Mauricio Delgado, psychology.rutgers.edu/neuroscience/

My research interests center around human decision-making and reward processing. Specifically, how does the brain learn about value (e.g, rewards and punishments)? And how does it use this information to guide behavior during basic processes, such as instrumental conditioning, and during more complex social interactions that are integral to life (e.g., learning to trust someone else). Currently, as an assistant professor in the department of psychology at Rutgers University, I pursue these research questions via a combination of behavioral, physiological (skin conductance responses), and neuroimaging methods to find converging evidence that a specific neural circuit, involving the human striatum, mediates distinct aspects of affective learning, reward-processing and subsequent decision-making.

Both my research focus and convergence of methodological approaches were shaped by my post-doctoral years at New York University. After having completed a dissertation investigating human reward systems, I joined the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Phelps to broaden my knowledge and experience with respect to affective learning in both the positive (e.g., reward-related learning) and negative (e.g., fear conditioning) domain. While being involved in projects focused on acquisition and extinction of human fears, I was exposed to new techniques of measuring behavior (e.g., skin conductance responses) and modulating behavior (e.g., emotion regulation techniques).

My time at NYU also introduced me to new research directions. I was privileged to have been involved in an interdisciplinary venture directed by Dr. Paul Glimcher that introduced innovative and stimulating approaches to the study of human decision-making. Through collaborations with economists, I was able to extend some of the basic research I had conducted in reward-processing and decision making to more complex social situations. Examples of projects include investigations of the influence of prior social perceptions on decision-making during a trust game, and examinations of the neural and psychological reasons underlying overbidding behavior that typically occur during experimental auctions. Thus, the excellent mentorship and resources available at NYU were instrumental in shaping my current research focus and aiding my initial efforts in establishing an independent research career.