Neuromodulatory Systems and Cognition Lab

I studied medicine at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, before moving to London to complete an MSc in Neuroscience at UCL, followed by a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience under the supervision of Prof. Patrick Haggard. For my PhD, I investigated the neural correlates of voluntary action initiation in humans. After receiving my PhD in 2017, I joined Prof. Matthew Rushworth’s lab at Oxford as a postdoctoral researcher, where I studied the role of cortico-subcortical circuits in decisions about whether and when to initiate an action in humans and non-human primates. In 2021, I was awarded a BBSRC Discovery Fellowship to begin my independent research, and in 2025, I established my own research group after receiving a Wellcome Career Development Award to investigate the function of neuromodulatory systems in the primate brain.

I am a postdoctoral researcher studying how neuromodulatory systems shape cognition and behaviour. I completed my PhD at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, developing multi-modal methods that integrate molecular information from PET into fMRI to study how neurochemistry shapes large-scale brain network dynamics across psychopharmacology, consciousness, and neuropsychiatric disorders. I then moved to the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Harvard, where I developed brainstem-optimised fMRI to measure activity and connectivity from neuromodulatory nuclei directly, applying this to understand the cognitive and affective symptoms of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. At the NSCLab, I combine fMRI with pharmacology and computational modelling in non-human primates to uncover how dopamine and serotonin interact to drive learning, decision-making, and motivation.

I am a postdoctoral researcher supported by a Fyssen Foundation fellowship. I obtained my PhD in Neuroscience and Cognition from the Institute of Cognitive Sciences (ISC) in Lyon, France. My research focused on social behaviors, investigating their neural and anatomical foundations in conjunction with behavioural approaches. As I join the lab, I intend to further explore the social dimensions of decision-making processes.

DPhil Student in Experimental Psychology & Biomedical Engineering, supervised by Dr. Nima Khalighinejad, Prof. Matthew Rushworth and Prof. Eleanor Stride. I work jointly in the Biomedical Ultrasonics, Biotherapy and Biopharmaceuticals Laboratory (BUBBL) in Engineering Science and the Neuromodulatory Systems & Cognition Lab in Experimental Psychology. MEng in Biomedical Engineering Graduate from Imperial College London, with an MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. I have stayed on in Oxford, working on exciting problems at the intersection of bioengineering & neuroscience. My project aims to develop non-invasive and targeted neuromodulator delivery with focused ultrasound and nanoparticles. This methodology will subsequently be used to manipulate the concentration of neuromodulators in a target region, examining their effect on established behavioural studies of decision-making.

I am a DPhil student interested in understanding how small neuromodulatory nuclei in the human brainstem contribute to individual differences in mood, cognition, and behaviour. My research uses ultra-high-field 7T MRI and computational models to study these brainstem systems at the individual level. In particular, I am interested in how their anatomy and functional organisation vary across individuals, how these differences relate to behavioural and clinical phenotypes, and whether they can help explain individual responses to neuromodulatory interventions.

I joined the lab as an MSc in Psychological Research student in 2023 and I am currently working as a Research Assistant on projects involving human fMRI. My research interests lie in how recreational and therapeutic drugs influence cognitive processes such as decision-making, memory, and sensory processing, and how these changes affect addiction processes. My main focus of research in the lab is a project investigating how foraging decision-making is shaped by beliefs about value and uncertainty of options on offer and the general foraging environment. Insights about the neurocircuitry involved inform a new pharmacological study exploring how serotonergic and dopaminergic agents affect these decision-making processes. This research has various applications, such as for marketing, depression, and substance use disorder.

DPhil student in Experimental Psychology, supervised by Nima Khalighinejad, Laurel Morris, and Tim Lawn. I obtained my Research Master’s in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Radboud University in the Netherlands, where we developed a non-invasive ultrasound brain stimulation protocol in humans and investigated its modulatory effects on choice behaviour. I then worked as a Research Scientist at the University of Amsterdam, studying data-driven subdivisions of the human midbrain and the computational principles of jointly modelled learning and decision-making using model-based 7T MRI. At the NSC Lab, I extend this work to other neuromodulatory systems, focusing on the ventral tegmental area and its relation to other systems through joint modelling of motivation, learning, and decision-making, brainstem-tailored MRI, and causal ultrasound interventions.

Fourth-year Biomedical Sciences student specialising in neuroscience. I joined the lab in September 2026 as part of my 4th year integrated masters programme. I’m fascinated by how static neural architecture can give rise to our vast and flexible behavioural repertoire over short timescales. As such, my research focuses on understanding the role of neuromodulatory systems in facilitating cognitive flexibility and, in particular, how these systems may go awry in pathology. This year my project combines fMRI with computational modelling to uncover brainstem-cortex coupling with the aim of adding insight to the pathogenesis of MDD.

I joined the NSC Lab in September 2026 as a Research Assistant in Neuro-AI at the University of Oxford, based in the CANN Lab. Supervised by Seán and Nima Khalighinejad, I co-lead a collaborative project between the two labs, developing biophysical models of how serotonin and dopamine shape neural circuit activity and how these effects are reflected in large-scale fMRI signals.

I joined the lab as a Visiting Student, coming from the University of Exeter as part of my Psychology degree, and working across the Neuromodulatory Systems & Cognition Lab and the Mind Mechanisms Lab. The main project I am involved in at the NSCLab investigates how serotonergic and dopaminergic manipulations influence engagement, disengagement, and exploratory states in humans, while recording neural and physiological responses with EEG and pupillometry. My broader research interests lie in the neural and computational mechanisms underlying cognition and behaviour, particularly neuromodulation, decision-making, cognitive states, and how the brain builds internal models of the world.

I joined the NSCLab in Spring 2025 as part of the MSc in Neuroscience program at the University of Oxford. My project has focused on focal, non-invasive serotonin delivery to target brain regions, and on studying its effects on functional connectivity. In particular, I have been interested in exploring both interactions between specific brain areas and changes across large-scale brain networks. I am continuing my research at the NSC Lab while completing my medical degree at the University of Copenhagen.