E-MAIL: azab0001@umn.edu
Undergraduate Institution and Major:
New York Institute of Technology, BA, Computer Science, 2011
Graduate Advisor:
Ben Hayden, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience
Current Research:
I’m interested in understanding the neural correlates of value- based decision-making and executive control. Most of my research involves analysis of single-neuron data recorded in primate prefrontal cortex.
Graduate Level Publications:
- Cash-Padgett T, Azab H, Yoo SBM, Hayden BY. Opposing pupil responses to offered and anticipated reward values. Anim Cogn. 2018 Sep;21(5):671-684.
- Azab H, Hayden BY. Correlates of economic decisions in dorsal and subgenual anterior cingulate cortices. Eur J Neurosci. 2018;47(8):979-993.
- Farashahi S, Azab H, Hayden B, Soltani A. On the flexibility of basic risk attitudes in monkeys. J Neurosci. 2018;38(18):4383-4398.
- Pirrone A, Azab H, Hayden BY, Stafford T, Marshall JAR. Evidence for the speed-value trade-off: human and monkey decision making is magnitude sensitive. Decision (Wash D C ). 2018;5(2):129-142.
- Azab H, Hayden BY. Correlates of decisional dynamics in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. PLoS Biol. 2017 Nov 15;15(11):e2003091.
- Strait CE, Sleezer BJ, Blanchard TC, Azab H, Castagno MD, Hayden BY. Neuronal selectivity for spatial position of offers and choices in five reward regions. J Neurophysiol. 2016;115:1098-111.
Undergraduate Awards:
Graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
What Got You Interested in Research?
My undergraduate background is in computer science, and I’ve had a long-held interest in psychology and philosophy. I was especially interested in concepts of self-control, self-determination and free will, but wanted to tackle these from a primarily scientific perspective. My ultimate goal is to understand the algorithms and biological circuits that enable us to exhibit such complex, motivated behavior.
