The human subcortex is one region of the brain often disregarded in cognitive neuroscience, more for technical than fundamental reasons. Indeed, the subcortex plays an essential role in decision making, learning, reward, inhibition and other aspects of cognition. Disruptions of subcortical systems appear early on in neurodegenerative diseases.
In this talk, I will outline current challenges to studying the human subcortex, and how ultra-high field MRI and advanced computational modeling techniques are helping us shed light on this highly heterogeneous part of the brain.