scholarly journals Spontaneous eye blink rate predicts individual differences in exploration and exploitation during reinforcement learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne C. Van Slooten ◽  
Sara Jahfari ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Successful Performance ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Mixture Modelling

AbstractSpontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) has been linked to striatal dopamine function and to how individuals make value-based choices after a period of reinforcement learning (RL). While sEBR is thought to reflect how individuals learn from the negative outcomes of their choices, this idea has not been tested explicitly. This study assessed how individual differences in sEBR relate to learning by focusing on the cognitive processes that drive RL. Using Bayesian latent mixture modelling to quantify the mapping between RL behaviour and its underlying cognitive processes, we were able to differentiate low and high sEBR individuals at the level of these cognitive processes. Further inspection of these cognitive processes indicated that sEBR uniquely indexed explore-exploit tendencies during RL: lower sEBR predicted exploitative choices for high valued options, whereas higher sEBR predicted exploration of lower value options. This relationship was additionally supported by a network analysis where, notably, no link was observed between sEBR and how individuals learned from negative outcomes. Our findings challenge the notion that sEBR predicts learning from negative outcomes during RL, and suggest that sEBR predicts individual explore-exploit tendencies. These then influence value sensitivity during choices to support successful performance when facing uncertain reward.

scholarly journals Spontaneous eye blink rate predicts individual differences in exploration and exploitation during reinforcement learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne C. Van Slooten ◽  
Sara Jahfari ◽  
Jan Theeuwesu
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Successful Performance ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Mixture Modelling

AbstractSpontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) has been linked to striatal dopamine function and to how individuals make value-based choices after a period of reinforcement learning (RL). While sEBR is thought to reflect how individuals learn from the negative outcomes of their choices, this idea has not been tested explicitly. This study assessed how individual differences in sEBR relate to learning by focusing on the cognitive processes that drive RL. Using Bayesian latent mixture modelling to quantify the mapping between RL behaviour and its underlying cognitive processes, we were able to differentiate low and high sEBR individuals at the level of these cognitive processes. Further inspection of these cognitive processes indicated that sEBR uniquely indexed explore-exploit tendencies during RL: lower sEBR predicted exploitative choices for high valued options, whereas higher sEBR predicted exploration of lower value options. This relationship was additionally supported by a network analysis where, notably, no link was observed between sEBR and how individuals learned from negative outcomes. Our findings challenge the notion that sEBR predicts learning from negative outcomes during RL, and suggest that sEBR predicts individual explore-exploit tendencies. These then influence value sensitivity during choices to support successful performance when facing uncertain reward.

scholarly journals Intra-subject consistency of spontaneous eye blink rate in young women across the menstrual cycle

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez ◽  
Georg Zimmermann ◽  
Belinda Pletzer
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Luteal Phase ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Individual Consistency ◽  
Estradiol Levels

Abstract The spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR) has been linked to different cognitive processes and neurobiological factors. It has also been proposed as a putative index for striatal dopaminergic function. While estradiol is well-known to increase dopamine levels through multiple mechanisms, no study up to date has investigated whether the EBR changes across the menstrual cycle. This question is imperative however, as women have sometimes been excluded from studies using the EBR due to potential effects of their hormonal profile. Fifty-four women were tested for spontaneous EBR at rest in three different phases of their menstrual cycle: during menses (low progesterone and estradiol), in the pre-ovulatory phase (when estradiol levels peak and progesterone is still low), and during the luteal phase (high progesterone and estradiol). No significant differences were observed across the menstrual cycle and Bayes factors show strong support for the null hypothesis. Instead, we observed high intra-individual consistency of the EBR in our female sample. Accordingly, we strongly encourage including female participants in EBR studies, regardless of their cycle phase.

scholarly journals Tracking Real-Time Changes in Working Memory Updating and Gating with the Event-Based Eye-Blink Rate

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Rac-Lubashevsky ◽  
Heleen A. Slagter ◽  
Yoav Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Striatal Dopamine ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Working Memory Updating ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Event Based ◽  
Gating Process

AbstractEffective working memory (WM) functioning depends on the gating process that regulates the balance between maintenance and updating of WM. The present study used the event-based eye-blink rate (ebEBR), which presumably reflects phasic striatal dopamine activity, to examine how the cognitive processes of gating and updating separately facilitate flexible updating of WM contents and the potential involvement of dopamine in these processes. Realtime changes in eye blinks were tracked during performance on the reference-back task, in which demands on these two processes were independently manipulated. In all three experiments, trials that required WM updating and trials that required gate switching were both associated with increased ebEBR. These results may support the prefrontal cortex basal ganglia WM model (PBWM) by linking updating and gating to striatal dopaminergic activity. In Experiment 3, the ebEBR was used to determine what triggers gate switching. We found that switching to an updating mode (gate opening) was more stimulus driven and retroactive than switching to a maintenance mode, which was more context driven. Together, these findings show that the ebEBR – an inexpensive, non-invasive, easy-to-use measure – can be used to track changes in WM demands during task performance and, hence, possibly striatal dopamine activity.

scholarly journals Eye-blink rate predicts individual differences in pseudoneglect

2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1265-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heleen A. Slagter ◽  
Richard J. Davidson ◽  
Rachel Tomer
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Eye Blink

scholarly journals Individual differences in eye blink rate predict both transient and tonic pupil responses during reversal learning

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. e0185665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne C. Van Slooten ◽  
Sara Jahfari ◽  
Tomas Knapen ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Reversal Learning ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Tonic Pupil

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

Staring Down Death

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Joiner ◽  
Melanie A. Hom ◽  
Megan L. Rogers ◽  
Carol Chu ◽  
Ian H. Stanley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Clinical Utility ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Eye Blinks ◽  
Potential Clinical Utility ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Background: Lowered eye blink rate may be a clinically useful indicator of acute, imminent, and severe suicide risk. Diminished eye blink rates are often seen among individuals engaged in heightened concentration on a specific task that requires careful planning and attention. Indeed, overcoming one’s biological instinct for survival through suicide necessitates premeditation and concentration; thus, a diminished eye blink rate may signal imminent suicidality. Aims: This article aims to spur research and clinical inquiry into the role of eye blinks as an indicator of acute suicide risk. Method: Literature relevant to the potential connection between eye blink rate and suicidality was reviewed and synthesized. Results: Anecdotal, cognitive, neurological, and conceptual support for the relationship between decreased blink rate and suicide risk is outlined. Conclusion: Given that eye blinks are a highly observable behavior, the potential clinical utility of using eye blink rate as a marker of suicide risk is immense. Research is warranted to explore the association between eye blink rate and acute suicide risk.

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