Making decisions is difficult. Understanding how we make decisions is even more challenging. This line of research focuses on understanding the fundamentals and common mechanisms in decision making under uncertainty and risky behavior. 

Here we investigsate the role of neurons and astrocytes frontal regions in decision-making and cognitive flexibility.

Human and animal research has demonstrated that decision-making is impaired with alcohol use. However, there is limited research regarding the role of information in animal models of alcohol use disorder. Our lab aims to contribute a new piece of information to this puzzle.

Ketamine has been used as treatment for depression and drug addiction. However, it is also a drug of abuse. We aim to disentangle the limits when it can provide health benefits and when it can become a problem.

Many are using exogenous hormones as prescription to treat certain conditions, but also to improve the self; even though the long-term effects in the brains are poorly understood. 

We are curious about the role that sex hormones ( progesterone, estrogen and testosterone) exert over behavior. We dive into the use of hormones and adjacent substance (e.g., SARMs), evaluating aspects of cognition in adolescence and adulthood. 

We have previously found that rats are capable of reasoning similar to humans. Gonzalez et al. (2023) discovered that rats commit the conjunction fallacy, much like humans do.

Research on reasoning and imagination is sparse and often overlooked. Here, we aim to investigate the extent of rats' capacity to reason and the brain pathways involved in this process.

Often, we do not give enough weight to how environmental conditions of our animals can influence their performance. This line of research wants to systematically address the effects of social and physical enrichment in rats. We aim to understand its effect in learning, drug use and decision-making.