Decision Making

Decision Making group investigates neural computations underpinning the decision making process. The group is led by Dr Benedetto De Martino.

Benedetto De Martino

Group Leader

benedettodemartino@gmail.com

Decision Making Research

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - J.K.Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

The goal of our group is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the neural computations underpinning the decision making process across a broad range of domains such as perceptual, economic and social choice. We approach this question by combining computational modelling with experimental economics, psychophysics and brain imaging methods.

Group Members

PhD Students

Mariana Zurita Soler: m.zurita@ucl.ac.uk
I am a Biotech Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where I also got my MSc in Engineering. My thesis focused on developing machine learning classifiers based on Brain MRI to better understand multiple sclerosis. I'm currently investigating the difference between perceptual and value-based decisions.

MSc/MRes students

Amy Benson

a.benson.17@ucl.ac.uk

I have studied Psychology at Newcastle University and am now a masters student on the Cognitive Neuroscience MSc programme at UCL. I am interested in how our memories contribute to the decisions that we make and will work with eye tracking. I am particularly interested in the link between value judgements and memory, and the level of confidence that we have in our decisions.

Mihaela Nemes

mihaela.nemes.17@ucl.ac.uk

I am a Genetics graduate from University of York, where I focused on the overlap between molecular biology and neuroscience. I put great emphasis on both multidisciplinarity and research in itself, and I was eager to extrapolate my biological understanding of the brain to a cognitive perspective. This led to my academic journey on an MRes in Brain Sciences at UCL. I currently investigate the phenomena of confidence-leak in humans where I employ diverse psychophysical and neurobiological methods to better understand the roots of overconfidence, and how overconfidence may bias our everyday decisions.