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Behavioural Processes Jan 2014Associative and temporal learning are fundamental properties of behavior. Despite the temporal dynamics of behavior, traditional associative (trial based) approaches...
Associative and temporal learning are fundamental properties of behavior. Despite the temporal dynamics of behavior, traditional associative (trial based) approaches have often ignored (within trial) timing properties of behavior. Therefore, associative and temporal learning are considered different, parallel strategies, whose mechanisms and rules are domain-specific. The rift between the two fields is not surprising considering the difference in questions, measures, and approaches. Some questions explored in this mini-review are as follows: Are the behavioral phenomena appropriately described, measured or quantified? How do animals integrate associative and temporal information? What are the behavioral processes that bridge the associative and temporal fields? How are associative and temporal information instantiated and processed in the brain? A resolution involves finding a more adept way (e.g., computational or biological) to describe the associative and temporal phenomena, for example by transforming them in a more abstract dimension, such as information (e.g., entropy calculation) or frequency (e.g., neural firing). When seen from this neural-computation vantage point, the distinctions between associative and temporal learning vanish, and the question becomes: What are the mechanisms that coexist, cooperate and compete in a brain that processes associative and temporal information in real time? This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Associative and Temporal Learning.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Behavior, Animal; Memory; Time Factors
PubMed: 24560413
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.01.005 -
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory May 2016Most modern theories of associative learning emphasize a critical role for prediction error (PE, the difference between received and expected events). One class of... (Review)
Review
Most modern theories of associative learning emphasize a critical role for prediction error (PE, the difference between received and expected events). One class of theories, exemplified by the Rescorla-Wagner (1972) model, asserts that PE determines the effectiveness of the reinforcer or unconditioned stimulus (US): surprising reinforcers are more effective than expected ones. A second class, represented by the Pearce-Hall (1980) model, argues that PE determines the associability of conditioned stimuli (CSs), the rate at which they may enter into new learning: the surprising delivery or omission of a reinforcer enhances subsequent processing of the CSs that were present when PE was induced. In this mini-review we describe evidence, mostly from our laboratory, for PE-induced changes in the associability of both CSs and USs, and the brain systems involved in the coding, storage and retrieval of these altered associability values. This evidence favors a number of modifications to behavioral models of how PE influences event processing, and suggests the involvement of widespread brain systems in animals' responses to PE.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Attention; Brain; Conditioning, Classical; Humans
PubMed: 26948122
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.02.014 -
Molecular Brain Nov 2023A critical feature of episodic memory formation is to associate temporally segregated events as an episode, called temporal association learning. The medial entorhinal...
A critical feature of episodic memory formation is to associate temporally segregated events as an episode, called temporal association learning. The medial entorhinal cortical-hippocampal (EC-HPC) networks is essential for temporal association learning. We have previously demonstrated that pyramidal cells in the medial EC (MEC) layer III project to the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells and are necessary for trace fear conditioning (TFC), which is an associative learning between tone and aversive shock with the temporal gap. On the other hand, Island cells in MECII, project to GABAergic neurons in hippocampal CA1, suppress the MECIII input into the CA1 pyramidal cells through the feed-forward inhibition, and inhibit TFC. However, it remains unknown about how Island cells activity is regulated during TFC. In this study, we report that dopamine D1 receptor is preferentially expressed in Island cells in the MEC. Optogenetic activation of dopamine D1 receptors in Island cells facilitate the Island cell activity and inhibited hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell activity during TFC. The optogenetic activation caused the impairment of TFC memory recall without affecting contextual fear memory recall. These results suggest that dopamine D1 receptor in Island cells have a crucial role for the regulation of temporal association learning.
Topics: Entorhinal Cortex; Association Learning; Optogenetics; Hippocampus; Receptors, Dopamine D1
PubMed: 37964372
DOI: 10.1186/s13041-023-01065-3 -
Neuroscience Letters Apr 2013The associative sequence learning (ASL) hypothesis suggests that sensorimotor experience plays an inductive role in the development of the mirror neuron system, and that... (Review)
Review
The associative sequence learning (ASL) hypothesis suggests that sensorimotor experience plays an inductive role in the development of the mirror neuron system, and that it can play this crucial role because its effects are mediated by learning that is sensitive to both contingency and contiguity. The Hebbian hypothesis proposes that sensorimotor experience plays a facilitative role, and that its effects are mediated by learning that is sensitive only to contiguity. We tested the associative and Hebbian accounts by computational modelling of automatic imitation data indicating that MNS responsivity is reduced more by contingent and signalled than by non-contingent sensorimotor training (Cook et al. [7]). Supporting the associative account, we found that the reduction in automatic imitation could be reproduced by an existing interactive activation model of imitative compatibility when augmented with Rescorla-Wagner learning, but not with Hebbian or quasi-Hebbian learning. The work argues for an associative, but against a Hebbian, account of the effect of sensorimotor training on automatic imitation. We argue, by extension, that associative learning is potentially sufficient for MNS development.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Computer Simulation; Humans; Imitative Behavior; Mirror Neurons
PubMed: 23063672
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.10.002 -
Hippocampus 2007Associative learning is defined as the ability to link arbitrary stimuli or actions together in memory. The neural correlates of this fundamental form of plasticity were... (Review)
Review
Associative learning is defined as the ability to link arbitrary stimuli or actions together in memory. The neural correlates of this fundamental form of plasticity were first described in the hippocampus during delay eye blink conditioning and have since been examined using a variety of tasks in both rats and monkeys. In monkeys, the neural correlates of associative learning have been studied using conditional motor learning tasks where animals learn to associate particular visual stimuli with particular motor responses (i.e., touch left or touch right). Similar tasks have also been used to examine learning-related plasticity in motor-related areas throughout the frontal lobe and striatum. Here, we review the patterns of learning-related activity seen in these diverse brain areas during conditional motor learning. While each of these areas exhibits strong associative learning signals, the differential patterns and time courses of these signals provides insight into the unique contribution of each area to associative learning.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Brain; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Photic Stimulation
PubMed: 17598153
DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20321 -
Psychological Bulletin Oct 2016This article presents a comprehensive survey of research concerning interactions between associative learning and attention in humans. Four main findings are described.... (Review)
Review
This article presents a comprehensive survey of research concerning interactions between associative learning and attention in humans. Four main findings are described. First, attention is biased toward stimuli that predict their consequences reliably (). This finding is consistent with the approach taken by Mackintosh (1975) in his attentional model of associative learning in nonhuman animals. Second, the strength of this attentional bias is modulated by the value of the outcome (). That is, predictors of high-value outcomes receive especially high levels of attention. Third, the related but opposing idea that may result in increased attention to stimuli (Pearce & Hall, 1980), receives less support. This suggests that hybrid models of associative learning, incorporating the mechanisms of both the Mackintosh and Pearce-Hall theories, may not be required to explain data from human participants. Rather, a simpler model, in which attention to stimuli is determined by how strongly they are associated with significant outcomes, goes a long way to account for the data on human attentional learning. The last main finding, and an exciting area for future research and theorizing, is that and modulate both deliberate attentional focus, and more automatic attentional capture. The automatic influence of learning on attention does not appear to fit the traditional view of attention as being either or . Rather, it suggests a new kind of “derived” attention.
Topics: Association Learning; Attention; Humans
PubMed: 27504933
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000064 -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) Aug 2011Neuroimaging studies have shown both dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) and inferior parietal cortex (iPARC) activation during probabilistic association learning. Whether... (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial Comparative Study
Neuroimaging studies have shown both dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) and inferior parietal cortex (iPARC) activation during probabilistic association learning. Whether these cortical brain regions are necessary for probabilistic association learning is presently unknown. Participants' ability to acquire probabilistic associations was assessed during disruptive 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left DLPFC, left iPARC, and sham using a crossover single-blind design. On subsequent sessions, performance improved relative to baseline except during DLPFC rTMS that disrupted the early acquisition beneficial effect of prior exposure. A second experiment examining rTMS effects on task-naive participants showed that neither DLPFC rTMS nor sham influenced naive acquisition of probabilistic associations. A third experiment examining consecutive administration of the probabilistic association learning test revealed early trial interference from previous exposure to different probability schedules. These experiments, showing disrupted acquisition of probabilistic associations by rTMS only during subsequent sessions with an intervening night's sleep, suggest that the DLPFC may facilitate early access to learned strategies or prior task-related memories via consolidation. Although neuroimaging studies implicate DLPFC and iPARC in probabilistic association learning, the present findings suggest that early acquisition of the probabilistic cue-outcome associations in task-naive participants is not dependent on either region.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Association Learning; Cross-Over Studies; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Parietal Lobe; Prefrontal Cortex; Probability Learning; Prospective Studies; Single-Blind Method; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Young Adult
PubMed: 21216842
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhq255 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Oct 2019Many experiments have shown that humans and other animals can detect contingency between events accurately. This learning is used to make predictions and to infer causal... (Review)
Review
Many experiments have shown that humans and other animals can detect contingency between events accurately. This learning is used to make predictions and to infer causal relationships, both of which are critical for survival. Under certain conditions, however, people tend to overestimate a null contingency. We argue that a successful theory of contingency learning should explain both results. The main purpose of the present review is to assess whether cue-outcome associations might provide the common underlying mechanism that would allow us to explain both accurate and biased contingency learning. In addition, we discuss whether associations can also account for causal learning. After providing a brief description on both accurate and biased contingency judgments, we elaborate on the main predictions of associative models and describe some supporting evidence. Then, we discuss a number of findings in the literature that, although conducted with a different purpose and in different areas of research, can also be regarded as supportive of the associative framework. Finally, we discuss some problems with the associative view and discuss some alternative proposals as well as some of the areas of current debate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Behavior, Animal; Humans; Models, Psychological; Thinking
PubMed: 31380677
DOI: 10.1037/xan0000222 -
Behavioural Processes May 2014The purpose of this article is to review recent research that has investigated the effects of context change on instrumental (operant) learning. The first part of the... (Review)
Review
The purpose of this article is to review recent research that has investigated the effects of context change on instrumental (operant) learning. The first part of the article discusses instrumental extinction, in which the strength of a reinforced instrumental behavior declines when reinforcers are withdrawn. The results suggest that extinction of either simple or discriminated operant behavior is relatively specific to the context in which it is learned: As in prior studies of Pavlovian extinction, ABA, ABC, and AAB renewal effects can all be observed. Further analysis supports the idea that the organism learns to refrain from making a specific response in a specific context, or in more formal terms, an inhibitory context-response association. The second part of the article then discusses research suggesting that the context also controls instrumental behavior before it is extinguished. Several experiments demonstrate that a context switch after either simple or discriminated operant training causes a decrement in the strength of the response. Over a range of conditions, the animal appears to learn a direct association between the context and the response. Under some conditions, it can also learn a hierarchical representation of context and the response-reinforcer relation. Extinction is still more context-specific than conditioning, as indicated by ABC and AAB renewal. Overall, the results establish that the context can play a significant role in both the acquisition and extinction of operant behavior.
Topics: Association Learning; Conditioning, Operant; Extinction, Psychological; Humans; Learning
PubMed: 24576702
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.02.012 -
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Apr 2017The notion of "context" has played an important but complicated role in animal learning theory. Some studies have found that contextual stimuli (e.g., conditioning...
The notion of "context" has played an important but complicated role in animal learning theory. Some studies have found that contextual stimuli (e.g., conditioning chamber) act much like punctate stimuli, entering into competition with other cues as would be predicted by standard associative learning theories. Other studies have found that contextual stimuli act more like "occasion setters," modulating the associative strength of punctate stimuli without themselves acquiring associative strength. Yet other studies have found that context is often largely ignored, resulting in transfer of performance across context changes. This article argues that these diverse functions of context arise in part from different causal interpretations of the environment. A Bayesian theory is presented that infers which causal interpretation best explains an animal's training history, and hence which function of context is appropriate. The theory coherently accounts for a number of disparate experimental results, and quantitatively predicts the results of a new experiment designed to directly test the theory.
Topics: Adult; Association Learning; Bayes Theorem; Conditioning, Classical; Humans; Models, Psychological
PubMed: 27418259
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1110-x