Christopher H Donahue

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at Gladstone Institutes

A fundamental but rarely contested assumption in economics and neuroeconomics is that decision-makers compute subjective values of risky options by multiplying functions of reward probability and magnitude. By contrast, an additive strategy for valuation allows flexible combination of reward information required in uncertain or changing environment...

Adaptation of learning and decision-making might depend on the regulation of activity in the prefrontal cortex. Here we examined how volatility of reward probabilities influences learning and neural activity in the primate prefrontal cortex. We found that animals selected recently rewarded targets more often when reward probabilities of different o...

Value-based decision making often involves integration of reward outcomes over time, but this becomes considerably more challenging if reward assignments on alternative options are probabilistic and non-stationary. Despite the existence of various models for optimally integrating reward under uncertainty, the underlying neural mechanisms are still...

The prefrontal cortex of primates is well poised for carrying out multiple types of functions related to strategic decision-making. For example, outcomes of many strategic decisions can be observed only after substantial delays. The prefrontal cortex might play a key role in incorporating such delays into decision-making by representing the subject...

Neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) encode a diverse array of sensory and mnemonic signals, but little is known about how this information is dynamically routed during decision making. We analyzed the neuronal activity in the DLPFC of monkeys performing a probabilistic reversal task where information about the probability and magn...

Although human and animal behaviors are largely shaped by reinforcement and punishment, choices in social settings are also influenced by information about the knowledge and experience of other decision-makers. During competitive games, monkeys increased their payoffs by systematically deviating from a simple heuristic learning algorithm and thereb...

In stable environments, decision makers can exploit their previously learned strategies for optimal outcomes, while exploration might lead to better options in unstable environments. Here, to investigate the cortical contributions to exploratory behavior, we analyzed single-neuron activity recorded from four different cortical areas of monkeys perf...

MEG and EEG measure electrophysiological activity in the brain with exquisite temporal resolution. Because of this unique strength relative to noninvasive hemodynamic-based measures (fMRI, PET), the complementary nature of hemodynamic and electrophysiological techniques is becoming more widely recognized (e.g., Human Connectome Project). However, t...

To explore the effects of commonly encountered pathology on auditory recognition strategies in elderly participants, magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain activation patterns and performance were examined in 30 elderly [18 controls and 12 elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or probable Alzheimer's disease (AD)]. It was predicted that partici...

As a part of a larger study of normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), which included patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), we investigated the response to median nerve stimulation in primary and secondary somatosensory areas. We hypothesized that the somatosensory response would be relatively spared given the reported late involvement...

We describe a new error reconciliation protocol {\it Winnow} based on the exchange of parity and Hamming's ``syndrome'' for $N-$bit subunits of a large data set. {\it Winnow} was developed in the context of quantum key distribution and offers significant advantages and net higher efficiency compared to other widely used protocols within the quantum...