Kyle S. Smith

Kyle S. Smith is an Associate Professor at Dartmouth College specializing in neural mechanisms of reward, motivation, and habit formation. His research examines how brain circuits generate goal-directed actions and how these processes malfunction in addiction, Parkinson's disease, and OCD.

Education includes a BA from Indiana University, MS/PhD from University of Michigan, and postdoctoral training at MIT.

Research employs electrophysiology, optogenetics, and chemogenetics to map neural dynamics during behavior. Current investigations focus on: 1) Neural representations of pleasure/motivation, 2) Motivation-action interactions, 3) Compulsive behavior origins, and 4) Interventions for reward-seeking disorders.

Recent publications investigate sex differences in motivational learning, acetylcholine modulation in nucleus accumbens, and striatal control of exploratory behavior.