Age and individual differences in reinforcement learning: A behavioural and electrophysiological study

适应性行为依赖于使用绩效反馈来指导行为的能力。正反馈和负反馈对于提高成绩都很重要，它们发出的信号是当前行为的延续或调整，以及注意力资源的有效运用。成绩监测在儿童和青少年时期尤为重要，因为他们在社会和教育环境中经常面临新的、往往具有挑战性的学习经历。有证据表明，大脑奖励系统的发展是长期的，这些不成熟可能会对个人如何评估绩效反馈产生深远的影响。从头皮记录的事件相关电位(ERPs)可以用来检查绩效监测及其背后的神经机制。很少有研究*系统地检查企业资源规划对整个发展阶段绩效反馈的反应。重要的是，传统上，绩效监测是根据货币反馈进行调查的。然而，最显著的反馈信号可能本质上是社交的，而负面的社会评价可能是一个强有力的信号，导致大脑做出强烈的奖励反应。方法和结果的不一致增加了这样一种可能性，即个体对消极反馈和积极反馈的反应方式的差异可能部分取决于动机因素，如内在性特征和外化性特征分别发现的个体对惩罚和奖励的敏感度的差异。拟议研究的主要目标是解决现有的不一致之处，并使用企业资源规划方法系统地审查对正面和负面业绩反馈(货币和社会)作出反应的年龄差异。鉴于情绪和行为障碍从儿童期到青春期的急剧增加，特别重要的是，在青春期和成年期出现完全阈值障碍之前，确定与奖励相关的功能障碍的早期神经标记物可能特别重要。与奖赏相关的事件相关电位可能是研究奖赏敏感度变化和儿童青春期过渡期间出现的内化/外化特征的理想生物标记物。因此，这项研究的次要目标是研究从儿童期后期到成年期的内化/外化特征与对奖惩表现反馈反应减弱的假定神经标记物之间的关联。如果要将强化学习错误相关信号的调制解释为生物标志物或风险指标，则更清楚地理解强化学习错误相关信号的功能意义是至关重要的。这是朝着最终目标迈出的重要的第一步，该目标是将儿童和青春期看到的神经标记物与成年后更严重的内化/外化问题的发展联系起来。

Adaptive behaviours rely on the ability to use performance feedback to guide behaviour. Both positive and negative feedback are important for improving performance, signaling either a continuation or an adjustment of the current behaviour and for the efficient deployment of attentional resources. Performance monitoring is particularly important during childhood and adolescence since they are constantly faced with new, often challenging, learning experiences in social and educational settings. Evidence suggests that there is protracted development of the brain reward system and these immaturities may have profound effects on how individuals evaluate performance feedback. Event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded from the scalp can be used to examine performance monitoring and the neural mechanism underlying it. Few studies have systematically*examined ERP responses to performance feedback across development. Importantly, performance monitoring has been traditionally investigated in response to monetary feedback. The most salient feedback signals may, however, be social in nature, and negative social evaluation is likely a potent signal leading to strong brain reward responses. Inconsistencies in methodology and results raise the possibility that differences in how individuals respond to negative and positive feedback may depend, in part, on motivational factors such as individual differences in sensitivity to punishment and reward as found with internalizing and externalizing traits, respectively. The primary goal of the proposed study is to address existing inconsistencies and systematically examine age differences in responses to positive and negative performance feedback (both monetary and social) using an ERP approach. In light of the drastic increase in mood and behavioural disorders from childhood to adolescence, it may be especially important to identify early neural markers of reward-related dysfunction that might precede the emergence of a full-threshold disorder in adolescence and adulthood. Reward-related ERPs may be ideal biomarkers for studying changes in reward sensitivity and internalizing/externalizing traits that emerge as children transition through puberty. Hence, the secondary goal of this study iss to examine the association between internalizing/externalizing traits in*relation to a putative neural marker of diminished responsiveness to reward and punishment performance feedback from late childhood to young adulthood. Reaching a clearer understanding of the functional significance of reinforcement learning error related signals is crucial if their modulation were to be interpreted as biomarkers or risk indicators. This is an important first step toward the eventual goal of linking a neural marker seen in childhood and adolescence to the development of more severe internalizing/externalizing problems in adulthood.