University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Reinforcement Learning and the Error -Related Negativity: A Computational and Neurophysiological Investigation

Holroyd, Clay Brian

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Description

Title
Reinforcement Learning and the Error -Related Negativity: A Computational and Neurophysiological Investigation
Author(s)
Holroyd, Clay Brian
Issue Date
2001
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Coles, Michael G.H.
Department of Study
Neuroscience
Discipline
Neuroscience
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Psychobiology
Language
eng
Abstract
"This thesis presents a unified account of two neural systems concerned with the development and expression of adaptive behaviors: a mesencephalic dopamine system for reinforcement learning, and a ""generic"" error-processing system associated with anterior cingulate cortex. The existence of the error-processing system has been inferred from the ""Error-Related Negativity,"" a component of the event-related brain potential elicited when human subjects commit errors in reaction-time tasks. It is proposed that the Error-Related Negativity is generated when a negative reinforcement learning signal is conveyed to anterior cingulate cortex via the mesencephalic dopamine system, and that this signal is utilized by anterior cingulate cortex to modify performance on the task at hand. Support for this proposal is provided using both computational modelling and psychophysiological experimentation."
Graduation Semester
2001
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/82547

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