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Brain scans like these helped scientists classify how study participants made decisions. (Credit: Jonathan Nicholas / Shohamy lab/ Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute).

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Decision Making June 2, 2025

Memories Can Sway a Decision Long Before It’s Made

Researchers find memories forge links to help people make new decisions quickly and accurately

Learning & Memory April 17, 2025

How Do Memories of Places Form?

First recordings of activity in the branch tips of mouse neurons reveal unexpected secrets underlying the creation of mental maps

Learning & Memory March 12, 2025

Songbirds Highlight Dopamine’s Role in Learning

Researchers studying zebra finches see, for the first time, how dopamine guides trial and error learning.

Learning & Memory December 18, 2024

New Peek at Connections Between Neurons Shines Light Into Memory Formation

Scientists for the first time see, in mice, the precise way in which connections between neurons change during memory formation

Learning & Memory October 15, 2024

Fearful Memories of Others Seen in Mouse Brain

Temporarily silencing brain regions helped scientists pinpoint where different types of memories originate

Learning & Memory July 23, 2024

Zuckerman Institute Memory Expert Named an HHMI Investigator

Dr. Dmitriy Aronov’s discoveries about chickadees may help solve mysteries about the inner workings of memory

Learning & Memory March 29, 2024

Barcode-like Neural Activity Found in Chickadees

Scientists find new patterns of electrical activity that may help the brain record and recall memories, not just in birds, but humans too

Computation February 20, 2024

Can A Single Brain Region Encode Familiarity and Recollection?

A new study with mice reveals how the brain can identify familiar individuals and recall past experiences with them; findings could shed light on disorders affecting memory

Learning & Memory January 22, 2024

This Pianist Learns with Songbirds

Meet Graduate Student Jonathan Kasdin, Neurobiology and Behavior Program

Learning & Memory December 13, 2023

New study sheds light on how the brain learns to seek reward

Rewards don’t just reinforce a specific action—they quickly change the whole pattern of how we behave

Zuckerman Institute In the News

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