We predictably make bad decisions, such as eating that extra slice of cake or failing to save our planet. But why? I am a PhD candidate working with Dr. Hanneke den Ouden on understanding how our motivations sway our actions in often seemingly irrational ways. The striatum, which is a deep brain structure, is proposed to drive reinforcement learning, invigorate or inhibit action, and bias choice by shaping cortical processes. Together with Dr Lennart Verhagen’s Cognitive Neuromodulation lab, I aim to use an exciting new technique, Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation (TUS), to – for the first time in humans – non-invasively stimulate the striatum. These ultrasonic soundwaves are outside of our hearing range and can be used to focally stimulate deep brain structures that are usually unreachable with the traditional human stimulation tools. Ultimately, by modulating the striatum, we can study the effects on motivational behavior and understand why we sometimes make bad decisions. Before this, I obtained my bachelor’s degree in (Medical) Biology and graduated cum laude from the Master in Medical Biology (specialized in Neurobiology) at the Radboud University.

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