Habits and Behavioral Change: Where Learning, Decision Making, and Executive Function Meet

Russell Poldrack
(University of Texas, Austin)
Date: 08/13/2012
Description:
Habits are essential to optimal behavior, but are also the source of many public health problems, such as drug addiction and obesity. I will discuss our research that has examined how habits are acquired, which has focused on the role of corticostriatal systems. I will then discuss ongoing research in our lab that is examining the nature of behavioral change in the context of value-based decision making. Together this work provides a framework for understanding how habitual behavior develops and changes over time.
Created: Monday, August 13th, 2012