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Abe Lab
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The lab explores the psychological and neural mechanisms of human decision-making.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring how decisions are made, starting from the brain.
The Abe Lab focuses on the psychological and neural mechanisms of human decision-making.
Centered on imaging of brain function and structure with fMRI and other methods, and on neuropsychological studies of patients with brain damage, the lab also combines behavioral experiments and field studies.
Focusing on human decision-making, the lab covers a broad range of topics including sociality and morality, and aims to take a multifaceted approach that is not bound by disciplinary boundaries.
Students join this lab at the graduate level. It accepts graduate students in the Psychology Program of the Graduate School of Letters, where Prof. Abe serves as a cooperating faculty member.
Key terms
- fMRI
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging. A method that shows which parts of the brain are active by imaging changes in blood flow
- Neuropsychology
- A field that studies changes in mental functions caused by brain damage to understand the relationship between the brain and the mind
- Nucleus accumbens
- A region deep in the brain involved in reward, pleasure, and motivation
- Gambler's fallacy
- A cognitive bias in which people believe that after the same outcome has repeated by chance, the opposite outcome is more likely to come next
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab's research centers on the psychological and neural mechanisms of human decision-making. It uses brain function imaging, mainly with fMRI, and neuropsychological studies of patients with brain damage as complementary approaches.
Brain Mechanisms of Honesty and Lying
Prof. Abe's central research theme is the neural basis of honesty and dishonesty. The lab studies the mechanisms that determine whether people behave honestly or lie, from both psychological and neuroscientific perspectives.
Neural Bases of Moral Judgment and Romantic Love
With collaborators, the lab investigates the neural bases of preference judgments, moral judgments, and romantic feelings involved in decision-making. In 2026, it reported in papers that the specificity of nucleus accumbens responses to one's romantic partner decreases as the relationship gets longer, and that advice from generative AI influences moral judgment.
Process Research on Gambling
Within a framework of industry–academia collaboration, the lab conducts process research on gambling. Analyzing real casino baccarat data, it showed that bettors tend to ride streaks of wins and losses rather than follow the "gambler's fallacy."
MembersFaculty
The Abe Lab's members consist of faculty, project researchers and researchers, technical assistants, administrative staff, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorNobuhito Abe
- Program-Specific ProfessorRyusuke Nakai
- Assistant ProfessorRyuhei Ueda
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