EPISODE · Jun 17, 2026 · 19 MIN
The neuroscientist decoding how the brain learns
from Science Quickly · host Scientific American
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 [email protected] 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
What this episode covers
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 [email protected] 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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The neuroscientist decoding how the brain learns
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