The Role of Feedback to Facilitate Category Learning

描述（由申请人提供）：类别学习是指导日常感知，行动和决策所必需的。类别学习和分类过程是快速的，并且在健康成年人中可以明显容易地进行（Homa & Cultice，1984）。类别学习的一种亚型，原型扭曲，在外显记忆严重受损的人群中是完整的（例如，健忘症：Reber等人，1998）以及内隐记忆受损的患者（例如，帕金森病：诺尔顿等人，1996年）。然而，我们实验室最近的发现[Little等人，2004]证明了在原型失真学习期间大脑激活中学习相关变化的神经元基础涉及比以前报道的更广泛的网络[Aizenstein等人，2000; Reber等人，1998年]。此外，不仅是学习相关的变化在整个分布式网络，但这些区域内的激活取决于学习的阶段和成功[Little & Thulbom，正在审查]。这导致了一系列关于疾病影响的问题，以及网络的哪些组成部分可以在其他行为减少的情况下保留完整的学习。这些问题的答案可能会提供深入了解网络的可塑性，以补偿疾病的过程。我们的长期目标是定义和阐明允许在存在神经疾病的情况下成功原型学习的认知过程（Keri等人，2001; Squire &诺尔顿，1995;诺尔顿等人，1996年）。冗余的过程，允许在存在严重的记忆缺陷的情况下成功的学习的知识，可以允许更好地定义和指导的补救和康复计划。我们的主要目标是定义反馈在成功的原型失真学习中的作用，以及反过来那些损害学习速度的条件。为了做到这一点，我们将定义反馈在原型失真学习过程中的作用，同时操纵任务难度（类别数量，类别之间的物理相似性）并保持反馈的时间恒定。其次，我们的目标是定义的时间边界的有用的反馈，同时保持任务难度不变。最后，我们建议收集飞行员数据功能性MRI数据，在这种情况下，前额叶皮层是牵连在原型失真学习反馈。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Category learning is required for guiding everyday perception, action, and decision making. Category learning and the process of categorization is rapid and can be carried out with apparent ease in healthy adults (Homa & Cultice, 1984). One subtype of category learning, prototype-distortion, is intact in populations with severely impaired explicit memory (e.g., amnesiacs: Reber et al., 1998) as well as in patients with impaired implicit memory (e.g., Parkinson's disease: Knowlton et al., 1996). However, recent findings from our laboratory [Little et al., 2004] demonstrate that the neuronal underpinnings for learning related changes in brain activation during prototype-distortion learning implicate a much broader network than previously reported [Aizenstein et al., 2000; Reber et al., 1998]. Further, not only are the learning related changes across a distributed network but the activation within these regions is dependent upon the stage and success of learning [Little & Thulbom, under review]. This leads to a series of questions about the effects of disease and what components of the network are spared to allow intact learning in the presence of other behavioral decrements. Answers to such questions may provide insight into the plasticity of the network that compensate for diseased process. Our long range goal is to define and elucidate the cognitive processes that allow for successful prototype learning in the presence of neurological disease (Keri et al., 2001; Squire & Knowlton, 1995; Knowlton et al., 1996). Knowledge of the redundant processes that allow successful learning in the presence of severe memory deficits may allow better defined and directed programs for remediation and rehabilitation. Our primary objective is to define the role of feedback in successful prototype-distortion learning and conversely those conditions that impair the rate of learning. To do this we will define the role of feedback during prototype-distortion learning while manipulating task difficulty (number of categories, physical similarity between categories) and holding the timing of feedback constant. Secondly, we aim to define the temporal boundaries for the presentation of useful feedback while holding task difficulty constant. Finally, we propose to collect pilot data functional MRI data, on the conditions under which prefrontal cortex is implicated during prototype-distortion learning in response to feedback.