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Dr. Matthew Apps

The Motivation and Social Neuroscience group seeks to understand the mechanisms in the brain that underpin motivated behaviour, how these processes vary between people and how when they go wrong, it can lead to impaired motivation as we get older or in neurological disorders. To do this we use a combination of novel behavioural approaches, mathematical modelling and brain imaging of people with and without neurological disorders to identify both the systems and brain chemicals involved in motivated behaviour.

 

Motivation:

Why do things feel effortful? 

Why do we get fatigued? 

Why can motivation become impaired through ageing and in brain disorders?

Our group examines the role of fronto-striatal systems in the brain, their computations and the contributions of different brain chemicals underlying healthy and disrupted motivation.

 

Social:

Why is social cognition demanding?

When do we decide to be altruistic and help others out?

How do we predict how motivated others are?

Our research dissects the contributions of different prefrontal regions, their computations and pharmacological basis of the processes that underlie 'social motivatio

Our team

Selected publications