Neural mechanisms of cognitive control: interactions of goal-directed and habit systems

认知控制的神经机制：目标导向系统和习惯系统的相互作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05347
• 负责人: Gruber, Aaron
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: University of Lethbridge
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=717606
• 关键词: Neural; mechanisms; cognitive; control; interactions

The overall goal of my research is to understand how the brain adapts choices in complex and dynamic environments to achieve long-term goals. The mammalian brain has at least two distinct systems that can control choice: a goal directed' system that uses reward outcomes to adapt choices quickly; and a habit' system involving sensorimotor processing that adapts choices slowly. My NSERC-funded work led to the important discovery that the habit system alone can drive rapid adaptation of choice following omission of reward. This contradicts most prevailing theories of choice, and indicates that major revisions are needed. Moreover, this finding reveals a novel method to study how the goal-directed system can suppress the habit system. Such cognitive control' is important for achieving long-term goals by suppressing actions for short-term gain, such as foregoing dessert to lose weight. The near-term objectives of my research program over the next 5 years are to capitalize on these discoveries to advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms by which goal-directed systems can regulate habits, and to identify why this is often different among sexes during task uncertainty. Specifically, we will (1) use neural recordings in rats to identify neural encoding of reward, uncertainty, and response inhibition in habit and goal systems during choice, (2) examine how promoting goal-directed control by increasing task uncertainty affects neural encoding and interactions of these systems, (3) investigate the effects of biological sex on these processes, and (4) investigate the computational advantages of uncertainty-based competition between systems. This is essential information needed for advancing our knowledge of several prevalent behavioural phenomena, including trial-and-error learning, cognitive control of choice, and sex differences in choice paradigms involving uncertain outcomes (e.g. gambling). We will take advantage of the fact that rats and humans perform very similarly on our novel choice task, which allows us to translate neural recordings in behaving rodents to choice performance in humans. We will use computational techniques and analytics to estimate treatment effects on hidden variables (e.g. learning rates) and test the computational properties of algorithms inspired by the experimental results. This program of research supports my long-term objective of developing a mechanistic theory for how the brain uses mental models of the environment (beliefs) in goal-directed systems to disrupt habitual responses, which is of fundamental importance for adapting behaviour in many real-world situation. My multidisciplinary research program integrates work in animals, humans, and computational models, and provides exceptional training for HQP. As far as I am aware, this research program is highly original and is poised for transformative advances in our theory of decision-making in the brain and how we might engineer intelligent artificial systems.

我研究的总体目标是了解大脑如何在复杂和动态的环境中适应选择以实现长期目标。哺乳动物的大脑至少有两个不同的系统可以控制选择：一个目标导向系统，它使用奖励结果来快速适应选择；习惯系统涉及感觉运动处理，可以缓慢地适应选择。我的nserc资助的工作导致了一个重要的发现，即习惯系统本身可以在忽略奖励后驱动选择的快速适应。这与大多数流行的选择理论相矛盾，并表明需要进行重大修订。此外，这一发现揭示了一种研究目标导向系统如何抑制习惯系统的新方法。这种认知控制对于通过抑制短期收益的行为来实现长期目标是很重要的，比如放弃甜点来减肥。在接下来的5年里，我的研究计划的近期目标是利用这些发现来推进我们对目标导向系统调节习惯的神经机制的理解，并确定为什么在任务不确定性中，这在性别之间往往是不同的。具体来说，我们将(1)利用大鼠的神经记录来识别选择过程中习惯和目标系统中奖励、不确定性和反应抑制的神经编码；(2)研究通过增加任务不确定性来促进目标导向控制如何影响这些系统的神经编码和相互作用；(3)研究生物性别对这些过程的影响；(4)研究系统之间基于不确定性的竞争的计算优势。这是提高我们对几种普遍行为现象的认识所需的基本信息，包括试错学习，选择的认知控制，以及涉及不确定结果（例如赌博）的选择范式中的性别差异。我们将利用老鼠和人类在新选择任务中的表现非常相似这一事实，这使我们能够将啮齿动物行为的神经记录转化为人类的选择表现。我们将使用计算技术和分析来估计对隐藏变量（例如学习率）的处理效果，并测试受实验结果启发的算法的计算特性。这个研究项目支持我的长期目标，即发展一种机制理论，研究大脑如何在目标导向系统中使用环境的心理模型（信念）来破坏习惯性反应，这对于在许多现实世界的情况下适应行为具有重要意义。我的多学科研究项目整合了动物、人类和计算模型的工作，并为HQP提供了特殊的培训。据我所知，这个研究项目是高度原创的，它将为我们的大脑决策理论以及我们如何设计智能人工系统带来革命性的进步。