scholarly journals Associative Learning and Motivation Differentially Requires Neuroligin-1 at Excitatory Synapses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Luo ◽  
Jessica M Tan ◽  
Jess Nithianantharajah
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Excitatory Synapses ◽  
Response Effort ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Signaling Complex ◽  
Neural Computations ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACTIn a changing environment, a challenge for the brain is to flexibly guide adaptive behavior towards survival. Understanding how these decision-making processes and underlying neural computations are orchestrated by the structural components of the brain, from circuits to cells, and ultimately the signaling complex of proteins at synapses, is central to elucidating the mechanisms that shape normal and abnormal brain connectivity, plasticity and behavior. At excitatory synapses, neuroligin-1 (Nlgn1) a postsynaptic cell-adhesion molecule required for the formation of trans-synaptic complexes with presynaptic partners is critical for regulating synapse specification, function and plasticity. Extensive evidence shows Nlgn1 is essential for synaptic transmission and long-term plasticity, but how these signaling processes ultimately regulate components of cognitive behavior is much less understood. Here, employing a comprehensive battery of touchscreen-based cognitive assays, we measured two key decision problems: i) the ability to learn and exploit the associative structure of the environment and ii) the trade-off between potential rewards and costs, or positive and negative utilities associated with available actions. We found that mice lacking Nlgn1 have an intact capacity to acquire complex associative structures and adjust learned associations. However, loss of Nlgn1 alters motivation leading to a reduced willingness to overcome response effort for reward and an increased willingness to exert effort to escape an aversive situation. We suggest Nlgn1 may be important for balancing the weighting on positive and negative utilities in reward-cost trade-off. Our findings identify Nlgn1 is essential for regulating distinct cognitive processes underlying decision-making, providing evidence of a new model for dissociating the computations underlying learning and motivational processing.

The Role of Executive Function in Shaping Reinforcement Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Rmus ◽  
Samuel McDougle ◽  
Anne Collins
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Instrumental Behavior ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Neural Computations ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Reinforcement learning (RL) models have advanced our understanding of how animals learn and make decisions, and how the brain supports some aspects of learning. However, the neural computations that are explained by RL algorithms fall short of explaining many sophisticated aspects of human decision making, including the generalization of learned information, one-shot learning, and the synthesis of task information in complex environments. Instead, these aspects of instrumental behavior are assumed to be supported by the brain’s executive functions (EF). We review recent findings that highlight the importance of EF in learning. Specifically, we advance the theory that EF sets the stage for canonical RL computations in the brain, providing inputs that broaden their flexibility and applicability. Our theory has important implications for how to interpret RL computations in the brain and behavior.

scholarly journals A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Aurélien Graton ◽  
Melody Mailliez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Attentional Biases ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Behavior

Guilt appeals in the field of persuasion are quite common. However, the effectiveness of these messages is sometimes ambivalent. It is widely acknowledged that guilt leads people to engage into prosocial behaviors, but the effects of guilt can also be counter-productive (e.g., reactance-like effects). We argue that the explanations for these contradictions remain unsatisfactory and suggest that taking into account the implications of underlying cognitive—especially attentional—mechanisms would provide a better understanding of these paradoxical outcomes. This article provides a brief review of the literature on the link between guilt and pro-social behaviors and its classical interpretations. We propose a reinterpretation of this link by taking into account specific attentional processes triggered by the emotion of guilt. Attentional biases are, in our opinion, better predictors of the effectiveness of a message than the amount of emotion induced by the same message. This consideration should guide future research in the field of guilt appeals and pro-social behaviors. Implications, in terms of a broader comprehension of the emotion–behavior association in decision making processes, are discussed.

scholarly journals When Helping Is Risky: The Behavioral and Neurobiological Trade-off of Social and Risk Preferences

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762110159
Author(s):  
Jörg Gross ◽  
Nadira S. Faber ◽  
Andreas Kappes ◽  
Anne-Marie Nussberger ◽  
Philip J. Cowen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Risk Preferences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Acceptable Risk ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Personal Risk ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Medical Volunteers ◽  
The Brain

Helping other people can entail risks for the helper. For example, when treating infectious patients, medical volunteers risk their own health. In such situations, decisions to help should depend on the individual’s valuation of others’ well-being (social preferences) and the degree of personal risk the individual finds acceptable (risk preferences). We investigated how these distinct preferences are psychologically and neurobiologically integrated when helping is risky. We used incentivized decision-making tasks (Study 1; N = 292 adults) and manipulated dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the brain by administering methylphenidate, atomoxetine, or a placebo (Study 2; N = 154 adults). We found that social and risk preferences are independent drivers of risky helping. Methylphenidate increased risky helping by selectively altering risk preferences rather than social preferences. Atomoxetine influenced neither risk preferences nor social preferences and did not affect risky helping. This suggests that methylphenidate-altered dopamine concentrations affect helping decisions that entail a risk to the helper.

Mind, Brain, and Behavior

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Pascual-Leone ◽  
Adolfo Plasencia
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Dark Energy ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Inattentional Blindness ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
The Mind ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Change

In this dialogue, the Harvard neuroscientist, Alvaro Pascual-Leone initially reflects on the importance of ‘unlearning’ and forgetting. He then gives a detailed explanation of, and how he carries out, transcraneal magnetic stimulation (TMS) and how he uses this technology to fight diseases, as well as explaining his experiments on inattentional blindness. He then discusses how the brain acts as a hypothesis generator and whether the brain, the mind and the soul are different things or not. Later reflect on the questions: Is the mind and what we are a consequence of the brain’s structure?  Do changes in the brain change our reality? And why are a person’s dreams important? Then he explains how freewill and decision-making work from the brain, and relates his vision of intelligence and where it may be generated from, explaining the differences between the mind and the brain. He finally reflects on what is known so far about the brain’s “dark energy” and the way we are continuously being surprised by the wonders of the brain's plasticity.

A Hierarchy of Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
pp. 70-75
Author(s):  
Thomas Boraud
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Anterior Part ◽  
Personal History ◽  
The Neural Network ◽  
History Of ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Motor Loop ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Anatomical Evidence

This chapter explores the flexibility of the neural network described in the previous chapters. It also shows that the anterior part of the brain can be subdivided into five functional loops that underlie different executive functions. These five major loops are the motor loop, the oculomotor loop, the prefrontal loop, the orbitofrontal loop, and the cingular loop. The first two circuits deal with the learning and decision-making processes of the motor domain. The prefrontal and frontal circuits are involved in cognitive processes. Finally, the cingular circuit is involved in episodic memory, regulation of emotions, and modulation of mood. Therefore, one can already see a certain hierarchical order, underpinned by anatomical realities: the mood, emotions, and personal history of the subject (the memory) will condition the cognitive functions that will influence motor behaviours. This hierarchy can be concretized by direct interactions between the different loops, of which anatomical evidence has been demonstrated several times.

Decision-making processes in direct and inverse translation through retrospective protocols

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Ferreira ◽  
Alexandra Gottardo ◽  
John W. Schwieter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Problem Identification ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Inverse Translation ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Metacognitive aspects of decision-making processes were investigated in eight professional translators who translated related and unrelated texts from L2 English into L1 Portuguese and also from L1 into L2. Retrospective protocols were recorded after each translation task. Verbal utterances were classified into two categories (problem identification and prospective solution) and each one was divided into several subcategories. The data analyses evaluated metacognitive activities during decision-making processes. Results suggest that noteworthy differences between direct and inverse translation can be assessed via retrospective protocols and that translator performance and behavior might be closely related to the source text.

scholarly journals The role of the brain in financial decisions: A viewpoint on neuroeconomics

2018 ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Guillermo Mateu ◽  
Lucas Monzani ◽  
Roger Muñoz Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Markets ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Financial Decision ◽  
The Brain

In this article, we explain the important role neuroscience plays in economic and financial environments. Hence, we present neuroeconomics as a way to describe how decision-making processes affect brain activity, focusing especially on the importance of economic and financial decisions. We answer some questions regarding the role of emotions in finance, the psychological factors present in financial markets, and how neuropsychological stimuli affect our economic decisions. We conclude by citing the main research in the area of neuroscience in financial decision-making processes, and highlight further research projects in these areas.

scholarly journals Cognitive Biases in Negotiation - Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-52
Author(s):  
Michał Chmielecki
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
New Research ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractObjective: The purpose of this paper is also to thoroughly review those studies in the management literature that focused on bias in negotiation and to ascertain a couple of new research trajectories that could be observed as the result. As a matter of fact, a human’s judgment making capacity and behavior could be greatly influenced by cognitive misperceptions thus affecting decisions in negotiations. Whilst Thompson (2006) analytically examined the effects of biased decision-making processes for negotiations, the intention of this paper is to fill the gap through a systematic assessment of the literature.Methodology: I have provided a theoretical background on decision makers’ cognition in this paper to provide context and introduce the research; after which we take a closer look at the literature and discuss its results. Based on this, I noted that limited research, with alternate results were done based on the interaction between biases bothering on mood, culture, personality as well as education and experience on the negotiators’ judgments. Finally, we suggest that future research trajectories might be on multilateral and integrative negotiations, the role of third parties and a better comprehension of the cognitive bias and how to rise above it in negotiations.Findings: Despite the fact that this topic is considered important, it is surprisingly under-researched. Author was able to identify the void and inadequacies of the literature identified in journal articles systemizing the intersection of negotiation studies, from cognitive biases studies, group decision making and from the decision making and judgment literature.Value Added: This paper showed that there are only a handful of papers that focus on why, how and when cognitive biases influence negotiation process.Recommendations: There is a great need for papers that focus on cognitive biases in the negotiation process.

scholarly journals The Role and Priming Effect of Pre-Acquired Memories in Abstract Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Dhawan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
The Real ◽  
Survey Form ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Specific Priming ◽  
The Brain

From a neuropsychological perspective, the brain is confronted daily by decision-making processes. Decision-making is influenced by many factors, from biological stimuli to reward assessments. In abstract decision-making, where no logical decision is forthcoming, choices still need to be made. Many priming factors can be involved in these decision-making situations. There is a need to understand what role pre-acquired memories (verbal, aesthetic, color, phonetic, emotional, etc.) play in abstract decision-making. Therefore, we conducted a survey of 40 people, including 14 (35%) men and 26 (65%) women aged 20 years (deviation = ±1.5), with medical backgrounds. All the questions in the survey form were abstract, non-binary, result-oriented, and had no specific logical answers. There was no specific priming information or reference clue that could direct participants towards a specific answer. This approach was taken so as to discover the real primer that the brain relies on when confronting abstract decision-making situations. From our analysis we found that previously acquired memories can influence persons’ choices in abstract decision-making situations. Furthermore, we concluded that these memories have unconscious, subtle, and long-term priming effects.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document