Ian Ballard

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Riverside, where I direct the Computational Cognitive and Neural Sciences Laboratory. I am affiliated with the Cognitive and Cognitive Neuroscience area of the Psychology Department and the UCR Neuroscience Graduate Program.

I study how learning and goals interact to support adaptive decision-making. To develop psychological and neural models of this process, I use computational models to bridge insights from brain imaging and causal manipulations such as TMS, pharmacological intervention, and investigation of patients with brain lesions. My long-term research goal is to develop models of cognitive flexibility that inform strategies and treatments for reducing maladaptive perseveration.