Benjamin Scott’s research involves the development and application of new technologies to study the neural basis of cognition and complex learned behavior.

This approach involves a combination of two fields. The first is biomedical engineering, particularly the development of novel optical imaging and genetic methods to observe and perturb the activity of neurons in their native habitat — the intact brains of living organisms. The second is neuroethology, the study of brain circuits that underlie natural behaviors to elucidate basic principles of brain function.

Recent work in the Scott lab has focused on combining high-throughput behavioral training in rodents and advanced techniques for imaging brain activity to identify and characterize the neural circuits involved in evidence-based decision making.