Jan Drugowitsch

Jan Drugowitsch, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Research
Publications

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Jan Drugowitsch, PhD

Associate Professor of Neurobiology
Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Email: jan_drugowitsch@hms.harvard.edu
Website: Drugowitsch Lab website – more information about Jan Drugowitsch’s research (opens in a new tab)

The Aim

The Drugowitsch Lab develops computational models for how the brain makes decisions and navigates under uncertainty.

The Impact

Our brains are remarkably good at making sense of the world that surrounds us in order to act and navigate, even if they only get messy and incomplete information from our senses. Our lab combines tools from neuroscience, machine learning, and physics to figure out how networks of neurons interpret such messy signals to guide behavior. These studies reveal core principles for how healthy brains think, decide, and learn, and could help us better understand brain disorders that affect our decision‑making and navigation abilities. In the long run, this could inform new treatments and more effective technologies for intervention in conditions such as schizophrenia, ADHD, OCD, and anxiety.

A Closer Look

MedicalXpress – February 2025: Neural “optimist” and “pessimist” in decision making (article, opens in a new tab)

This feature describes how the Drugowitsch Lab found a neural “optimist” and “pessimist” working in tandem to predict whether an animal expects a good or bad outcome. Furthermore, silencing one group shifted the behavior of the animal as if it suddenly expected more or less from its choices.

newswise.com – December 2021: Turning information into split‑second decisions (article, opens in a new tab)

This feature profiles how the Drugowitsch Lab uses computational tools to study how the brain turns information into split‑second decisions, like judging whether it is safe to cross a street. It also touches on the lab’s research into how place cells help animals track their position and navigate space.

Publications View

Optimal policy for multi-alternative decisions.

Authors: Authors: Tajima S, Drugowitsch J, Patel N, Pouget A.
Nat Neurosci 2019-09-01
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Prefrontal mechanisms combining rewards and beliefs in human decision-making.

Authors: Authors: Rouault M, Drugowitsch J, Koechlin E.
Nat Commun 2019-01-17
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Lateral orbitofrontal cortex anticipates choices and integrates prior with current information.

Authors: Authors: Nogueira R, Abolafia JM, Drugowitsch J, Balaguer-Ballester E, Sanchez-Vives MV, Moreno-Bote R.
Nat Commun 2017-03-24
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Computational Precision of Mental Inference as Critical Source of Human Choice Suboptimality.

Authors: Authors: Drugowitsch J, Wyart V, Devauchelle AD, Koechlin E.
Neuron 2016-12-21
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Optimal policy for value-based decision-making.

Authors: Authors: Tajima S, Drugowitsch J, Pouget A.
Nat Commun 2016-08-18
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Becoming Confident in the Statistical Nature of Human Confidence Judgments.

Authors: Authors: Drugowitsch J.
Neuron 2016-05-04
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Multiplicative and Additive Modulation of Neuronal Tuning with Population Activity Affects Encoded Information.

Authors: Authors: Arandia-Romero I, Tanabe S, Drugowitsch J, Kohn A, Moreno-Bote R.
Neuron 2016-03-16
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Confidence and certainty: distinct probabilistic quantities for different goals.

Authors: Authors: Pouget A, Drugowitsch J, Kepecs A.
Nat Neurosci 2016-03-01
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Fast and accurate Monte Carlo sampling of first-passage times from Wiener diffusion models.

Authors: Authors: Drugowitsch J.
Sci Rep 2016-02-11
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Causal Inference and Explaining Away in a Spiking Network.

Authors: Authors: Moreno-Bote R, Drugowitsch J.
Sci Rep 2015-12-01
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