Pavlovian learning in the selection history-dependent control of overt spatial attention.

Abstract

Learning from rewarding and aversive outcomes shapes how sensory signals are processed by the attention system, reflecting a consequence of selection history. Substantial evidence points to Pavlovian associative learning as the mechanism by which previously reward-associated and aversively conditioned stimulus features gain attentional priority. On the basis of differences between reward-dependent feature-based and space-based attentional biases, it has been suggested that reinforcement learning underlies the influence of selection history on spatial attention. By pairing the orienting of overt spatial attention with aversive electric shock, we provide direct evidence that Pavlovian learning between locations and outcomes can shape spatial attention. Public Significance StatementWe learn from prior experience what to direct our attention to. Exactly how we learn to direct our attention is unclear. In the present study, we provide novel evidence for an influence from Pavlovian learning in the control of spatial attention. A better understanding of how learning influences attention is important for the ability to effectively train attention and understand how maladaptive patterns of attention develop.