Social and Decision Neuroscience Research
Researchers in social and decision neuroscience (SDN) apply traditional tools and techniques from the fields of the social sciences and neuroscience to investigations that deepen understanding of how the human brain makes personal and social choices. Using bioimaging, fMRI, and eye-tracking technologies, they are able to find and analyze regions of the brain that are active during times of uncertainty, motivation, and learning, and also when the brain is engaged in social cognition and decision making. Taken together, these studies are helping to build a biological understanding of human behavior as part of Caltech's broader neuroscience initiative to explore and understand the intricacies and complexities of the brain's structure and function at all scales.