Brain structure, modulation and function
Everyday human functions are mediated by the brain to process external elements and integrate them according to context demands to prepare and execute the best possible action. Cancellation of emotions, actions, thoughts or social interaction all require fine control of our final act or thought. This is mainly achieved through inhibition, monitoring and action control that is one of my interests. Also, Im interested in the way social factors such as empathy, generosity and love interact with our cognition drives emotional behavior.
There is increasing interest in mainly 3 regions that take control of our actions that are the pre-supplementary motor area, the inferior frontal cortex and the subthalamic nucleus. They all seem to take part in regulating and adapting behavior through inhibition of unwanted actions. Relatively little is known regarding how each region's activity regulates or changes the others. Using a combination of behavioral tasks, brain stimulation techniques and brain imaging my research interests focus on defining which area contributes most during inhibition of actions and how interconnected regions influence each other.