scholarly journals Associative learning and animal cognition

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1603) ◽  
pp. 2733-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Associative Processes ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Processing Architectures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Component

Associative learning plays a variety of roles in the study of animal cognition from a core theoretical component to a null hypothesis against which the contribution of cognitive processes is assessed. Two developments in contemporary associative learning have enhanced its relevance to animal cognition. The first concerns the role of associatively activated representations, whereas the second is the development of hybrid theories in which learning is determined by prediction errors, both directly and indirectly through associability processes. However, it remains unclear whether these developments allow associative theory to capture the psychological rationality of cognition. I argue that embodying associative processes within specific processing architectures provides mechanisms that can mediate psychological rationality and illustrate such embodiment by discussing the relationship between practical reasoning and the associative-cybernetic model of goal-directed action.

scholarly journals Genesis and Maintenance of Attentional Biases: The Role of the Locus Coeruleus-Noradrenaline System

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mana R. Ehlers ◽  
Rebecca M. Todd
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Attentional Biases ◽  
Associative Processes ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Attentional Tuning ◽  
Pharmacological Manipulations

Emotionally arousing events are typically better remembered than mundane ones, in part because emotionally relevant aspects of our environment are prioritized in attention. Such biased attentional tuning is itself the result of associative processes through which we learn affective and motivational relevance of cues. We propose that the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system plays an important role in the genesis of attentional biases through associative learning processes as well as their maintenance. We further propose that individual differences in and disruptions of the LC-NA system underlie the development of maladaptive biases linked to psychopathology. We provide support for the proposed role of the LC-NA system by first reviewing work on attentional biases in development and its link to psychopathology in relation to alterations and individual differences in NA availability. We focus on pharmacological manipulations to demonstrate the effect of a disrupted system as well as theADRA2bpolymorphism as a tool to investigate naturally occurring differences in NA availability. We next review associative learning processes that—modulated by the LC-NA system—result in such implicit attentional biases. Further, we demonstrate how NA may influence aversive and appetitive conditioning linked to anxiety disorders as well as addiction and depression.

scholarly journals Task errors contribute to implicit remapping in sensorimotor adaptation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ann Leow ◽  
Welber Marinovic ◽  
Aymar de Rugy ◽  
Timothy J Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Reward Prediction ◽  
Strategic Processes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sensory Prediction ◽  
Or Task

AbstractPerturbations of sensory feedback evoke sensory prediction errors (discrepancies between predicted and actual sensory outcomes of movements), and reward prediction errors (discrepancies between predicted rewards and actual rewards). Sensory prediction errors result in obligatory remapping of the relationship between motor commands and predicted sensory outcomes. The role of reward prediction errors in sensorimotor adaptation is less clear. When moving towards a target, we expect to obtain the reward of hitting the target, and so we experience a reward prediction error if the perturbation causes us to miss it. These discrepancies between desired task outcomes and actual task outcomes, or “task errors”, are thought to drive the use of strategic processes to restore success, although their role is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the role of task errors in sensorimotor adaptation: during target-reaching, we either removed task errors by moving the target mid-movement to align with cursor feedback of hand position, or enforced task error by moving the target away from the cursor feedback of hand position. Removing task errors not only reduced the rate and extent of adaptation during exposure to the perturbation, but also reduced the amount of post-adaptation implicit remapping. Hence, task errors contribute to implicit remapping resulting from sensory prediction errors. This suggests that the system which implicitly acquires new sensorimotor maps via exposure to sensory prediction errors is also sensitive to reward prediction errors.

The blocking effect in associative learning involves learned biases in rapid attentional capture

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 522-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Luque ◽  
Miguel A. Vadillo ◽  
María J. Gutiérrez-Cobo ◽  
Mike E. Le Pelley
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Blocking Effect ◽  
Attentional Biases ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
Probe Task ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Attentional Models ◽  
The Relationship

Blocking refers to the finding that less is learned about the relationship between a stimulus and an outcome if pairings are conducted in the presence of a second stimulus that has previously been established as a reliable predictor of that outcome. Attentional models of associative learning suggest that blocking reflects a reduction in the attention paid to the blocked cue. We tested this idea in three experiments in which participants were trained in an associative learning task using a blocking procedure. Attention to stimuli was measured 250 ms after onset using an adapted version of the dot probe task. This task was presented at the beginning of each learning trial (Experiments 1 and 2) or in independent trials (Experiment 3). Results show evidence of reduced attention to blocked stimuli (i.e. “attentional blocking”). In addition, this attentional bias correlated with the magnitude of blocking in associative learning, as measured by predictive-value judgments. Moreover, Experiments 2 and 3 found evidence of an influence of learning about predictiveness on memory for episodes involving stimuli. These findings are consistent with a central role of learned attentional biases in producing the blocking effect, and in the encoding of new memories.

Magic

2018 ◽  
pp. 186-203
Author(s):  
István Czachesz
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Confirmation Bias ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Behavioural Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter outlines an analytical concept of magic and considers how it contributes to our understanding of early Christian rituals. The first section addresses the problematic history of the academic study of magic. The second section proposes a heuristic definition of magic in the context of a cognitive and behavioural approach to religion. The chapter then discusses the role of associative learning in magic, particularly in so-called superstitious conditioning. The fourth section deals with explanatory strategies, arguing that implicit, cognitive mechanisms that support magic (such as moral contagion and confirmation bias) tend to be cross-culturally consistent. Explicit theorizing about magic (such as the ancient concept of magical helpers) is more varied across cultures. Finally, the chapter turns to the relationship between magical practices and miracle stories and addresses the role of magic and miracle in the success of the early Christian movement.

scholarly journals The Kamin Blocking Effect in Sign and Goal Trackers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayank Aggarwal ◽  
Jeffery R. Wickens
Keyword(s):  
Classical Conditioning ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Blocking Effect ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Temporal Contiguity ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Parallel Learning ◽  
Auditory Cue ◽  
Goal Tracking

AbstractThe discovery of the Kamin blocking effect suggested that surprise or prediction errors are necessary for associative learning. This suggestion led to the development of a new theoretical framework for associative learning relying on prediction error rather than just temporal contiguity between events. However, many recent studies have failed to replicate the blocking effect, questioning the central role of blocking in associative learning theory. Here, we test the expression of Kamin blocking in rats that either approach and interact with the conditioned cue (sign trackers) or approach and interact with the reward location (goal trackers) during appetitive classical conditioning. The behavioral task involved three phases: classical conditioning of a lever cue, conditioning of a compound of the lever cue plus an auditory cue, and testing response to presentation of the auditory cue in extinction. The results show that only sign trackers express the blocking effect. Thus, groups that include goal trackers are less likely to be able to replicate the blocking effect. Our findings support the idea that sign and goal tracking responses arise as a result of distinct parallel learning processes. Psychological theories of learning that incorporate these parallel learning processes and their interactions will provide a better framework for understanding the blocking effect and related associative learning phenomena.

scholarly journals Dynamic interactions between top-down expectations and conscious awareness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik L. Meijs ◽  
Heleen A. Slagter ◽  
Floris P. de Lange ◽  
Simon van Gaal
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Stimulus Perception ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIt is well known that top-down expectations affect perceptual processes. Yet, remarkably little is known about the relationship between expectations and conscious awareness We address three crucial questions that are outstanding: 1) How do predictions affect the likelihood of conscious stimulus perception?; 2) Does the brain register violations of predictions nonconsciously?; and 3) Do predictions need to be conscious to influence perceptual decisions? We performed three experiments in which we manipulated stimulus predictability within the attentional blink paradigm, while combining visual psychophysics with electrophysiological recordings. We found that valid stimulus expectations increase the likelihood of conscious access of stimuli. Furthermore, our findings suggest a clear dissociation in the interaction between expectations and consciousness: conscious awareness seems crucial for the implementation of top-down predictions, but not for the bottom-up generation of stimulus-evoked prediction errors. These results constrain and update influential theories about the role of consciousness in the predictive brain.

What's the Point of Knowledge?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hannon
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Epistemic Relativism ◽  
Gettier Problem ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Knowledge Claims ◽  
The Gettier Problem

This book is about knowledge and its value. At the heart of this book is a simple idea: we can answer many interesting and difficult questions in epistemology by reflecting on the role of epistemic evaluation in human life. Hannon calls this “function-first epistemology.” The core hypothesis is that the concept of knowledge is used to identify reliable informants. This practice is necessary, or at least deeply important, because it plays a vital role in human survival, cooperation, and flourishing. While this idea is quite simple, it has wide-reaching implications. Hannon uses it to cast new light on the nature and value of knowledge, the differences between knowledge and understanding, the relationship between knowledge, assertion, and practical reasoning, and the semantics of knowledge claims. This book also makes headway on some classic philosophical puzzles, including the Gettier problem, epistemic relativism, and philosophical skepticism. Hannon shows that some major issues in epistemology can be resolved by taking a function-first approach, thereby illustrating the significant role that this method can play in contemporary philosophy.

Implicit Learning

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Frensch ◽  
Dennis Rünger
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Representations ◽  
Learning Without Awareness ◽  
The Relationship

Implicit learning appears to be a fundamental and ubiquitous process in cognition. Although defining and operationalizingimplicit learning remains a central theoretical challenge, scientists' understanding of implicit learning has progressed significantly. Beyond establishing the existence of “learning without awareness,” current research seeks to identify the cognitive processes that support implicit learning and addresses the relationship between learning and awareness of what was learned. The emerging view of implicit learning emphasizes the role of associative learning mechanisms that exploit statistical dependencies in the environment in order to generate highly specific knowledge representations.

Choosing a Markov blanket

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Parr
Keyword(s):  
Markov Blanket ◽  
Target Article ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This commentary focuses upon the relationship between two themes in the target article: the ways in which a Markov blanket may be defined and the role of precision and salience in mediating the interactions between what is internal and external to a system. These each rest upon the different perspectives we might take while “choosing” a Markov blanket.

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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