Zahra Fatahivanani, PhD

Zahra Fatahivanani, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher with training in cognitive and systems neuroscience. Her research focuses on understanding how neural circuits control motivation, learning, decision-making, and reward processing in rodent models. She uses advanced behavioral paradigms together with electrophysiological recordings, optogenetic manipulations, and calcium imaging to study how activity in cortico-striatal networks supports adaptive, goal-directed behavior. Her work aims to understand how circuit-level neural dynamics support behavioral flexibility and decision-making under uncertainty.