SERIAL-PATTERN LEARNING IN RATS

规则学习模型的理论和实证基础 假设功能相似能力的序列模式学习 对人类和动物的影响。 首先，该模型假设， 动物（即大鼠）和人类对序数或 刺激集的间隔特征，或“字母表”。“第二， 这个模型假设动物和人类对形式上的 从这样的“字母表”中构建的序列模式的结构。“证据表明， 支持这些假设，然后审查证据， 支持了这样一种观点，即老鼠和人类一样， 抽象的规则结构，他们可以使用认知要求， 分层规则结构来学习串行模式。 拟议研究的总体目标是记录 大鼠对序列模式中的等级结构的敏感性， 描述了一些影响老鼠探测能力的因素， 编码，并在学习序列中使用有关模式结构的信息 模式. 为此，我们将记录大鼠对模式的反应， 具有高度组织的分层结构的图案， 完全嵌套的结构，以及包含结构的模式， 只有当老鼠能够将不相关的项目 在序列中相邻。 最后，我们将描述一些 有助于检测模式结构和跟踪的因素 格局 具体来说，我们将确定措辞的重要性 用于模式跟踪的线索、其他时间线索和空间线索。 我们 预计这种方法将使我们能够表征大鼠 顺序学习的精度与 研究人类的顺序学习，从这项工作中， 一种动物模型，可用于指导未来的工作， 认知过程的神经生物学关联。 这样的模式将是 对行为神经科学，行为药理学， 和行为毒理学 由此产生的心理模型将 有助于我们对动物认知能力的全面了解。

The theoretical and empirical basis for a rule-learning model of serial-pattern learning that assumes functionally analogous capacities for humans and animals is examined. First, the model assumes that animals (namely, rats) and humans are sensitive to the ordinal or interval characteristics of stimulus sets, or "alphabets." Second, the model assumes that animals and humans are sensitive to the formal structure of serial patterns built from such an "alphabet." Evidence that supports these assumptions is presented, then evidence is reviewed that supports the idea that rats, like humans, can generalize and extrapolate abstract rule-structures, and that they can use cognitively demanding hierarchical rule-structures to learn serial patterns. The general goals of the proposed studies are to document the extent of rats' sensitivity to hierarchical structure in serial patterns and to characterize some of the factors that affect rats' capacity to detect, encode, and use information about pattern structure in learning serial patterns. Toward this end we will document rats' response to patterns having highly-organized hierarchical structure, to patterns having less completely nested structures, and to patterns containing structure that can be detected only if the rat is able to relate items that are not adjacent in the sequence. Finally, we will characterize some of the factors that contribute to detecting pattern structure and tracking the pattern. Specifically, we will determine the importance of phrasing cues, other temporal cues, and spatial cues for pattern tracking. We anticipate that this methodology will allow us to characterize rat sequential learning with the same precision that has been achieved in studying human sequential learning, and that from this work will emerge an animal model that can be used in guiding future work on neurobiological correlates of cognitive processes. Such a model would be useful for the areas of behavioral neuroscience, behavioral pharmacology, and behavioral toxicology. The resulting psychological model will contribute to our general understanding of animal cognitive capacity.