Conditional routing of information to the cortex: A model of the basal ganglia’s role in cognitive coordination.

Stocco, Andrea; Lebière, Christian; Anderson, John R.

doi:10.1037/a0019077

Cited by 305 publications

(281 citation statements)

References 244 publications

(492 reference statements)

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“…This characterization also differs significantly from other biologically based attempts to account for symbolic processing abilities. These accounts build in automatic low-level variable binding mechanisms (11,(41)(42)(43)(44)(45), which currently lack an explanation for how these systems can be learned from experience and at the extreme may suggest that this symbolic capacity is present even at the lowest levels of processing, without any learning necessary. Furthermore, we expect that the subsymbolic foundation of our indirection model, and its grounding in neural learning mechanisms, will render it more robust and powerful than purely symbolic models, which are often brittle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirection and symbol-like processing in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia

Kriete

Noelle

Cohen

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

133

130

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The ability to flexibly, rapidly, and accurately perform novel tasks is a hallmark of human behavior. In our everyday lives we are often faced with arbitrary instructions that we must understand and follow, and we are able to do so with remarkable ease. It has frequently been argued that this ability relies on symbol processing, which depends critically on the ability to represent variables and bind them to arbitrary values. Whereas symbol processing is a fundamental feature of all computer systems, it remains a mystery whether and how this ability is carried out by the brain. Here, we provide an example of how the structure and functioning of the prefrontal cortex/basal ganglia working memory system can support variable binding, through a form of indirection (akin to a pointer in computer science). We show how indirection enables the system to flexibly generalize its behavior substantially beyond its direct experience (i.e., systematicity). We argue that this provides a biologically plausible mechanism that approximates a key component of symbol processing, exhibiting both the flexibility, but also some of the limitations, that are associated with this ability in humans.ne of the most impressive aspects of human cognition is also one of its most enduring mysteries: how it can respond in appropriate ways to novel circumstances. In our everyday lives, we are constantly confronted with the need to make sense of and respond appropriately to new situations. Almost always, the individual constituents of these situations (e.g., the people, places, and/or actions involved) are things with which we have had prior experience, and it is the particular combination that is new. A person may appear in a new context or carry out an action we have never before witnessed them perform, or a word may be used in a novel way within a sentence. Nevertheless, we are able to makes sense of and respond appropriately to such circumstances, drawn from a nearly infinite array of possible combinations, despite having had experience with only a limited number of them. It has frequently been argued that this flexibility, or systematicity, relies on symbol processing, that is, the ability to represent information in the form of abstract variables that can be bound to arbitrary values, as is possible in a symbol system. For example, in trying to understand a sentence, if the constituent parts can be represented as variables, then any possible word can be assigned, or "bound," to each (e.g., in the sentence "I want to desk you," "desk" can be understood as the verb). Such variable binding provides tremendous flexibility and is fundamental to the power of computer systems. However, whether and how this ability is implemented in the brain remains one of the great mysteries of neuroscience. Historically, this ability has been used as a key argument by those advocating for symbolic cognitive models, over "associationist" neural network models (1, 2). In response, some have argued that human symbol processing ability is limited at best and that many...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirection and symbol-like processing in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia

Kriete

Noelle

Cohen

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

133

130

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“…Current substance abuse was an exclusion criterion in the present study, and comparing participants with remitted substance abuse to those without revealed no significant differences. The putamen and the basal ganglia are involved not only in planning and execution of movement, but also in higher cognitive functions, such as attention and decision-making, 61 which at least in some studies have been reported to be impaired in patients with BPD. 62 We also found reduced grey matter in the cerebellar vermis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometric differences in central stress-regulating structures between women with and without borderline personality disorder

Kuhlmann

Bertsch

Schmidinger

et al. 2013

J Psychiatry Neurosci

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IntroductionPsychosocial stress plays an important role in the development and manifestation of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Early life stress and traumatization are risk factors for BPD, and reports of traumatic childhood abuse are frequent in patients with BPD.1 Furthermore, patients with BPD ex peri ence psychosocial daily hassles more intensely than healthy individuals, indicating a reactivity and vulnerability to stress.2 Kuo and Linehan 3 measured higher skin conductance response in patients with BPD, which is positively correlated with stress. Moreover, the acute symptoms of patients with BPD are precipitated by acute stress. They show higher dissoci ative symptom scores than subjective stress ratings in comparison to healthy individuals and patients with major depressive and panic disorders. 4 Furthermore, high dissociation scores in patients with BPD correlate with greater childhood trauma and greater hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to stress, 5 indicating a link between traumatic childhood experiences, endocrine stress response and acute symptoms. Under subjective stress, patients with BPD display a higher pain threshold, 6 and self-injurious behaviour is used as a means of stress reduction.7 It seems plausible that these stress-related symptoms may be linked to dysregulations in the functioning of the HPA axis, which is crucially involved in the body's response to stress. Correspondingly, patients with BPD show signs of abnormal cortisol reactivity and feedback regulation, indicating disturbed HPA axis functioning, although findings on baseline cortisol, HPA feedback sensitivity and cortisol responses to psychosocial stress in Background: Experiences of early life stress, increased psychological arousal and the body's physiologic stress response seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis and maintenance of borderline personality disorder (BPD). In the present study, we investigated alterations in grey matter of central stress-regulating structures in female patients with BPD. Methods: We examined T 1 -weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of unmedicated, right-handed female patients with BPD (according to DSM-IV criteria) and healthy controls matched for age, intelligence and education using fully automated DARTEL voxel-based morphometry. Our regions of interest analyses included the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and hypothalamus. Results: We enrolled 30 patients and 33 controls in our study. The grey matter of patients with BPD was reduced in the hippocampus, but increased in the hypothalamus compared with healthy participants. Hypothalamic volume correlated positively with the history of traumatization in patients with BPD. No significant alterations were found in the amygdala and ACC. Limitations: This study is limited by the lack of measures of corticotropin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol levels. Furthermore, moderate sample size and comorbid disorders need to be considered. Conclusion: Our ...

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“…This neural structure, possibly aided by the basal ganglia (Stocco, Lebiere, & Anderson, 2010), organizes activity in regional networks by adjusting the functional connectivity across multiple cortical regions (Elsinger, Harrington, & Rao, 2006;Gelnar, Krauss, Sheehe, Szeverenyi, & Apkarian, 1999;Liuzzi et al, 2010;Roland, Larsen, Lassen, & Skinhoj, 1980). Furthermore, it also controls sensory input via the thalamus (Brunia, 1999).…”

Section: Neural Underpinningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cognitive framework for explaining serial processing and sequence execution strategies

2014

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Behavioral research has produced many taskspecific cognitive models that do not say much about the underlying information-processing architecture. Such an architecture is badly needed to better understand how cognitive neuroscience can benefit from existing cognitive models. This problem is especially pertinent in the domain of sequential behavior where behavioral research suggests a diversity of cognitive processes, processing modes and representations. Inspired by decades of reaction time (RT) research with the Additive Factors Method, the Psychological Refractory Period paradigm, and the Discrete Sequence Production task, we propose the Cognitive framework for Sequential Motor Behavior (C-SMB). We argue that C-SMB accounts for cognitive models developed for a range of sequential motor tasks (like those proposed by Keele et al., Psychological Review, 110(2), 316-339, 2003; Rosenbaum et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 9(1), 86-102, 1983, Journal of Memory and Language, 25, 710-725, 1986, Psychological Review, 102, 28-67, 1995 Schmidt, Psychological Review, 82(4), 225-260, 1975;Sternberg et al., 1978, Phonetica, 45, 177-197, 1988. C-SMB postulates that sequence execution can be controlled by a central processor using central-symbolic representations, and also by a motor processor using sequencespecific motor representations. On the basis of this framework, we present a classification of the sequence execution strategies that helps researchers to better understand the cognitive and neural underpinnings of serial movement behavior.

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Conditional routing of information to the cortex: A model of the basal ganglia’s role in cognitive coordination.

Cited by 305 publications

References 244 publications

Indirection and symbol-like processing in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia

Indirection and symbol-like processing in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia

Morphometric differences in central stress-regulating structures between women with and without borderline personality disorder

A cognitive framework for explaining serial processing and sequence execution strategies

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