Understanding biological basis of learning, memory and intelligence
Comparative Cognition and Intelligence
Professor June-Seek Choi
Many students ask how research on mice can help us understand the human mind. At the Biopsychology Lab at Korea University, animal models are used to investigate the most fundamental neural mechanisms underlying Pavlovian conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and social decision-making.
These learning mechanisms are simple yet powerful. For example, reinforcement learning theory, which is based on the law of effect in conditioning, became the foundation of AlphaGo—the system that defeated the world Go champion Lee Sedol by four games to one in 2016—and has since evolved into a core algorithm driving the modern artificial intelligence revolution.
Neural Mechanisms
Many aspects of seemingly complex human behavior can be translated into physiological, mechanistic, and mathematical terms. The lab studies how such transformations are possible by identifying the neural principles that govern learning and behavior.
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Through a wide range of neurobiological experiments, the lab explores core psychological topics such as cognition, emotion, and intelligence, while also incorporating advanced methodologies from artificial intelligence and robotics.
