Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Neuron. 2024 Nov 20;112(22):3782-3795.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.08.018. Epub 2024 Sep 24.
Reinforcement learning (RL), particularly in primates, is often driven by symbolic outcomes. However, it is usually studied with primary reinforcers. To examine the neural mechanisms underlying learning from symbolic outcomes, we trained monkeys on a task in which they learned to choose options that led to gains of tokens and avoid choosing options that led to losses of tokens. We then recorded simultaneously from the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventral striatum (VS), amygdala (AMY), and mediodorsal thalamus (MDt). We found that the OFC played a dominant role in coding token outcomes and token prediction errors. The other areas contributed complementary functions, with the VS coding appetitive outcomes and the AMY coding the salience of outcomes. The MDt coded actions and relayed information about tokens between the OFC and VS. Thus, the OFC leads the processing of symbolic RL in the ventral frontostriatal circuitry.
强化学习（RL），特别是在灵长类动物中，通常由符号结果驱动。然而，它通常是用主要强化物来研究的。为了研究学习符号结果的神经机制，我们在一项任务中训练猴子，让它们学会选择导致代币收益的选项，并避免选择导致代币损失的选项。然后，我们同时从眶额皮质（OFC）、腹侧纹状体（VS）、杏仁核（AMY）和中背侧丘脑（MDt）进行记录。我们发现，OFC 在编码代币结果和代币预测误差方面起着主导作用。其他区域则发挥补充作用，VS 编码奖赏结果，AMY 编码结果的显著性。MDt 编码动作，并在 OFC 和 VS 之间传递有关代币的信息。因此，OFC 主导了腹侧前扣带回回路中符号 RL 的处理。
