I Don't See It That Way: The Science of Decision Making | Binge Thinking
About this Event
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Think Responsibly.
Topic: I Don’t See It That Way: How Internal and External Environment Influence Perception and Decision Making
Speaker: Dr. Sara Wasserman (Wellesley College)
Every decision we make — from what we notice to how we act — depends on a constant negotiation between our internal state and the external world. But how does the brain decide what matters in a world full of competing signals?
Dr. Sara Wasserman’s research explores how brains and bodies communicate to produce flexible, context-dependent decision-making. At Wellesley College, her lab studies how organisms determine what to pay attention to, how they assign value to sensory information (attractive, aversive, or neutral), and how those valuations ultimately drive behavior.
A key insight from her work is that neither attention nor value is fixed — both shift depending on internal states like hunger, thirst, and sleep, as well as external environments that change how information is perceived and processed.
Using fruit flies from different ecological backgrounds (forest vs. desert) and manipulating internal states like dehydration and sleep deprivation, her lab investigates how neural circuits adapt to support survival-relevant decisions. To do this, they combine genetic tools with virtual reality flight simulators that allow researchers to observe and quantify the flies’ behavioral “decisions” in controlled environments.
Topics include:
- How the brain and body communicate to guide decision-making
- How organisms determine what to pay attention to in complex environments
- How internal states like hunger, thirst, and sleep reshape perception and behavior
- How value (attractive, aversive, neutral) is assigned to sensory stimuli
- How context changes what is considered “salient” information
- How fruit flies help model flexible, survival-based decision-making
- How genetic tools and virtual reality systems reveal neural circuit function
This talk brings together neuroscience, behavior, genetics, and ecology to explore how brains dynamically adapt decision-making to a constantly changing world.
About the Speaker
Dr. Sara Wasserman is a Kresa Family Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Wellesley College and principal investigator of the Wasserman Lab. She earned her B.A. in Neuroscience and Theatre Studies from Wellesley College, her M.A. in Education from Pepperdine University, and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from Brandeis University, followed by postdoctoral training as an HHMI Fellow at UCLA. Her research has been recognized with awards including the International Society for Neuroethology Young Investigator Award and NIH and NSF-supported fellowships, and her lab uses fruit flies and virtual reality flight simulators to study how internal state and external environment shape decision-making and behavior.
Agenda
7:00 PM — Doors Open & Drinks
7:30 PM — Lecture Begins
8:10 PM — Audience Q&A
8:30 PM — Drinks & Conversation
9:00 PM — Event Ends
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 32.95
