scholarly journals Interacting with volatile environments stabilizes hidden-state inference and its brain signatures

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Weiss ◽  
Valérian Chambon ◽  
Junseok K. Lee ◽  
Jan Drugowitsch ◽  
Valentin Wyart
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Behavioral Difference ◽  
Neural Interaction ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
Uncertain Outcomes ◽  
State Inference

AbstractMaking accurate decisions in uncertain environments requires identifying the generative cause of sensory cues, but also the expected outcomes of possible actions. Although both cognitive processes can be formalized as Bayesian inference, they are commonly studied using different experimental frameworks, making their formal comparison difficult. Here, by framing a reversal learning task either as cue-based or outcome-based inference, we found that humans perceive the same volatile environment as more stable when inferring its hidden state by interaction with uncertain outcomes than by observation of equally uncertain cues. Multivariate patterns of magnetoencephalo-graphic (MEG) activity reflected this behavioral difference in the neural interaction between inferred beliefs and incoming evidence, an effect originating from associative regions in the temporal lobe. Together, these findings indicate that the degree of control over the sampling of volatile environments shapes human learning and decision-making under uncertainty.

scholarly journals Interacting with volatile environments stabilizes hidden-state inference and its brain signatures

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Weiss ◽  
Valérian Chambon ◽  
Junseok K. Lee ◽  
Jan Drugowitsch ◽  
Valentin Wyart
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Behavioral Difference ◽  
Neural Interaction ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
Uncertain Outcomes ◽  
State Inference

AbstractMaking accurate decisions in uncertain environments requires identifying the generative cause of sensory cues, but also the expected outcomes of possible actions. Although both cognitive processes can be formalized as Bayesian inference, they are commonly studied using different experimental frameworks, making their formal comparison difficult. Here, by framing a reversal learning task either as cue-based or outcome-based inference, we found that humans perceive the same volatile environment as more stable when inferring its hidden state by interaction with uncertain outcomes than by observation of equally uncertain cues. Multivariate patterns of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) activity reflected this behavioral difference in the neural interaction between inferred beliefs and incoming evidence, an effect originating from associative regions in the temporal lobe. Together, these findings indicate that the degree of control over the sampling of volatile environments shapes human learning and decision-making under uncertainty.

scholarly journals The associative nature of human associative learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Shanks
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Human Associative Learning ◽  
Unconscious Processes

AbstractThe extent to which human learning should be thought of in terms of elementary, automatic versus controlled, cognitive processes is unresolved after nearly a century of often fierce debate. Mitchell et al. provide a persuasive review of evidence against automatic, unconscious links. Indeed, unconscious processes seem to play a negligible role in any form of learning, not just in Pavlovian conditioning. But a modern connectionist framework, in which “cognitive” phenomena are emergent properties, is likely to offer a fuller account of human learning than the propositional framework Mitchell et al. propose.

scholarly journals Simulating and Predicting Dynamical Systems with Spatial Semantic Pointers

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Voelker ◽  
Peter Blouw ◽  
Xuan Choo ◽  
Nicole Sandra-Yaffa Dumont ◽  
Terrence C. Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Dynamical Systems ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Deep Neural Networks ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Topological Spaces ◽  
Multiple Objects ◽  
Symbolic Structure ◽  
High Level ◽  
Vector Representations

Abstract While neural networks are highly effective at learning task-relevant representations from data, they typically do not learn representations with the kind of symbolic structure that is hypothesized to support high-level cognitive processes, nor do they naturally model such structures within problem domains that are continuous in space and time. To fill these gaps, this work exploits a method for defining vector representations that bind discrete (symbol-like) entities to points in continuous topological spaces in order to simulate and predict the behavior of a range of dynamical systems. These vector representations are spatial semantic pointers (SSPs), and we demonstrate that they can (1) be used to model dynamical systems involving multiple objects represented in a symbol-like manner and (2) be integrated with deep neural networks to predict the future of physical trajectories. These results help unify what have traditionally appeared to be disparate approaches in machine learning.

Effects of Display Medium and Luminance Contrast on Concept Formation and EEG Response

2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 943-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kong-King Shieh ◽  
Mei-Hsiang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Concept Formation ◽  
Rule Learning ◽  
Visual Display ◽  
Luminance Contrast ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Visual Display Terminal ◽  
Eeg Power ◽  
Learning Concept

Reading from a visual display terminal (VDT) has increased enormously with widespread computer use. Whether such reading affects higher cognitive processes requires study so the effect of display medium (LCD screen vs paper) and luminance contrast (1:3, 1:7, 1:11) on concept-formation performance and EEG responses was investigated. 96 men and 24 women participated in two concept-formation tasks (rule learning vs attribute and rule learning). Concept-formation performance and EEG responses were similar for stimuli displayed on paper or LCD screen. The concern that the screen may be detrimental to conception-formation performance was not confirmed; however, luminance contrast significantly affected time to complete a concept-formation task and EEG response. The middle contrast (1:7) had the smallest mean EEG power, so this contrast might be appropriate for cognitive performance. Participants' performance was significantly faster and EEG power lower for the rule-learning task than for an attribute and rule-learning task.

A further assessment of decision-making in anorexia nervosa

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Adoue ◽  
I. Jaussent ◽  
E. Olié ◽  
S. Beziat ◽  
F. Van den Eynde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Major Depressive

AbstractObjective:Anorexia nervosa (AN) may be associated with impaired decision-making. Cognitive processes underlying this impairment remain unclear, mainly because previous assessments of this complex cognitive function were completed with a single test. Furthermore, clinical features such as mood status may impact this association. We aim to further explore the hypothesis of altered decision-making in AN.Method:Sixty-three adult women with AN and 49 female controls completed a clinical assessment and were assessed by three tasks related to decision-making [Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task (PRLT)].Results:People with AN had poorer performance on the IGT and made less risky choices on the BART, whereas performances were not different on PRLT. Notably, AN patients with a current major depressive disorder showed similar performance to those with no current major depressive disorder.Conclusion:These results tend to confirm an impaired decision making-process in people with AN and suggest that various cognitive processes such as inhibition to risk-taking or intolerance of uncertainty may underlie this condition Furthermore, these impairments seem unrelated to the potential co-occurent major depressive disorders.

A Supplantation Model for Instructional Design: Investigation of a Behavioural Science Approach

1978 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynna J. Ausburn ◽  
Floyd B. Ausburn
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Task Analysis ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Task Requirements ◽  
Treatment Interaction ◽  
Aptitude Treatment Interaction

Drawing on concepts from such areas as information processing and cognitive processes in learning, learning task analysis, and interactive research techniques, this paper discusses a model for instructional design which is intended to improve the reliability and predictability of the design process. The model stresses interactions among specific combinations of learning task requirements, learner characteristics, and instructional treatment properties, in a manner analogous to the well-known aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) model. The process underlying the model is “supplantation”, which is the provision of overt assistance to learners in performing a specific process required by a task. The supplantation model for instructional design is presented as an instrument for helping to produce predictable performance outcomes through the analysis of learners and learning tasks, and the joining of learners and tasks through the use of instructional treatments which assist learners in performing task requirements.

Use of a Voice-Response Computer Terminal to Generate Verbal Auditory-Stimulus Materials

1970 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 304-306
Author(s):  
G. K. Hauser ◽  
W. J. Levine ◽  
R. Taylor ◽  
L. L. Van Oot
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Verbal Stimulus ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Relative Ease ◽  
Computer Terminal ◽  
Response Unit ◽  
Degree Of Control ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Stimulus Materials

High-quality auditory-stimulus materials for use in perceptual or human learning experiments can be produced with relative ease by recording on tape the output from an audio response unit connected to a computer. The technique gives E a high degree of control over the nuisance variables typical of verbal stimulus materials.

scholarly journals The Proust Machine: What a Public Science Event Tells Us About Autobiographical Memory and the Five Senses

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ernst ◽  
Julie M. F. Bertrand ◽  
Virginie Voltzenlogel ◽  
Céline Souchay ◽  
Christopher J. A. Moulin
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
Public Science ◽  
Five Senses

Our senses are constantly stimulated in our daily lives but we have only a limited understanding of how they affect our cognitive processes and, especially, our autobiographical memory. Capitalizing on a public science event, we conducted the first empirical study that aimed to compare the relative influence of the five senses on the access, temporal distribution, and phenomenological characteristics of autobiographical memories in a sample of about 400 participants. We found that the access and the phenomenological features of memories varied as a function of the type of sensory cues, but not their temporal distribution. With regard to their influence on autobiographical memory, an overlap between some senses was found, with on one hand, olfaction and taste and, on the other, vision, audition, and touch. We discuss these findings in the light of theories of perception, memory, and the self, and consider methodological implications of the sensory cuing technique in memory research, as well as clinical implications for research in psychopathological and neuropsychological populations.

scholarly journals Pupil responses as indicators of value-based decision-making

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne C. Van Slooten ◽  
Sara Jahfari ◽  
Tomas Knapen ◽  
Jan Theeuwes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Reward Prediction ◽  
Exciting Possibility

AbstractPupil responses have been used to track cognitive processes during decision-making. Studies have shown that in these cases the pupil reflects the joint activation of many cortical and subcortical brain regions, also those traditionally implicated in value-based learning. However, how the pupil tracks value-based decisions and reinforcement learning is unknown. We combined a reinforcement learning task with a computational model to study pupil responses during value-based decisions, and decision evaluations. We found that the pupil closely tracks reinforcement learning both across trials and participants. Prior to choice, the pupil dilated as a function of trial-by-trial fluctuations in value beliefs. After feedback, early dilation scaled with value uncertainty, whereas later constriction scaled with reward prediction errors. Our computational approach systematically implicates the pupil in value-based decisions, and the subsequent processing of violated value beliefs, ttese dissociable influences provide an exciting possibility to non-invasively study ongoing reinforcement learning in the pupil.

scholarly journals Associations between aversive learning processes and transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms revealed by large-scale phenotyping

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Wise ◽  
Raymond J Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Uncertainty Estimation ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Related Factor ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Aversive Learning ◽  
Uncertain Environments

AbstractBackgroundSymptom expression in a range of psychiatric conditions is linked to altered threat perception, manifesting particularly in uncertain environments. How precise computational mechanisms that support aversive learning, and uncertainty estimation, relate to the presence of specific psychiatric symptoms remains undetermined. 400 subjects completed an online game-based aversive learning task, requiring avoidance of negative outcomes, in conjunction with completing measures of common psychiatric symptoms. We used a probabilistic computational model to measure distinct processes involved in learning, in addition to inferred estimates of safety likelihood and uncertainty, and tested for associations between these variables and traditional psychiatric constructs alongside transdiagnostic dimensions. We used partial least squares regression to identify components of psychopathology grounded in both aversive learning behaviour and symptom self-report. We show that state anxiety and a transdiagnostic compulsivity-related factor are associated with enhanced learning from safety, and data-driven analysis indicated the presence of two separable components across our behavioural and questionnaire data: one linked enhanced safety learning and lower estimated uncertainty to physiological anxiety, compulsivity, and impulsivity; the other linked enhanced threat learning, and heightened uncertainty estimation, to symptoms of depression and social anxiety. Our findings implicate distinct aversive learning processes in the expression of psychiatric symptoms that transcend traditional diagnostic boundaries.

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