Discrimination learning with variable stimulus 'salience'

Treviño, Mario; Aguilar‐Garnica, Efrén; Jendritza, Patrick; Li, Shi-Bin; Oviedo, Tatiana; Köhr, Georg; Marco, Rodrigo J. De

doi:10.1186/1755-7682-4-26

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…The reward history from a S D influences the probability of choosing it again on subsequent trials [ 4 , 10 – 13 , 20 ]. Because location habits are a common feature of animal behavior [ 4 , 21 ], it is crucial to carefully choose the training sequences of locations for the S D .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undesirable Choice Biases with Small Differences in the Spatial Structure of Chance Stimulus Sequences

Herrera

Treviño

2015

PLoS ONE

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In two-alternative discrimination tasks, experimenters usually randomize the location of the rewarded stimulus so that systematic behavior with respect to irrelevant stimuli can only produce chance performance on the learning curves. One way to achieve this is to use random numbers derived from a discrete binomial distribution to create a 'full random training schedule' (FRS). When using FRS, however, sporadic but long laterally-biased training sequences occur by chance and such 'input biases' are thought to promote the generation of laterally-biased choices (i.e., 'output biases'). As an alternative, a 'Gellerman-like training schedule' (GLS) can be used. It removes most input biases by prohibiting the reward from appearing on the same location for more than three consecutive trials. The sequence of past rewards obtained from choosing a particular discriminative stimulus influences the probability of choosing that same stimulus on subsequent trials. Assuming that the long-term average ratio of choices matches the long-term average ratio of reinforcers, we hypothesized that a reduced amount of input biases in GLS compared to FRS should lead to a reduced production of output biases. We compared the choice patterns produced by a 'Rational Decision Maker' (RDM) in response to computer-generated FRS and GLS training sequences. To create a virtual RDM, we implemented an algorithm that generated choices based on past rewards. Our simulations revealed that, although the GLS presented fewer input biases than the FRS, the virtual RDM produced more output biases with GLS than with FRS under a variety of test conditions. Our results reveal that the statistical and temporal properties of training sequences interacted with the RDM to influence the production of output biases. Thus, discrete changes in the training paradigms did not translate linearly into modifications in the pattern of choices generated by a RDM. Virtual RDMs could be further employed to guide the selection of proper training schedules for perceptual decision-making studies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undesirable Choice Biases with Small Differences in the Spatial Structure of Chance Stimulus Sequences

Herrera

Treviño

2015

PLoS ONE

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“…Indeed, it was shown that a single infusion of excitatory amino acid antagonists can increase locomotor activity over 60 min (Wirtshafter et al 1989). Consistently, discriminative learning is thought to depend on various factors including the salience of unconditioned stimuli, salience of conditioned stimuli, and similarity of discriminating stimuli (Trevino et al 2011). In any case, the conditioning effects are consistent with our theoretical view that the incentive motivation enhanced by intra-MR ZK is affective, a process that recruits memory processes to induce conditioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rewarding and incentive motivational effects of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists into the median raphe and adjacent regions of the rat

et al. 2012

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Rationale The motivational process that regulates approach behavior toward salient distal stimuli (i.e., incentive motivation) plays a key role in voluntary behavior and motivational disorders such as addiction. This process may be mediated by many neurotransmitter systems and a network of many brain structures, including the median and dorsal raphe regions (MR and DR, respectively). Objective We sought to examine whether the blockade of excitatory amino acid receptors in the MR and DR is rewarding, using intracranial self-administration, and whether the self-administration effect can be explained by drug’s effectiveness to enhance incentive motivation, using a visual sensation seeking procedure. Results Rats learned to self-administer the AMPA receptor antagonist ZK 200775 into the vicinity of the MR, DR, or medial oral pontine reticular regions, but not the ventral tegmental area. The NMDA receptor antagonist AP5 was also self-administered into the MR, while it was not readily self-administered into other regions. When ZK 200775 was noncontingently administered into the MR, rats markedly increased approach responses rewarded by brief illumination of a light stimulus. In addition, contingent administration of ZK 200775 into the MR induced a conditioning effect on approach responses. Conclusions Rats self-administer excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists into the MR and adjacent regions. Self-administration effect of AMPA receptor antagonists into the MR can be largely explained by the manipulation’s properties to invigorate ongoing approach behavior and induces conditioned approach. Glutamatergic afferents to the median raphe and adjacent regions appear to tonically suppress incentive-motivational processes.

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“…In this task, the animals learned to associate that swimming toward a conditioned stimulus (CS + ) and reaching a transparent submerged platform was rewarded with escape from water, whereas swimming toward a non-conditioned stimulus (CS − ) was not. For every trial, we displayed the CS + in a different arm of the pool according to a Gellerman-like schedule (Treviño et al, 2011 ; Herrera and Trevino, 2015 ). Choices were considered as made, once the animals crossed an imaginary line that outlined a decision area with visual access to both CS + and CS − images (Treviño et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where c 1 , c 2 , n 1 , and n 2 are constants. Also, we defined λ as a sliding logistic function of the net salience, because we assumed that the quality of sensory representation would degrade gradually as salience reached α min , compromising discrimination and learning (Treviño et al, 2011 ):…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One implication of this interpretation is that learning about discriminative stimuli depends on the specific effective salience trajectory used to learn about them. We thus propose that, at any given time, the external ( effective ) and internal ( acquired ) salience elements determine which predictive value will be assigned to conditioned stimuli (Treviño et al, 2011 ). Understanding how exactly the brain processes salience is a fundamental step to advance current associative learning theories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associative Learning Through Acquired Salience

Treviño

2016

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Most associative learning studies describe the salience of stimuli as a fixed learning-rate parameter. Presumptive saliency signals, however, have also been linked to motivational and attentional processes. An interesting possibility, therefore, is that discriminative stimuli could also acquire salience as they become powerful predictors of outcomes. To explore this idea, we first characterized and extracted the learning curves from mice trained with discriminative images offering varying degrees of structural similarity. Next, we fitted a linear model of associative learning coupled to a series of mathematical representations for stimulus salience. We found that the best prediction, from the set of tested models, was one in which the visual salience depended on stimulus similarity and a non-linear function of the associative strength. Therefore, these analytic results support the idea that the net salience of a stimulus depends both on the items' effective salience and the motivational state of the subject that learns about it. Moreover, this dual salience model can explain why learning about a stimulus not only depends on the effective salience during acquisition but also on the specific learning trajectory that was used to reach this state. Our mathematical description could be instrumental for understanding aberrant salience acquisition under stressful situations and in neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction.

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Discrimination learning with variable stimulus 'salience'

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

Undesirable Choice Biases with Small Differences in the Spatial Structure of Chance Stimulus Sequences

Undesirable Choice Biases with Small Differences in the Spatial Structure of Chance Stimulus Sequences

Rewarding and incentive motivational effects of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists into the median raphe and adjacent regions of the rat

Associative Learning Through Acquired Salience

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