Uncertainty alters the balance between incremental learning and episodic memory

Nicholas, Jonathan; Daw, Nathaniel D.; Shohamy, Daphna

doi:10.1101/2022.07.05.498877

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(114 reference statements)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Cerebellum in Learning to Predict Reward: Evidence from Cerebellar Ataxia

Nicholas,

Amlang,

Lin

et al. 2023

Cerebellum

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Recent findings in animals have challenged the traditional view of the cerebellum solely as the site of motor control, suggesting that the cerebellum may also be important for learning to predict reward from trial-and-error feedback. Yet, evidence for the role of the cerebellum in reward learning in humans is lacking. Moreover, open questions remain about which specific aspects of reward learning the cerebellum may contribute to. Here we address this gap through an investigation of multiple forms of reward learning in individuals with cerebellum dysfunction, represented by cerebellar ataxia cases. Nineteen participants with cerebellar ataxia and 57 age-and sex-matched healthy controls completed two separate tasks that required learning about reward contingencies from trial-and-error. To probe the selectivity of reward learning processes, the tasks differed in their underlying structure: while one task measured incremental reward learning ability alone, the other allowed participants to use an alternative learning strategy based on episodic memory alongside incremental reward learning. We found that individuals with cerebellar ataxia were profoundly impaired at reward learning from trial-and-error feedback on both tasks, but retained the ability to learn to predict reward based on episodic memory. These findings provide evidence from humans for a specific and necessary role for the cerebellum in incremental learning of reward associations based on reinforcement. More broadly, the findings suggest that alongside its role in motor learning, the cerebellum likely operates in concert with the basal ganglia to support reinforcement learning from reward.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Cerebellum in Learning to Predict Reward: Evidence from Cerebellar Ataxia

Nicholas,

Amlang,

Lin

et al. 2023

Cerebellum

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“…Healthy adults readily use of both of these strategies in this task. 31,32 We hypothesized that cerebellar dysfunction would lead specifically to impaired incremental reward learning relative to healthy controls. Participants saw one of two fractal cues on the screen and were required to press either the F key with their left hand or the J key with their right hand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the cerebellum in learning to predict reward: evidence from cerebellar ataxia

Nicholas

Amlang

Lin

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Recent findings in animals have challenged the traditional view of the cerebellum solely as the site of motor control, suggesting that the cerebellum may also be important for learning to predict reward from trial-and-error feedback. Yet, evidence for the role of the cerebellum in reward learning in humans is lacking. Moreover, open questions remain about which specific aspects of reward learning the cerebellum may contribute to. Here we address this gap through an investigation of multiple forms of reward learning in individuals with cerebellum dysfunction, represented by cerebellar ataxia cases. Nineteen participants with cerebellar ataxia and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed two separate tasks that required learning about reward contingencies from trial-and-error. To probe the selectivity of reward learning processes, the tasks differed in their underlying structure: while one task measured incremental reward learning ability alone, the other allowed participants to use an alternative learning strategy based on episodic memory alongside incremental reward learning. We found that individuals with cerebellar ataxia were profoundly impaired at reward learning from trial-and-error feedback on both tasks, but retained the ability to learn to predict reward based on episodic memory. These findings provide evidence from humans for a specific and necessary role for the cerebellum in incremental learning of reward associations based on reinforcement. More broadly, the findings suggest that alongside its role in motor learning, the cerebellum likely operates in concert with the basal ganglia to support reinforcement learning from reward.

show abstract

Uncertainty alters the balance between incremental learning and episodic memory

Cited by 2 publications

References 81 publications

The Role of the Cerebellum in Learning to Predict Reward: Evidence from Cerebellar Ataxia

The Role of the Cerebellum in Learning to Predict Reward: Evidence from Cerebellar Ataxia

The role of the cerebellum in learning to predict reward: evidence from cerebellar ataxia

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