Operant
operant conditioning
Choice engineering and the modeling of operant learning
Organisms modify their behavior in response to its consequences, a phenomenon referred to as operant learning. Contemporary modeling of this learning behavior is based on reinforcement learning algorithms. I will discuss some of the challenges that these models face, and proposed a new approach to model-selection that is based on testing their ability to engineer behavior. Finally, I will present the results of The Choice Engineering Competition – an academic competition that compared the efficacies of qualitative and quantitative models of operant learning in shaping behavior.
The Dopamine Synapse and Learning
The actions of dopamine within the striatum are central to the selection of cortical and perhaps thalamic inputs that mediate learning throughout life, including during operant conditioning, reward and avoidance learning and the establishment of motor patterns. Dysfunction of these synaptic circuits during maturation or aging underlies many neurological, psychiatric and neurodevelopment disorders. We will discuss the biological sequences by which these synapses are altered as an animal interacts with the environment.