OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
The human brain faces a variety of computational tradeoffs, such as the flexibility/stability tradeoff. I will argue that the major ascending neuromodulatory systems originating from the midbrain are well suited to dynamically regulate these computational tradeoffs depending on our constantly changing task demands. This working hypothesis follows from a number of general principles of chemical neuromodulation, which I will illustrate by reviewing evidence from recent pharmacological PET/fMRI studies on (cost/benefit decision making about) cognitive control. These studies also begin to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the huge variability in catecholaminergic drug effects across different individuals and behaviours.
