Topic: stimulus-action associations

The sensory cortex is widely considered to be specialized for perception by interpreting complex sensory patterns while also exhibiting structured forms of representational plasticity of behaviorally-relevant stimuli. Recent evidence, however, suggests that sensory cortical neurons directly encode non-sensory variables such as movement and valence. Conjoint representations of sensory and non-sensory variables in the same network could further hone perception or, alternatively, subserve more integrative cognitive processes. Here, we ask the extent to which the sensory cortex is an associative e

Learning is not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also the ability to express that knowledge when needed. Previous work using non-reinforced probe trials showed that animals exhibit complete acquisition of stimulus-action associations far before they express them under reinforcement. Why do animals exhibit this gap in performance between acquisition and expression despite already acquiring the stimulus-action associations? Early in learning, animals may (1) exhibit motor biases that they slowly learn to suppress, (2) continue to explore different choice alternatives, or (3) base decisions

Behavioral performance during goal-directed learning is typically measured in the presence of reinforcement. In this context, learning has been described as a slow process with high inter-subject variability. Exploration of the neural mechanisms, therefore, has focused on identifying dynamics concomitant with these slow performance improvements. Recent work, however, has shown that task acquisition is much faster and more stereotyped than previously thought1. Performance was evaluated daily in reinforced and non-reinforced (‘probe’) trials. These probe trials revealed a rapid and stereotyped a