Kyle S. Smith
Director of Graduate Studies
I conduct research on how the brain works to generate reward, motivation, actions, and habits. My work incorporates techniques to record neural activity, modulate neuronal activity at sub-second timescales, study brain chemistry, and map brain connections. The research is relevant to understanding disorders of reward and action, like addiction, Parkinson’s disease, and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.
Contact
Department(s)
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Education
- B.A., Indiana University
- M.S., University of Michigan
- Ph.D., University of Michigan
- Post-doc, M.I.T.
Selected Publications
Graybiel AM, Smith KS (2014). How the brain makes and breaks habits. Scientific American, June issue (cover article). Link to site.
Smith KS, Graybiel AM (2014). Investigating habits: strategies, technologies, and models. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8:39. Link to article.
Smith KS, Graybiel AM (2013). A dual operator view of habitual behavior reflecting cortical and striatal dynamics. Neuron, 79(2):361-74. (Link for video abstract)
Smith KS, Graybiel AM (2013). Using optogenetics to study habits. Brain Research, 1511:102-14.