Goal‐directed EEG activity evoked by discriminative stimuli in reinforcement learning. (6th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Luque, David; Morís, Joaquín; Rushby, Jacqueline A.; Le Pelley, Mike E.
• Is Part Of: Psychophysiology. Volume 52:Number 2(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 238
• Page End: 248
• Publication Date: 2014-08-06
• Subjects: Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12302
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0048-5772

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>In reinforcement learning (RL), discriminative stimuli (<italic>S</italic>) allow agents to anticipate the value of a future outcome, and the response that will produce that outcome. We examined this processing by recording EEG locked to <italic>S</italic> during RL. Incentive value of outcomes and predictive value of <italic>S</italic> were manipulated, allowing us to discriminate between outcome‐related and response‐related activity. <italic>S</italic> predicting the correct response differed from nonpredictive <italic>S</italic> in the P2. <italic>S</italic> paired with high‐value outcomes differed from those paired with low‐value outcomes in a frontocentral positivity and in the P3b. A slow negativity then distinguished between predictive and nonpredictive <italic>S</italic>. These results suggest that, first, attention prioritizes detection of informative <italic>S</italic>. Activation of mental representations of these informative <italic>S</italic> then retrieves representations of outcomes, which in turn retrieve representations of responses that previously produced those outcomes.</p> </abstract>