David Scott Tait

My research interests lie in seeking to understand the cognitive processes that allow us to adapt our behaviour to changes in our environment. To that end, I employ a variety of neuroscientific techniques – such as psychopharmacology and chemogenetics – to manipulate frontal cortical and/or basal ganglia function in experimental animals using bespoke behavioural tasks: to explore how attentional focus facilitates learning under some circumstances, and hinders it under others – forcing attentional adaptation; and to understand the means – both psychological processes and neurological underpinnings – by which the brain mediates such attentional shifting.