The neuroscientist decoding how the brain learns

解码大脑学习奥秘的神经科学家

Science Quickly

2026-06-17

19 分钟
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In this episode, host Rachel Feltman interviews neuroscientist Kauê M. Costa, who is among Scientific American’s inaugural cohort of Young American Scientists honorees. Costa shares how being surprised by experiments has led him to new ways of thinking about learning in the brain. He explains how dopamine does more than signal reward, how there are two big frameworks of how the brain learns and how his findings could help us better understand—and treat—mental illness. Recommended Reading: The Young American Scientists Kauê M. Costa’s Young American Scientists profile Join our Summer Reading Challenge  E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. This episode is part of “The Young American Scientists,” an editorially independent project that was produced with financial support from Regeneron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • This episode of Science Quickly is brought to you by Regeneron.

  • Regeneron is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops,

  • and delivers life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases.

  • Founded and led by physician scientists, Regeneron pushes the boundaries

  • of scientific discovery from proprietary antibody technologies to pioneering genetic medicine platforms.

  • And through their extensive STEM programming and partnerships, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search

  • and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair,

  • they're empowering future scientific innovators to pursue bold ideas and advance world-changing solutions.

  • Learn more at Regeneron.com.

  • For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.

  • Today we're back with another one of Siam's 2026 young American scientists.

  • This group of groundbreaking researchers represent the future of science, technology and medicine.

  • One of those honorees is Calle Machado-Costa,

  • an assistant professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

  • He studies how learning works on a neurological level.

  • Thanks so much for coming on to chat with us today.

  • This is my great pleasure.

  • Before we get into the subject of your research specifically,

  • I have to ask if you would tell me why you describe yourself as slightly cursed.

  • Over the course of my career, there have been only very few instances where I have made a prediction, right?