scholarly journals Value-related neuronal responses in the human amygdala during observational learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomas G. Aquino ◽  
Juri Minxha ◽  
Simon Dunne ◽  
Ian B. Ross ◽  
Adam N. Mamelak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Observational Learning ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Neurosurgical Patients ◽  
Measured Activity ◽  
Value Coding

AbstractThe amygdala plays an important role in many aspects of social-cognition and reward-learning. Here we aimed to determine whether human amygdala neurons are involved in the computations necessary to implement learning through observation. We performed single-neuron recordings from the amygdalae of human neurosurgical patients (male and female) while they learned about the value of stimuli through observing the outcomes experienced by another agent interacting with those stimuli. We used a detailed computational modeling approach to describe patients’ behavior in the task. Then, using both population-level decoding and single neuron analyses we found evidence to implicate amygdala neurons in two key computations relevant for observational-learning: tracking the expected future reward associated with a given stimulus, and in tracking outcome values received by oneself or other agents. Encoding and decoding analyses suggested observational value coding in amygdala neurons occurred in a different subset of neurons than experiential value coding. Collectively, these findings support a key role for the human amygdala in the computations underlying the capacity for learning through observation.Significance statementSingle neuron studies of the human brain provide a unique window into the computational mechanisms of cognition. In this study, epilepsy patients implanted intracranially with depth microelectrodes performed an observational learning task. We measured activity bilaterally in the amygdala and found a representation for observational rewards as well as observational expected reward values. Additionally, the representation of self-experienced and observational values was performed by distinct subsets of amygdala neurons. This study thus provides a rare glimpse into the role of human amygdala neurons in social cognition.

scholarly journals The role of hippocampus during observational learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yerko Fuentealba ◽  
José L Valdés
Keyword(s):  
Observational Learning ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Reversible Inactivation ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior ◽  
Spatial Learning Task

ABSTRACTObservational learning is a fundamental cognitive ability present in several species, where a naïve animal imitates a goal-directed behavior from the observation of a congener which acts as a demonstrator. Recent evidence in bat and rats suggests that hippocampal place cells of an observer may generate a spatial representation of the locations visited by a demonstrator, during spatial navigation. However, it is still unclear whether this hippocampal neural activity is critical for the process of observational learning or if the patterns of activity during observation differ from those emerging from the execution of a spatial memory task previously observed. To test this idea, we assess the role of the hippocampus by pharmacological reversible inactivation during the observation of a spatial learning task, demonstrating a critical role for this structure in observational learning. Then we recorded the neuronal activity of principal pyramidal cells of the same animal when it was observing or solving the memory task, and two different representation of the space emerged after observation or navigation. This evidences demonstrated that the hippocampus is necessary for observational learning and indicated that the observed and executed hippocampal representation are different, confirming the idea that the hippocampus could represent the position of others in the space, and use this information to improve his behavioral performance.

Refining our understanding of the “elephant in the room”

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Whiten
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Technological Culture

Abstract The authors do the field of cultural evolution a service by exploring the role of non-social cognition in human cumulative technological culture, truly neglected in comparison with socio-cognitive abilities frequently assumed to be the primary drivers. Some specifics of their delineation of the critical factors are problematic, however. I highlight recent chimpanzee–human comparative findings that should help refine such analyses.

Model-Based and Model-Free Social Cognition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leor M Hackel ◽  
Jeffrey Jordan Berg ◽  
Björn Lindström ◽  
David Amodio
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Financial Advisors ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Model Free ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Task Assessment

Do habits play a role in our social impressions? To investigate the contribution of habits to the formation of social attitudes, we examined the roles of model-free and model-based reinforcement learning in social interactions—computations linked in past work to habit and planning, respectively. Participants in this study learned about novel individuals in a sequential reinforcement learning paradigm, choosing financial advisors who led them to high- or low-paying stocks. Results indicated that participants relied on both model-based and model-free learning, such that each independently predicted choice during the learning task and self-reported liking in a post-task assessment. Specifically, participants liked advisors who could provide large future rewards as well as advisors who had provided them with large rewards in the past. Moreover, participants varied in their use of model-based and model-free learning strategies, and this individual difference influenced the way in which learning related to self-reported attitudes: among participants who relied more on model-free learning, model-free social learning related more to post-task attitudes. We discuss implications for attitudes, trait impressions, and social behavior, as well as the role of habits in a memory systems model of social cognition.

scholarly journals A9 DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA NEURONAL RESPONSES AND SUBSTANCE P PRODUCTION ARE HIGHER IN MALE MICE

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 10-11
Author(s):  
J Pujo ◽  
G De Palma ◽  
J Lu ◽  
S M Collins ◽  
P Bercik
Keyword(s):  
Abdominal Pain ◽  
Substance P ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Visceral Sensitivity ◽  
Germ Free

Abstract Background Abdominal pain is a common complaint in patients with chronic gastrointestinal disorders. Accumulating evidence suggests that gut microbiota is an important determinant of gut function, including visceral sensitivity. Germ-free (GF) mice have been shown to display visceral hypersensitivity, which normalizes after colonization. Sex also appears to play a key role in visceral sensitivity, as women report more abdominal pain than men. Thus, both gut bacteria and sex are important in the regulation of gut nociception, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Aims To investigate the role of gut microbiota and sex in abdominal pain. Methods We used primary cultures of sensory neurons from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of female and male conventionally raised (SPF) or germ-free (GF) mice (7–18 weeks old). To study the visceral afferent activity in vitro, calcium mobilization in DRG sensory neurons was measured by inverted fluorescence microscope using a fluorescent calcium probe Fluo-4 (1mM). Two parameters were considered i) the percentage of responding neurons ii) the intensity of the neuronal response. First, DRG sensory neurons were stimulated by a TRPV1 agonist capsaicin (12.5nM, 125nM and 1.25µM) or by a mixture of G-protein coupled receptors agonist (GPCR: bradykinin, histamine and serotonin; 1µM, 10µM and 100µM). We next measured the neuronal production of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), two neuropeptides associated with nociception, in response to capsaicin (1.25µM) or GPCR agonists (100µM) by ELISA and EIA, respectively. Results The percentage of neurons responding to capsaicin and GPCR agonists was similar in male and female SPF and GF mice. However, the intensity of the neuronal response was higher in SPF male compared to SPF female in response to capsaicin (125nM: p=0.0336; 1.25µM: p=0.033) but not to GPCR agonists. Neuronal activation was similar in GF and SPF mice of both sexes after administration of capsaicin or GPCR agonists. Furthermore, substance P and CGRP production by sensory neurons induced by capsaicin or GPCR agonists was similar in SPF and GF mice, regardless of sex. However, while the response to capsaicin was similar, the GPCR agonists-induced production of substance P was higher in SPF male mice compared to SPF females (p=0.003). The GPCR agonists-induced production of CGRP was similar in SPF male and female mice. Conclusions Our data suggest that at the level of DRG neurons, the absence of gut microbiota does not predispose to visceral hypersensitivity. The intensity of DRG neuronal responses to capsaicin and the GPCR agonists-induced production of substance P are higher in male compared to female mice, in contrast to previously published studies in various models of acute and chronic pain. Further studies are thus needed to investigate the role of sex in visceral sensitivity. Funding Agencies CIHR

scholarly journals The role of habitat configuration in shaping animal population processes: a framework to generate quantitative predictions

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng He ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Montiglio ◽  
Marius Somveille ◽  
Mauricio Cantor ◽  
Damien R. Farine
Keyword(s):  
Population Level ◽  
R Package ◽  
Habitat Configuration ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Alternative Habitat ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Habitat Networks ◽  
Animal Habitat

AbstractBy shaping where individuals move, habitat configuration can fundamentally structure animal populations. Yet, we currently lack a framework for generating quantitative predictions about the role of habitat configuration in modulating population outcomes. To address this gap, we propose a modelling framework inspired by studies using networks to characterize habitat connectivity. We first define animal habitat networks, explain how they can integrate information about the different configurational features of animal habitats, and highlight the need for a bottom–up generative model that can depict realistic variations in habitat potential connectivity. Second, we describe a model for simulating animal habitat networks (available in the R package AnimalHabitatNetwork), and demonstrate its ability to generate alternative habitat configurations based on empirical data, which forms the basis for exploring the consequences of alternative habitat structures. Finally, we lay out three key research questions and demonstrate how our framework can address them. By simulating the spread of a pathogen within a population, we show how transmission properties can be impacted by both local potential connectivity and landscape-level characteristics of habitats. Our study highlights the importance of considering the underlying habitat configuration in studies linking social structure with population-level outcomes.

scholarly journals In search of a Goldilocks zone for credible AI

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Allan ◽  
Nir Oren ◽  
Jacqui Hutchison ◽  
Douglas Martin
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Multiple Tests ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
Scene Content ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Source Accuracy

AbstractIf artificial intelligence (AI) is to help solve individual, societal and global problems, humans should neither underestimate nor overestimate its trustworthiness. Situated in-between these two extremes is an ideal ‘Goldilocks’ zone of credibility. But what will keep trust in this zone? We hypothesise that this role ultimately falls to the social cognition mechanisms which adaptively regulate conformity between humans. This novel hypothesis predicts that human-like functional biases in conformity should occur during interactions with AI. We examined multiple tests of this prediction using a collaborative remembering paradigm, where participants viewed household scenes for 30 s vs. 2 min, then saw 2-alternative forced-choice decisions about scene content originating either from AI- or human-sources. We manipulated the credibility of different sources (Experiment 1) and, from a single source, the estimated-likelihood (Experiment 2) and objective accuracy (Experiment 3) of specific decisions. As predicted, each manipulation produced functional biases for AI-sources mirroring those found for human-sources. Participants conformed more to higher credibility sources, and higher-likelihood or more objectively accurate decisions, becoming increasingly sensitive to source accuracy when their own capability was reduced. These findings support the hypothesised role of social cognition in regulating AI’s influence, raising important implications and new directions for research on human–AI interaction.

scholarly journals Health for wealth: decomposing the role of health on productivity in England using individual and population-level longitudinal data from the UK

The Lancet ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 394 ◽  
pp. S28
Author(s):  
Heather Brown ◽  
Luke Munford ◽  
Anna Wilding ◽  
Tomos Robinson ◽  
Paula Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Population Level ◽  
The Uk

The role of social cognition in moral judgment in frontotemporal dementia

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht ◽  
Teresa Torralva ◽  
María Roca ◽  
Mariángeles Pose ◽  
Facundo Manes
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia

scholarly journals Progesterone after Estradiol Modulates Shuttle-Cage Escape by Facilitating Volition

2015 ◽  
Vol 9s1 ◽  
pp. JEN.S32735
Author(s):  
Darryl J. Mayeaux ◽  
Sarah M. Tandle ◽  
Sean M. Cilano ◽  
Matthew J. Fitzharris
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Electric Shock ◽  
Ovarian Hormones ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Animal Models Of Depression ◽  
Escape Learning

In animal models of depression, depression is defined as performance on a learning task. That task is typically escaping a mild electric shock in a shuttle cage by moving from one side of the cage to the other. Ovarian hormones influence learning in other kinds of tasks, and these hormones are associated with depressive symptoms in humans. The role of these hormones in shuttle-cage escape learning, however, is less clear. This study manipulated estradiol and progesterone in ovariectomized female rats to examine their performance in shuttle-cage escape learning without intentionally inducing a depressive-like state. Progesterone, not estradiol, within four hours of testing affected latencies to escape. The improvement produced by progesterone was in the decision to act, not in the speed of learning or speed of escaping. This parallels depression in humans in that depressed people are slower in volition, in their decisions to take action.

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