# 📄 The neuroscience of decision making (interview with Timothy Hanks)

**Timothy Hanks, Alexandra Mikhailova, Daniel A. Friedman** (2020) · *ALIUS Bulletin*

[![DOI](https://img.shields.io/badge/DOI-10.34700%2F8pg4-0h12-blue)](https://doi.org/10.34700/8pg4-0h12)

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## Abstract

> This interview with Professor Tim Hanks explores the intersection of neuroscience and decision making, emphasizing the importance of an integrative approach that incorporates various experimental methods and models. Hanks discusses how computational neuroscience informs research agendas and everyday decision-making processes, while also addressing the philosophical implications of free will and conscious awareness.

## Keywords

`decision making` · `computational neuroscience` · `Bayesian brain` · `free will` · `mental health` · `attention` · `neural circuits`

## Key Contributions

- Introduces an integrative approach to studying decision making that combines multiple experimental methods.
- Highlights the role of computational neuroscience in shaping research agendas and personal decision-making.
- Explores the relationship between neural mechanisms and the philosophical concept of free will.
- Encourages open-mindedness about future developments in neuroscience.

## Methods

- Utilizes Bayesian reasoning to inform decision-making processes.
- Discusses the accumulation of evidence to a threshold level as a mechanism for decision commitment.
- Examines neural activity related to decision-making and its implications for understanding free will.
- Proposes a roadmap for future research that bridges conscious awareness with neural measurements.

## 🎯 Consulting & Tutoring

**Available for AI Research Consulting and Tutoring.** [Contact Daniel Ari Friedman, PhD](https://danielarifriedman.com/) for collaboration on Active Inference, Bayesian modeling, and computational biology.

## Citation

```bibtex
@article{2020_NeuroscienceDecision,
  author = {Timothy Hanks, Alexandra Mikhailova, Daniel A. Friedman},
  title = {{The neuroscience of decision making (interview with Timothy Hanks)}},
  journal = {ALIUS Bulletin},
  year = {2020},
  doi = {10.34700/8pg4-0h12},
}
```

## File Inventory

- `AGENTS.md` (1,987 bytes)
- `2020_NeuroscienceDecision.pdf` (327,343 bytes)
- `README.md` (1,761 bytes)
- `SKILL.md` (1,816 bytes)