This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) provides $189,540 to the University of Pittsburgh to conduct research on the neural mechanisms underlying model-based decision-making. The project aims to determine how distinct cell types in the prelimbic cortex and dorsomedial striatum represent and facilitate model-based control, a crucial cognitive process that allows behavioral flexibility and is disrupted in compulsive disorders. The award, running from Feb 1, 2025 to Jan 31, 2030, will support in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetic experiments in mice to map the neural activity patterns and circuitry underlying this decision-making process. The findings could advance understanding of the neurobiological basis of compulsive behaviors and inform the development of novel, circuit-based treatments.