Do rats learn conditional independence?

Bowers, Robert Ian; Timberlake, William

doi:10.1098/rsos.160994

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In those preparations, one stimulus –the occasion setter (OS) – increases (or decreases) the probability of reinforcement of another conditioned stimulus (CS), therefore increasing (or decreasing) the magnitude of cue-evoked responses. This influence of occasion setters on cue-evoked responses may reflect the hierarchical gating of associative memories, but may also reflect direct associations (positive or negative) between the occasion setter and the reinforcing outcome 24,25 . Therefore, although OFC inactivations were found to disrupt occasion setting, the possibility of a summation between OS- and CS-evoked predictions in those earlier studies cast doubts on OFC’s role in the hierarchical (contextual) control of reward predictions 26,27 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partially dissociable roles of the Orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal Hippocampus in context-dependent (hierarchical) reward prediction and contextual inference in learning

Peterson,

Chavira,

Arango

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Reward cues are often ambiguous; what is good in one context is not necessarily good in another context. To solve this ambiguity, animals form hierarchical associations in which the context acts as a gatekeeper in the retrieval of the appropriate cue-evoked memory, ensuring context-appropriate behavior. These hierarchical associative structures also influence future learning by promoting the formation of new context-dependent associations (leading to the inference of context-dependency for new associations). The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the dorsal hippocampus (DH) are both proposed to encode a “cognitive map” that includes the representation of hierarchical, context-dependent, associations. However the causal role of the OFC and DH in the different functional properties of hierarchical associations remains controversial. Here we used chemogenetic inactivations, in rats, to examine the role of OFC and DH in 1) the contextual regulation of performance, and 2) the contextual learning bias conferred by hierarchical associations. We show that OFC is required for both manifestations of hierarchical associations. In contrast, DH contribution appears limited to the contextual learning bias. This study provides novel insight into the different functional properties of context-dependent hierarchical associations, and establishes the OFC as a critical orchestrator of these different contextual effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partially dissociable roles of the Orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal Hippocampus in context-dependent (hierarchical) reward prediction and contextual inference in learning

Peterson,

Chavira,

Arango

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…To circumvent this issue, occasion-setting preparations commonly introduce a temporal gap (5-30s) between the termination of a discrete occasion-setting stimulus and its target cue. This approach has generally been successful in limiting direct associations between the occasion-setter and the outcome, instead promoting hierarchical modulation processes [37, 38, but see 39]. This temporal gap however introduces a working-memory requirement (animals must remember if the target cue was preceded by the occasion-setter) which complicates results interpretations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historically, Pavlovian modulation has been studied in preparations in which the modulating stimuli (the occasion-setter) exerts unidirectional modulation, either potentiating (A:X+ / X-) or reducing (A:X- / X+) the response to the target cue. In such preparations, the occasion- setter might also establish a direct association (excitatory or inhibitory) with the outcome [1, 38, 39], thereby entangling the contributions of hierarchical modulation and direct stimuli-evoked predictions. To circumvent this issue, occasion-setting preparations commonly introduce a temporal gap (5-30s) between the termination of a discrete occasion-setting stimulus and its target cue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Discrimination Behavior and Orbitofrontal Engagement During Context-Gated Reward Prediction

Peterson,

Maheras,

Chavira

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Animals, including humans, rely on contextual information to interpret ambiguous stimuli. Impaired context processing is a hallmark of several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, PTSD, and addiction. While sex differences in the prevalence and manifestations of these disorders are well established, potential sex differences in context processing remain uncertain. Here we examined sex differences in the contextual control over cue-evoked reward seeking and its neural correlates, in rats. Male and female rats were trained in a bidirectional occasion-setting preparation in which the validity of two reward-predictive cues was informed by the presence, or absence, of a background contextual feature (A:X+ / X− / A:Y− / Y+). Females were significantly slower to acquire contextual control over cue-evoked reward seeking. However, once established, the contextual control over behavior was more robust in female rats; it showed less within-session variability (less influence of prior reward) and greater resistance to acute stress. This superior contextual control achieved by females was accompanied by an increased activation of the orbitofrontal cortex compared to males. Critically, these behavioral and neural sex differences were specific to the contextual modulation process and not observed in simple, context-independent, reward prediction tasks. These results indicate a sex-biased trade-off between speed and robustness in the acquisition of contextual modulation. The different distribution of sexes along the Fast↔Steady continuum might reflect different levels of engagement of the orbitofrontal cortex, and might have implications for our understanding of sex differences in psychiatric disorders.

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“…[ 33 ]), but not by others (e.g. [ 34 ]; discussed in [ 35 ]), and CMT is committed to none of them [ 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causal reasoning in rats' behaviour systems

Bowers

Timberlake

2018

R. Soc. open sci.

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Conceiving of stimuli and responses as causes and effects, and assuming that rats acquire representational models of causal relations from Pavlovian procedures, previous work by causal model theory proponents attempted to train rat subjects to represent stimulus A as a cause of both stimulus B and food. By these assumptions, with formal help from Bayesian networks, self-production of stimulus B should reduce expectation of alternative causes, including stimulus A, and their effects, including food. Reduced feeder-directed responding to stimulus B when self-produced has been taken as evidence for a general causal reasoning capacity among rats involving mental maps of causal relations. Critics have rejoined that response competition can explain these effects. The present research replicates the key effect, but uses continuous and finer-grained measurement of a broader range of behaviours. Behaviours not recorded in previous studies contradict both prior explanations. Even results cited in support of these explanations, when measured in finer detail and continuously over longer periods, show patterns not expected by either view, but supportive of a specific-process approach with attention to motivational factors. Still, the abstract prediction from Bayesian networks holds, providing a potentially complementary normative analysis. Behaviour systems theory provides firmer framing for such theories than representational-map alternatives.

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Do rats learn conditional independence?

Cited by 16 publications

References 31 publications

Partially dissociable roles of the Orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal Hippocampus in context-dependent (hierarchical) reward prediction and contextual inference in learning

Partially dissociable roles of the Orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal Hippocampus in context-dependent (hierarchical) reward prediction and contextual inference in learning

Sex Differences in Discrimination Behavior and Orbitofrontal Engagement During Context-Gated Reward Prediction

Causal reasoning in rats' behaviour systems

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