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Our mission is to understand how motivations  change brain biology and shape learning.​

We use our science to support well-being, achievement, and human flourishing.

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Our research has shown that motivations to comprehend, predict, and shape the world are biological and mental phenomena:​

• dynamic neural contexts that influence memory formation

• emerging from momentary changes in molecular traffic across brain architecture

• regulated by memories and prior experiences

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The neural networks we study are common targets for medicines. By using behavior to change biology, we can engineer environments and our own mindsets, tuning brain function to solve a learning problem.  

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Medications can tune our brains to learn, but they can't do our learning for us.​

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By changing people's motivational states, we have uncovered new brain mechanisms of memory and new tools for self-regulation. We aim to translate these into  behavioral therapies safe enough for early intervention.

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