Systems neuroscience of curiosity

Cervera, Roberto Lopez; Wang, Maya Zhe; Hayden, Benjamin Y.

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.011

Cited by 42 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Functionally, this could emerge evolutionarily if information is generally associated with substantive benefits in ecological contexts. This view is consistent with notions of 'curiosity' defined as the motivation to 'know' for the sake of it, or acquire information in the absence of instrumental incentives (Cervera et al, 2020;Gottlieb and Oudeyer, 2018;Kidd and Hayden, 2015). The idea that individuals value information has also recently been explored in humans.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…In this context, the adaptive value of information-seeking derives from its ability to help increment some well-defined benefit. What appears paradoxical is that animals value information even in cases where it has no potential instrumental use -that is, they seek out information 'for its own sake', are 'uncertainty averse', or are 'curious' (Kidd & Hayden, 2015;Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka 2009;Cervera et al, 2020) The idea that individuals find information intrinsically rewarding has been suggested as an explanation for 'observing response' experiments, first carried out by Wyckoff (1951, unpublished thesis;see Wyckoff, 1969). In this paradigm, subjects can seek information about forthcoming contingencies by performing a response that triggers reward-predictive signals, though the information cannot be used to modify outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Uncertainty avoidance versus conditioned reinforcement: exploring paradoxical choice in rats

Ajuwon

Ojeda

Murphy

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Paying a cost to reduce uncertainty can be adaptive, because better informed decision-makers can align their preferences to opportunities. However, birds and mammals display an appetite for information that they cannot use to functionally alter behaviour or its outcomes. We explore two putative motivational mechanisms for this paradoxical behaviour. The information hypothesis proposes that reducing uncertainty is reinforcing per se, consistent with the concept of curiosity: a motivation to know, in the absence of instrumental benefits. In contrast, the conditioned reinforcement hypothesis sees information-seeking as a consequence of asymmetries in secondarily acquired reinforcement: responding increments caused by post-choice stimuli announcing positive outcomes (S+) exceed decrements caused by stimuli signalling absence of reward (S−). We contrast these hypotheses experimentally. Rats chose between two equally profitable options delivering food probabilistically after a fixed delay. In the informative option (Info), the outcome (food/no food) was signalled immediately after choice, whereas in the non-informative option (NoInfo) outcomes were uncertain until the delay lapsed. Subjects preferred (Info) when (1) outcomes were signalled by salient auditory cues, (2) only the absence of reward was signalled, and (3) only reward was signalled, though acquisition was slower when rewards were not explicitly signalled. Our results show that a salient good news signal is not required as a conditioned reinforcer to generate paradoxical preferences. Terminal preferences support the information hypothesis but the slower acquisition of (Info) preference when S+ is not present is consistent with the conditioning account. We conclude that both uncertainty reduction and conditioned reinforcement influence choice.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty avoidance versus conditioned reinforcement: exploring paradoxical choice in rats

Ajuwon

Ojeda

Murphy

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Open-world games like Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft present players with virtually limitless territory to explore, and terrain filled with a multitude of possible actions. Like the situations in which many real-world decisions occur, they contain more unknowns than knowns, which reward curiosity and search, and a large number of other agents with their own goals [23,24]. Open-world environments pose a significant computational challenge, elided in nearly all laboratory decisions but central to real decisions, of narrowing down a plenitude of possible actions to a small set of 'live' options.…”

Section: Continuous Decisions Are Open-worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in RL [23,24,[46][47][48][49]. This also links to theoretical work on freeenergy-inspired models [50,51] that incorporate information seeking, inference and reward into a single framework.…”

Section: (B) Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuous decisions

Yoo

Hayden

Pearson

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Humans and other animals evolved to make decisions that extend over time with continuous and ever-changing options. Nonetheless, the academic study of decision-making is mostly limited to the simple case of choice between two options. Here, we advocate that the study of choice should expand to include continuous decisions . Continuous decisions, by our definition, involve a continuum of possible responses and take place over an extended period of time during which the response is continuously subject to modification. In most continuous decisions, the range of options can fluctuate and is affected by recent responses, making consideration of reciprocal feedback between choices and the environment essential. The study of continuous decisions raises new questions, such as how abstract processes of valuation and comparison are co-implemented with action planning and execution, how we simulate the large number of possible futures our choices lead to, and how our brains employ hierarchical structure to make choices more efficiently. While microeconomic theory has proven invaluable for discrete decisions, we propose that engineering control theory may serve as a better foundation for continuous ones. And while the concept of value has proven foundational for discrete decisions, goal states and policies may prove more useful for continuous ones. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates’.

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“…Several other regions associated with reward such as the caudate, striatum, substantia nigra, and nucleus accumbens are also linked to curiosity (Cervera et al, 2020;Gruber, Gelman, & Ranganath, 2014;Kidd & Hayden, 2015). These regions are part of a mesolimbic system AESTHETIC COGNITIVISM REVIEW 18 associated with pleasure (e.g., "liking" and "wanting"; Berridge, Robinson, & Aldridge, 2009).…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can art promote understanding? A review of the psychology and neuroscience of aesthetic cognitivism

Christensen¹,

Cardillo²,

Chatterjee³

2021

Preprint

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Art promotes knowledge and understanding. Philosophers have debated this proposition, which is referred to as aesthetic cognitivism. Despite its intuitive appeal, few empirical investigations have tested the validity of this claim. In our review, we outline philosophical arguments for and against aesthetic cognitivism. Then, we discuss how empirical aesthetics and neuroscience can contribute to conversations about aesthetic cognitivism, with a focus on visual art. We propose that engagement is necessary to acquire new knowledge and understanding, describe motivational states associated with engagement, and posit who is most likely to experience these states and engage with art. We conclude with a discussion on how aesthetic cognitivism might be measured and modeled. By grounding aesthetic cognitivism in empirical aesthetics, researchers can construct testable hypotheses about art’s role in promoting knowledge and understanding.

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Systems neuroscience of curiosity

Cited by 42 publications

References 72 publications

Uncertainty avoidance versus conditioned reinforcement: exploring paradoxical choice in rats

Uncertainty avoidance versus conditioned reinforcement: exploring paradoxical choice in rats

Continuous decisions

Can art promote understanding? A review of the psychology and neuroscience of aesthetic cognitivism

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