A Brief Introduction to Reinforcement Learning

Computational models that are implemented, i.e., written out as equations or software, are an increasingly important tool for the cognitive neuroscientist.  This is because implemented models are, effectively, hypotheses that have been worked out to the point where they make quantitative predictions about behavior and/or neural activity. In earlier posts, we outlined two computational models …

The role of reward and cognitive control in decision making

Here’s an exchange of emails between PL and MC on a recently published paper (Balleine et al., 2007). Email 1 (from PL): Have a look at this introductory paragraph from a recent (Aug 2007) J Neurosci article by Balleine, Delgado and Hikosaka. What do they mean by “cognition” here? The Role of the Dorsal Striatum …