Guest Presenter: Dr. Murty V.P.S. Dinavahi (Postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Luiz Pessoa’s lab at the University of Maryland)

Abstract: In this presentation, I’ll be talking about the focus of my research, which concerns how the human brain processes ongoing stimuli over time. First, I will briefly discuss findings from my PhD research, which identified two types of gamma oscillations in the human visual cortex in EEG with different temporal responses to static visual gratings. Then I will present recent research from my postdoctoral work on how the human brain processes the anticipation of threat or reward over time, as observed in fMRI BOLD responses. This includes how arousal and valence effects evolve in the brain when facing imminent threats or pursuing imminent rewards. I will end by discussing some pilot results that suggest that responses to reward and threat do not interact when a threat is anticipated after a reward. These findings could inform future studies on affective decision-making in both healthy individuals and psychiatric patients when immediate rewards are anticipated to be followed by potential threats.