Hans Melo

Positive Neuroscience

My current research, at the intersection of positive psychology and cognitive neuroscience, explores the 'neurogenetic' underpinnings of positivity and well-being. My aims is to gain an understanding of the genetic influences and of the neural mechanisms underlying positive affect, how they affect cognition, and more generally how these impact well-being. I take an interdisciplinary approach combining methodologies from psychology, cognitive neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and genetics.

Neurogenetics of Positivity:

One line of research I am currently pursuing looks at how different genetic polymorphisms have an effect on emotion regulation, information processing, cognitive flexibility, decision-making, resilience, and subjective well-being. Previous research suggests that at least one-third of the variance in subjective well-being can be attributed to genetic influences. However, while these previous studies are an important step in establishing the influence of genes on subjective well-being, they tell us nothing about the specific genes involved, let alone the biological mechanism through which they act. Our study aims to improve our understanding of the role of specific genetic polymorphisms in cognition as they relate to positivity and well-being.

Computational models of decision-making:

I use computational models such as reinforcement learning and unsupervised learning to gain an insight into the neural mechanisms the brain might be using to make decisions. For example, one question of interest is how people balance 'exploration' and 'exploitation'. That is, how and why people decide to bypass a sure reward to learn more about their environment. Fitting these computational models to behavioral and neural data can help us understand in detail the processes underlying people's choices. I am interested in applying such analyses in behavioral and functional imaging experiments to study human decision-making. I believe that the choices we make in our day-to-day life strongly influence our current and future well-being.

• Kumaran, D., Melo, H.L., Duzel, E. The emergence and representation of knowledge about social and non-social hierarchies. (Submitted)
• De Martino, B., Melo, H.L., Moran, R., Dolan, RJ. Elucidating the Neural Underpinnings of Loss Aversion: A magnetoencephalography study of the temporal dynamics of loss aversion. (Master's Thesis)