Reward boosts neural coding of task rules to optimise cognitive flexibility
Reward boosts neural coding of task rules to optimise cognitive flexibility
复制标题
奖励促进任务规则的神经编码，以优化认知灵活性
DOI：
10.1101/578468
复制
发表时间：
2019
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Hall-McMaster S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hall-McMaster S
认知灵活性对智能行为至关重要。然而，它的执行是费力的，而且往往是次优的。最近的研究表明，灵活的行为可以改善的前景的奖励，这表明，奖励优化灵活的控制过程。在这里，我们研究了不同的奖励前景如何影响任务规则信息的神经编码，以优化认知灵活性。我们将表征相似性分析应用于人类脑电图，记录女性和男性参与者执行规则指导的决策任务。在任务过程中，不同试验的奖励前景不同。参与者对高奖励试验做出了更快、更准确的判断。重要的是，高奖励促进了主动任务规则的神经编码，这种增加的程度与任务表现的改善有关。此外，高奖励对任务规则编码的影响在转换试验中最为明显，其中规则相对于前一次试验进行了更新。这些结果表明，奖励前景可以通过加强任务规则信息的神经编码来促进认知绩效，有助于提高复杂行为过程中的认知灵活性。意义陈述动机的重要性在奖励前景指导适应性行为的普遍性和与动机障碍相关的神经系统疾病的惊人数量中是显而易见的。在这项研究中，我们研究了如何动态变化的动机，通过奖励操纵，形状神经编码的任务规则在灵活的决策任务。这项工作的结果表明，获得奖励的动机调制灵活的行为所需的任务规则的编码。奖励增加任务规则编码的程度也跟踪了高奖励条件下行为表现的改善。这些发现有助于了解动机如何塑造健康人脑中的神经处理。
Cognitive flexibility is critical for intelligent behavior. However, its execution is effortful and often suboptimal. Recent work indicates that flexible behavior can be improved by the prospect of reward, which suggests that rewards optimize flexible control processes. Here we investigated how different reward prospects influence neural encoding of task rule information to optimize cognitive flexibility. We applied representational similarity analysis to human electroencephalograms, recorded while female and male participants performed a rule-guided decision-making task. During the task, the prospect of reward varied from trial to trial. Participants made faster, more accurate judgements on high-reward trials. Critically, high reward boosted neural coding of the active task rule, and the extent of this increase was associated with improvements in task performance. Additionally, the effect of high reward on task rule coding was most pronounced on switch trials, where rules were updated relative to the previous trial. These results suggest that reward prospect can promote cognitive performance by strengthening neural coding of task rule information, helping to improve cognitive flexibility during complex behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe importance of motivation is evident in the ubiquity with which reward prospect guides adaptive behavior and the striking number of neurological conditions associated with motivational impairments. In this study, we investigated how dynamic changes in motivation, as manipulated through reward, shape neural coding for task rules during a flexible decision-making task. The results of this work suggest that motivation to obtain reward modulates the encoding of task rules needed for flexible behavior. The extent to which reward increased task rule coding also tracked improvements in behavioral performance under high-reward conditions. These findings help to inform how motivation shapes neural processing in the healthy human brain.