Behavior Systems and Learning: Modules, Modes, and Temporal Integration

这项研究源于一种研究基本学习机制的生态方法，这种方法基于这样一种假设，即学习是在一个起作用的行为系统中进化并可以有利可图地研究的。具体地说，本实验旨在揭示空间学习中涉及的机制的性质和数量。空间学习和搜索是否会因线索类型和奖励效果的不同而不同？在使用奖励和不使用奖励或不同类型的奖励时，控制有效搜索的感觉-运动机制在多大程度上存在差异？这些答案将决定在分析空间学习时考虑特定系统背景的重要性。这项工作的更广泛的重要性包括建立学习可以在多大程度上有利可图地在正常的行为系统(如觅食或寻求安全)中进行研究的例子，而不仅仅是基于非常一般的机制。如果行为系统很重要，它表明学习可以通过理解它所起的作用而不是详尽地分析产生它的环境来更有效地产生和控制。在人类中，学习在决定行为方面的总体重要性是毋庸置疑的。没有具体讨论的是，学习在多大程度上遵循与特定功能相关的不同规则和决定因素。即使在人类中，学习空间位置和学习适当的社会行为也可能取决于不同的刺激、动机状态和机制。促进一种学习的最佳条件很可能与促进另一种学习的条件不同。

This research stems from an ecological approach to the study of basic learning mechanisms, an approach based on the assumption that learning evolved and can be profitably studied within a functioning system of behavior. Specifically, the present experiments are designed to reveal the nature and number of the mechanisms involved in spatial learning. Do spatial learning and search vary with the type of cue used and the effects of reward? To what extent are there differences between the sensory-motor mechanisms controlling efficient search when rewards are used versus no rewards or different types of reward? The answers will determine the importance of considering the specific system context in analyzing spatial learning. The more general importance of this work involves establishing examples of the extent to which learning can be profitably studied within functioning systems of behavior (such as foraging for food, or seeking safety) rather than based only on very general mechanisms. If systems of behavior are important, it suggests that learning can be more effectively produced and controlled by understanding the function it serves rather than exhaustively analyzing the circumstances that produce it. In humans, the general importance of learning in determining behavior is large and unquestioned. What has not been so specifically dealt with is the extent to which learning follows somewhat different rules and determinants related to specific functions. Even in humans, learning about spatial locations and learning appropriate social behaviors may depend on different stimuli, motivational states, and mechanisms. The optimum conditions for promoting one sort of learning may well be different from the conditions promoting the other.