Striatum-Medial Prefrontal Cortex Connectivity Predicts Developmental Changes in Reinforcement Learning
Striatum-Medial Prefrontal Cortex Connectivity Predicts Developmental Changes in Reinforcement Learning
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DOI：
10.1093/cercor/bhr198
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发表时间：
2012-06-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Crone, Eveline A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
van den Bos, Wouter;Cohen, Michael X.;Crone, Eveline A.
在发展过程中，儿童通过反馈来调整自己的行为，从而提高学习能力。然而，目前尚不清楚哪些神经机制可能是这些发育变化的基础。在当前的研究中，我们使用强化学习模型来研究学习信号的表征和处理中的神经发育变化。67名年龄在8到22岁之间的健康志愿者（儿童：8-11岁，青少年：13-16岁，成人：18-22岁）在磁共振成像扫描仪中执行概率学习任务。行为数据显示，儿童在学习参数上存在年龄差异，负反馈对期望值的影响更大。成像数据显示，预测误差的神经表征在不同年龄组中是相似的，但腹侧纹状体和内侧前额叶皮层之间的功能连通性随着年龄的变化而变化。此外，连通性强度预测了收到负面反馈后改变期望的倾向。这些发现表明，学习发育变化的潜在机制与学习信号本身的神经表征差异无关，而与学习信号如何用于指导行为和期望有关。
During development, children improve in learning from feedback to adapt their behavior. However, it is still unclear which neural mechanisms might underlie these developmental changes. In the current study, we used a reinforcement learning model to investigate neurodevelopmental changes in the representation and processing of learning signals. Sixty-seven healthy volunteers between ages 8 and 22 (children: 8-11 years, adolescents: 13-16 years, and adults: 18-22 years) performed a probabilistic learning task while in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The behavioral data demonstrated age differences in learning parameters with a stronger impact of negative feedback on expected value in children. Imaging data revealed that the neural representation of prediction errors was similar across age groups, but functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex changed as a function of age. Furthermore, the connectivity strength predicted the tendency to alter expectations after receiving negative feedback. These findings suggest that the underlying mechanisms of developmental changes in learning are not related to differences in the neural representation of learning signals per se but rather in how learning signals are used to guide behavior and expectations.