometry, pharmacology, chemogenetics,
optogenetics
- Could be sex differences in decision making
2. Behavioral neurogenetics lab
- C. elegans: molecular level and individual neurons
- Genes involved in cell death discovered in c. elegans
- Whole map of their neural connections
- Fully sequenced genome
- First time gfp used in an animals
- Non-associative learning: habituation and sensitization
- Different genes may control different types of responses
- Time interval effect simple learning processes
- Large scale analysis of risk genes
3. Chantellle cocquyt (cognitive science)
- fMRI in humans
- Extracting information from wonky images
- Emotional memory: retrieval task: specific picture or just vibe
- Univariate contrast: compare between negative vs neutral remembered trials
- Negative over neutral shoes activity
- Representational similarity analysis (RSA)
4. Brandon foyrs (The motivated cognition lab, BAR lab
- Decisions
- What makes someone choose more vs less effort and awards
- Depression, chronic stress, and ability negatively impact choice of higher
value awards
- How do depression symptoms, chronic stress, and working memory capability
impact
- Adapted from rodent cognitive effort task into a human test
- Logical regression

What research project and/or research lab was most interesting to you? Why?
I think the Behavioral Neuroscience lab presentation (second presentation)
was the most interesting. The role of C. Elegans' research in science was well
stated, and it surprised me how much they contributed to the the

What was one new thing you learned about research going on at UBC?
I learned that there are lots of complicated and interesting animal studies going on at
UBC. Behavioural studies such as the ones Melanie described in the rats' addiction
study were brilliantly designed. The surgical techniques are also very advanced. It
seems that these studies are very effective at answering more novel questions.

What is one thing you wish to find out/clarify about Neuroscience research at UBC?
How much converging evidence do animal and human research provide in reward
decision-making?