Habits are the behavioral output of two brain systems. A stimulus–response (S–R) system that encourages us to efficiently repeat well-practiced actions in familiar settings, and a goal-directed system concerned with flexibility, prospection, and planning. Getting the balance between these systems right is crucial: an imbalance may leave people vulnerable to action slips, impulsive behaviors, and […]

Cognition arises from neural operations at multiple spatial scales, from individual neurons to large-scale networks. Despite extensive research on coding principles and emergent cognitive processes across brain areas, investigation across scales has been limited. Here, we propose ways to test the idea that different cognitive processes emerge from distinct information coding principles at various scales, […]

Dreams have long captivated human curiosity, but empirical research in this area has faced significant methodological challenges. Recent interdisciplinary advances have now opened up new opportunities for studying dreams. This review synthesizes these advances into three methodological frameworks and describes how they overcome historical barriers in dream research. First, with observable dreaming, neural decoding and […]