John Mikhael and Sam Gershman argue that dopamine gates the influence of contextual information when making decisions. They show that this view captures dopamine’s seemingly conflicting roles in impulsivity, risk preferences, and the exploration-exploitation trade-off.

New research from the Stress and Development and Somerville labs demonstrate important differences in the way behavior is flexibly adjusted in the presence of reward from adolescence to young adulthood.

Harvard Medicine Magazine article sharing the perspectives of Xavier du Maine and four other HMS students on how the 2020 pandemic has affected their lives and research.

Round up of awards and honors earned by the HBI community.

HMS News article on new research from the lab of Jeremy Gunawardena, co-first authors Joseph P. Dexter and Sudhakaran Prabakaran, hinting at complex decision making in a single-cell organism.

Harvard Gazette article on new research from the lab of Bence Ölveczky, first author Ashesh Dhawale, on how the brain uses performance to regulate variability in motor functions.

After using tools, the birds behave more optimistically, study suggests.

The Landis Award is granted annually, with five researchers receiving $100,000 each to support their efforts in advancing the careers of students and postdoctoral fellows in their labs.

They were one of 44 doctoral advisor-student pairs awarded a Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study from HHMI.