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ELife Jun 2023In songbirds, deafening leads to changes in gene expression which have now been mapped at the single-cell level across the neural circuit involved in song production.
In songbirds, deafening leads to changes in gene expression which have now been mapped at the single-cell level across the neural circuit involved in song production.
Topics: Animals; Vocalization, Animal; Learning; Songbirds; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 37284823
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.88989 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023
PubMed: 37384186
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1225744 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Mar 2024Politics can seem home to the most calculating and yet least rational elements of humanity. How might we systematically characterize this spectrum of political... (Review)
Review
Politics can seem home to the most calculating and yet least rational elements of humanity. How might we systematically characterize this spectrum of political cognition? Here, we propose reinforcement learning (RL) as a unified framework to dissect the political mind. RL describes how agents algorithmically navigate complex and uncertain domains like politics. Through this computational lens, we outline three routes to political differences, stemming from variability in agents' conceptions of a problem, the cognitive operations applied to solve the problem, or the backdrop of information available from the environment. A computational vantage on maladies of the political mind offers enhanced precision in assessing their causes, consequences, and cures.
Topics: Humans; Reinforcement, Psychology; Learning; Cognition; Politics
PubMed: 38195364
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.12.001 -
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Feb 2024Humans possess a remarkable ability to make decisions within real-world environments that are expansive, complex, and multidimensional. Human cognitive computational... (Review)
Review
Humans possess a remarkable ability to make decisions within real-world environments that are expansive, complex, and multidimensional. Human cognitive computational neuroscience has sought to exploit reinforcement learning (RL) as a framework within which to explain human decision-making, often focusing on constrained, artificial experimental tasks. In this article, we review recent efforts that use naturalistic approaches to determine how humans make decisions in complex environments that better approximate the real world, providing a clearer picture of how humans navigate the challenges posed by real-world decisions. These studies purposely embed elements of naturalistic complexity within experimental paradigms, rather than focusing on simplification, generating insights into the processes that likely underpin humans' ability to navigate complex, multidimensional real-world environments so successfully.
Topics: Humans; Decision Making; Learning; Reinforcement, Psychology
PubMed: 37777463
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.016 -
PloS One 2023Prosocial learning involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for making decisions that benefit others. We asked if, in the context of value-based...
Prosocial learning involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for making decisions that benefit others. We asked if, in the context of value-based decision-making, there is any difference between learning strategies for oneself vs. for others. We implemented a 2-step reinforcement learning paradigm in which participants learned, in separate blocks, to make decisions for themselves or for a present other confederate who evaluated their performance. We replicated the canonical features of the model-based and model-free reinforcement learning in our results. The behaviour of the majority of participants was best explained by a mixture of the model-based and model-free control, while most participants relied more heavily on MB control, and this strategy enhanced their learning success. Regarding our key self-other hypothesis, we did not find any significant difference between the behavioural performances nor in the model-based parameters of learning when comparing self and other conditions.
Topics: Humans; Learning; Reinforcement, Psychology; Knowledge
PubMed: 37352225
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287563 -
Advances in Physiology Education Dec 2023The maintenance of a more or less constant internal environment by homeostatic (negative feedback) mechanisms is well understood, and "homeostasis" is regarded as an...
The maintenance of a more or less constant internal environment by homeostatic (negative feedback) mechanisms is well understood, and "homeostasis" is regarded as an important core concept for students to understand. However, there are critically important control mechanisms that operate at the local level and are more or less independent of homeostasis. Here we define a core concept of "local control," present examples of it in many different organ systems, and propose a conceptual framework for it. Local control, like all of the other core concepts, can provide students with a learning tool that can facilitate understanding physiology. Local control of many physiological phenomena occurs to meet the needs of certain systems and to enable these systems to meet the episodic challenges that occur. The mechanisms by which local control is exerted include locally released chemical messengers, physical stimuli acting on the structures, and local neural networks. Examples of important local controls are present throughout the body.
Topics: Humans; Learning; Students; Physiology
PubMed: 37615042
DOI: 10.1152/advan.00134.2023 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Aug 2023The adaptability of human populations to changing environments is often attributed to the human capacity for social learning, innovation, and culture. In rapidly...
The adaptability of human populations to changing environments is often attributed to the human capacity for social learning, innovation, and culture. In rapidly changing environments, it has been shown that maintaining high levels of cultural variation is beneficial because it allows for efficient adaptation. However, in many theoretical models, a high level of cultural variation also implies that a large amount of useless and perhaps detrimental information must be maintained and used, leading to lower population fitness in general. Here, we begin to investigate this often conflicting relationship between adaptation and cultural variation. We explicitly allow for the interplay between social learning and environmental variability, alongside the capacity for "memory," i.e., the storage, retrieval, and forgetting of information. Here, memory allows individuals to retain unexpressed cultural variation, which does not directly impact adaptation. We show that this capacity for memory facilitates the evolution of social learning across a broader range of circumstances than previously thought. Results from this analysis may help to establish whether and when memory should be incorporated into cultural evolutionary models focused on questions of adaptation.
Topics: Humans; Social Learning; Learning; Cultural Evolution; Models, Theoretical; Adaptation, Physiological
PubMed: 37549253
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310033120 -
Journal of Continuing Education in... Jan 2024Knowledge and competency gaps of new graduates can be effectively mitigated through stronger partnerships between nursing clinical instructors and bedside clinicians....
Knowledge and competency gaps of new graduates can be effectively mitigated through stronger partnerships between nursing clinical instructors and bedside clinicians. Bedside clinicians can pull back the curtain on practice realities to show both the challenges and the joys. Traditional nursing faculty must learn how to strengthen and support a new way of working with bedside clinicians that includes letting go of the wheel. Changing the dynamic among nursing clinical faculty, bedside clinicians, and students is an important and essential step in nursing education and preparing new nurses to understand the realities of practice. .
Topics: Humans; Learning; Students; Faculty, Nursing; Happiness
PubMed: 38165213
DOI: 10.3928/00220124-20231208-25 -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Oct 2023The cerebellum has been a popular topic for theoretical studies because its structure was thought to be simple. Since David Marr and James Albus related its function to... (Review)
Review
The cerebellum has been a popular topic for theoretical studies because its structure was thought to be simple. Since David Marr and James Albus related its function to motor skill learning and proposed the Marr-Albus cerebellar learning model, this theory has guided and inspired cerebellar research. In this review, we summarize the theoretical progress that has been made within this framework of error-based supervised learning. We discuss the experimental progress that demonstrates more complicated molecular and cellular mechanisms in the cerebellum as well as new cell types and recurrent connections. We also cover its involvement in diverse non-motor functions and evidence of other forms of learning. Finally, we highlight the need to explain these new experimental findings into an integrated cerebellar model that can unify its diverse computational functions.
Topics: Cerebellum; Learning; Motor Skills
PubMed: 37591124
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2023.102765 -
Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry... Jun 2023The goal of protecting the health of future generations is a blueprint for future biosensor design. Systems-level decision support requires that biosensors provide... (Review)
Review
The goal of protecting the health of future generations is a blueprint for future biosensor design. Systems-level decision support requires that biosensors provide meaningful service to society. In this review, we summarize recent developments in cyber physical systems and biosensors connected with decision support. We identify key processes and practices that may guide the establishment of connections between user needs and biosensor engineering using an informatics approach. We call for data science and decision science to be formally connected with sensor science for understanding system complexity and realizing the ambition of biosensors-as-a-service. This review calls for a focus on quality of service early in the design process as a means to improve the meaningful value of a given biosensor. We close by noting that technology development, including biosensors and decision support systems, is a cautionary tale. The economics of scale govern the success, or failure, of any biosensor system.
Topics: Aspirations, Psychological; Data Science; Engineering; Physical Examination
PubMed: 37018797
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anchem-100322-040914