The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Ave, James Hall, 4414, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 10;11(1):16187. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95541-2.
A fundamental assumption of learning theories is that the credit assigned to predictive cues is not simply determined by their probability of reinforcement, but by their ability to compete with other cues present during learning. This assumption has guided behavioral and neural science research for decades, and tremendous empirical and theoretical advances have been made identifying the mechanisms of cue competition. However, when learning conditions are not optimal (e.g., when training is massed), cue competition is attenuated. This failure of the learning system exposes the individual's vulnerability to form spurious associations in the real world. Here, we uncover that cue competition in rats can be rescued when conditions are suboptimal provided that the individual has agency over the learning experience. Our findings reveal a new effect of agency over learning on credit assignment among predictive cues, and open new avenues of investigation into the underlying mechanisms.
学习理论的一个基本假设是，赋予预测线索的信用不是简单地由它们的强化概率决定，而是由它们在学习过程中与其他线索竞争的能力决定。这一假设指导了几十年来的行为和神经科学研究，并且在识别线索竞争的机制方面取得了巨大的经验和理论进展。然而，当学习条件不是最佳时（例如，当训练是集中进行的），线索竞争就会减弱。学习系统的这种失效暴露了个体在现实世界中形成虚假联想的脆弱性。在这里，我们发现，当个体对学习体验拥有自主权时，即使在条件不佳的情况下，大鼠的线索竞争也可以得到挽救。我们的发现揭示了学习自主权对预测线索中信用分配的新影响，并为潜在机制的研究开辟了新的途径。
