Journal article
A Reinforcement Learning Mechanism Responsible for the Valuation of Free Choice
Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.), Vol.83(3), pp.551-557
08/06/2014
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.06.035
PMCID: PMC4126879
PMID: 25066083
Abstract
Humans exhibit a preference for options they have freely chosen over equally valued options they have not; however, the neural mechanism that drives this bias and its functional significance have yet to be identified. Here, we propose a model in which choice biases arise due to amplified positive reward prediction errors associated with free choice. Using a novel variant of a probabilistic learning task, we show that choice biases are selective to options that are predominantly associated with positive outcomes. A polymorphism in DARPP-32, a gene linked to dopaminergic striatal plasticity and individual differences in reinforcement learning, was found to predict the effect of choice as a function of value. We propose that these choice biases are the behavioral byproduct of a credit assignment mechanism responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of dopaminergic reinforcement learning signals broadcast to the striatum.
•Participants exhibit a biased preference for freely chosen rewarding options•DARPP-32 genotype predicts choice bias as a function of expected value•Bias is mirrored by a model that amplifies positive free-choice learning signals•Choice bias is the byproduct of a mechanism that refines learning signal fidelity
Cockburn et al. show behavioral, computational, and genetic evidence suggesting that human preference for free choice emerges as a byproduct of a striatal reinforcement learning mechanism that amplifies the impact of reward prediction errors following endogenously selected actions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A Reinforcement Learning Mechanism Responsible for the Valuation of Free Choice
- Creators
- Jeffrey Cockburn - Brown Institute for Media InnovationAnne G.E. Collins - Brown UniversityMichael J. Frank - Brown University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.), Vol.83(3), pp.551-557
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.06.035
- PMID
- 25066083
- PMCID
- PMC4126879
- ISSN
- 0896-6273
- eISSN
- 1097-4199
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/06/2014
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9984696757602771
Metrics
10 Record Views