Causal Neural Mechanisms for Decision Making: Putting Rules into Context

规则学习是生活在这个世界上的关键。我们学到的规则通常只适用于特定的情况；X并不总是定义Y，有时需要额外的变量。因此，问题是，像大脑这样的自然系统是如何学习和记忆这些规则并将其推广到新情况的？这个项目的目的是了解大脑是如何在不同的情境下学习和做出决定的。该项目本身将涉及在灵长类动物和啮齿动物中设计和实施计算信息范式。然后我们将评估动物的行为选择，以及它们是如何受到规则或环境的引导的。随后，通过使用一种被称为经颅超声刺激（TUS）的创新技术，灵长类动物的大脑功能将被调节，以识别规则/情境学习所需的大脑区域。在啮齿类动物中开展的平行研究将确定进化起源以及对海马体和额叶系统的依赖，以进行情境引导的规则学习，从两种关键的实验动物那里提供重要信息。这些知识与患有额叶或海马认知障碍的人类高度相关，并可能导致更好的人工智能系统，目前人工智能系统在每种情况下都无法有效地学习每条规则。这项研究还将加强对涉及记忆和认知失调的疾病的理解，从而改善整个生命过程中的健康和福祉，减少对医疗和社会干预的需求。

Rule learning is pivotal to living in the world. The rules we learn often only apply to certain situations; X does not always define Y, sometimes the presence of an additional variable is required. The question, therefore, is how does a natural system, like the brain, learn and remember these rules and generalise them to new situations?The aim of this project is to understand how the brain learns and makes decisions under different contextual situations. The project itself will involve designing and implementing a computationally informed paradigm in both primates and rodents. Then we will assess the animals' behavioural choices and how they are guided by rules or context. Subsequently with the use of an innovative technique called transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), brain function in primates will be modulated to identify brain areas that are required for rule/context learning. Parallel work in rodents will identify evolutionary origins and the dependence on the hippocampus and frontal systems for context guided rule learning, providing vital information from two key laboratory animals.This knowledge is highly relevant for humans with frontal or hippocampal cognitive impairment and may lead to better artificially intelligent systems, which currently inefficiently learn every rule under every context. The research will also enhance understanding concerning disorders that involve maladaptation of memory and cognition, thereby improving health and wellbeing across the lifecourse, reducing the need for medical and social interventions.