Post-training intra-amygdala amphetamine injections given during acquisition of a stimulus–response (S–R) habit task enhance the expression of stimulus–reward learning: Further evidence for incidental amygdala learning

Abstract Behavioral change is paramount to adaptive behavior. Two ways to achieve alterations in previously established behavior are extinction and overexpectation. The infralimbic (IL) portion of the medial prefrontal cortex controls the inhibition of previously established aversive behavioral responses in extinction. The role of the IL cortex in behavioral modification in appetitive Pavlovian associations remains poorly understood. Here, we seek to determine if the IL cortex modulates overexpectation and extinction of reward learning. Using overexpectation or extinction to achieve a reduction in behavior, the present findings uncover a dissociable role for the IL cortex in these paradigms. Pharmacologically inactivating the IL cortex left overexpectation intact. In contrast, pre-training manipulations in the IL cortex prior to extinction facilitated the reduction in conditioned responding but led to a disrupted extinction retrieval on test drug-free. Additional studies confirmed that this effect is restricted to the IL and not dependent on the dorsally-located prelimbic cortex. Together, these results show that the IL cortex underlies extinction but not overexpectation-driven reduction in behavior, which may be due to regulating the expression of conditioned responses influenced by stimulus–response associations rather than stimulus–stimulus associations.

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Measuring habit formation through goal-directed response switching

10.31234/osf.io/xnmfc ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

David Luque ◽

Sara Molinero ◽

Poppy Watson ◽

Francisco J. López ◽

Mike Le Pelley

Keyword(s):

Learning Theory ◽

Switch Cost ◽

Time Pressure ◽

Reward Learning ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Response Switching ◽

Directed System ◽

Habitual Behavior ◽

Reliable Marker ◽

Translational Models

Reward-learning theory views habits as stimulus–response links formed through extended reward training. Accordingly, animal research has shown that actions that are initially goal-directed can become habitual after operant overtraining. However, a similar demonstration is absent in human research, which poses a serious problem for translational models of behavior. We propose that response-time (RT) switch cost after operant training can be used as a new, reliable marker for the operation of the habit system in humans. Using a new method, we show that RT switch cost demonstrates the properties that would be expected of a habitual behavior: (1) it increases with overtraining; (2) it increases when rewards are larger, and (3) it increases when time pressure is added to the task, thereby hindering the competing goal-directed system. These results offer a promising new pathway for studying the operation of the habit system in humans.

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Can model-free reinforcement learning operate over information stored in working-memory?

10.1101/107698 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carolina Feher da Silva ◽

Yuan-Wei Yao ◽

Todd A. Hare

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Reward Learning ◽

Sequential Presentation ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Presentation Condition ◽

Model Free ◽

Human Participants ◽

External Stimuli

AbstractModel-free learning creates stimulus-response associations. But what constitutes a stimulus? Are there limits to types of stimuli a model-free or habitual system can operate over? Most experiments on reward learning in humans and animals have used discrete sensory stimuli, but there is no algorithmic reason that model-free learning should be restricted to external stimuli, and recent theories have suggested that model-free processes may operate over highly abstract concepts and goals. Our study aimed to determine whether model-free learning processes can operate over environmental states defined by information held in working memory. Specifically, we tested whether or not humans can learn explicit temporal patterns of individually uninformative cues in a model-free manner. We compared the data from human participants in a reward learning paradigm using (1) a simultaneous symbol presentation condition or (2) a sequential symbol presentation condition, wherein the same visual stimuli were presented simultaneously or as a temporal sequence that required working memory. We found a significant effect of reward on human behavior in the sequential presentation condition, indicating that model-free learning can operate on information stored in working memory. Further analyses, however, revealed that the behavior of the participants contradicts the basic assumptions of our hypotheses, and it is possible that the observed effect of reward was generated by model-based rather than model-free learning. Thus it is not possible to draw any conclusions from out study regarding model-free learning of temporal sequences held in working memory. We conclude instead that careful thought should be given about how to best explain two-stage tasks to participants.

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The Effect of Real-Time Feedback Using a Smartwatch on the Clinical Behavior of Novice Student Clinicians

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/persp2.sig11.79 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (11) ◽

pp. 79-90

Author(s):

Courtney G. Scott ◽

Trina M. Becker ◽

Kenneth O. Simpson

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Single Subject ◽

Clinical Behavior ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Treatment Data ◽

Computer Monitors

The use of computer monitors to provide technology-based written feedback during clinical sessions, referred to as “bug-in-the-eye” (BITi) feedback, recently emerged in the literature with preliminary evidence to support its effectiveness (Carmel, Villatte, Rosenthal, Chalker & Comtois, 2015; Weck et al., 2016). This investigation employed a single-subject, sequential A-B design with two participants to observe the effects of implementing BITi feedback using a smartwatch on the clinical behavior of student clinicians (SCs). Baseline and treatment data on the stimulus-response-consequence (S-R-C) contingency completion rates of SCs were collected using 10 minute segments of recorded therapy sessions. All participants were students enrolled in a clinical practicum experience in a communication disorders and sciences (CDS) program. A celeration line, descriptive statistics, and stability band were used to analyze the data by slope, trend, and variability. Results demonstrated a significant correlative relationship between BITi feedback with a smartwatch and an increase in positive clinical behaviors. Based on qualitative interviews and exit rating scales, SCs reported BITi feedback was noninvasive and minimally distracting. Preliminary evidence suggests BITi feedback with a smartwatch may be an effective tool for providing real-time clinical feedback.

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