How does the brain process conflicting information?

学习是我们适应环境的手段。有时候，我们学到的东西与我们目前对世界的认识相矛盾。当这种情况发生时，新旧（相互矛盾的）信息争夺对行为的控制。然而，人们对大脑如何处理相互矛盾的信息并解决这种竞争还知之甚少。这个项目在啮齿类动物身上使用现代遗传工具来研究大脑如何编码和检索相互矛盾的信息来影响行为。结果包括关于适应行为的神经基础的新见解；它的好处包括理解为什么我们有时不能适应变化，以及以这种失败为特征的障碍（例如，焦虑症，成瘾）。

Learning is the means by which we adapt to our environments. Occasionally, what we learn contradicts our present knowledge about the world. When this occurs, the old and new (contradictory) information compete for control over behaviour. Yet, how the brain processes contradictory information and resolves this competition is poorly understood. This project uses modern genetic tools in rodents to examine how the brain encodes and retrieves contradictory information to influence behaviour. The outcomes include new insights regarding the neural basis of adaptive behaviour; and the benefits include an understanding of why we sometimes fail to adapt to change, and disorders characterized by such failures (e.g., anxiety disorders, addiction).