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Conditional stimulus probability and activity of hippocampal, cingulate cortical, and limbic thalamic neurons during avoidance conditioning in rabbits.

Past studies of the neuronal correlates of avoidance conditioning in rabbits have led to a model of information flow among structures of the limbic system. A hypothesis of the model is that unexpected stimuli activate certain hippocampal and cingulate cortical neurons. This activity in turn suppresses or "limits" the firing of limbic thalamic neurons. This hypothesis is tested in relation to stimuli classified as unexpected or expected on the basis of their incidence or "probability." Multi-unit and field potential responses in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices (AC and PC), the dentate gyrus (DG), and the anterior ventral (AV) and medial dorsal (MD) thalamic nuclei were recorded during the acquisition and performance of a locomotor conditioned response (CR). The CR, stepping in an activity wheel in response to a 0.5-s tone (CS+), prevented the occurrence of a shock US scheduled 5 s after CS+ onset. The rabbits also learned to ignore a different tone (CS-), not predictive of the US. Training was given daily (120 trials, 60 with each CS in an irregular sequence) until behavioral discrimination reached criterion. After criterion, asymmetric probability (AP) sessions were given, in which the CS+/CS- proportions were .2/.8 or .8/.2. The AP sessions were the same as conditioning sessions except for the probability manipulation. A significant discriminative response, i.e., a greater neuronal discharge to the CS+ than to the CS-, developed in all regions during behavioral acquisition. The unit response in the AP sessions was enhanced in all areas by rare presentation of the CS-, compared with the equal and frequent CS- conditions. Rare presentation of the CS+ enhanced the unit response in the cortical areas (AC, PC, and DG), but it suppressed the firing of limbic thalamic (AV and MD) neurons. These results were supportive of the model. Rare CS+ presentations did not alter AV and PC neuronal activity in rabbits with subicular lesions, a result suggesting that an intact hippocampus is essential for normal neuronal responses to stimulus probability in the cingulate cortex and limbic thalamus.

Animals↗

Neural systems underlying learning and representation of global motion.

We demonstrate performance-related changes in cortical and cerebellar activity. The largest learning-dependent changes were observed in the anterior lateral cerebellum, where the extent and intensity of activation correlated inversely with psychophysical performance. After learning had occurred (a few minutes), the cerebellar activation almost disappeared; however, it was restored when the subjects were presented with a novel, untrained direction of motion for which psychophysical performance also reverted to chance level. Similar reductions in the extent and intensity of brain activations in relation to learning occurred in the superior colliculus, anterior cingulate, and parts of the extrastriate cortex. The motion direction-sensitive middle temporal visual complex was a notable exception, where there was an expansion of the cortical territory activated by the trained stimulus. Together, these results indicate that the learning and representation of visual motion discrimination are mediated by different, but probably interacting, neuronal subsystems.

Adult↗

Haloperidol blocks the acquisition but not the retrieval of a conditioned sensitization to apomorphine.

The dopamine agonist apomorphine (apo) elicits stereotyped pecking bouts in pigeons, a response which increases with successive apo injections. The present study sought, first, to confirm the hypothesis that this sensitization arises through a Pavlovian conditioning driven by both external and internal cues; and, secondly, to advance the hypothesis that during this learning the dopaminergic activation only initiates a process that probably ends in glutamatergic synapse modifications. The conditioned nature of the sensitization to apo was examined in two separate experiments that compared context contingent and context uncontingent apo treatments. The role of dopaminergic mechanisms in the acquisition, maintenance and retrieval of sensitization-conditioned pecking was examined by administering the dopamine antagonist haloperidol (hal) either before, during or after apo sensitization treatments. A contingency between context and apo was found to be essential for the acquisition and retrieval of apo-sensitized pecking. A pretreatment with hal did not curtail a subsequent sensitization to apo. When hal was co-administrated with apo it suppressed the initial pecking response to apo and blocked the acquisition of sensitized responding. A pecking response normally observed when apo-sensitized pigeons are challenged with saline (sal) in the same cage in which they were sensitized, was also absent. When hal was co-administered with apo after the sensitization was complete this led at first to an only partial apo response suppression. When treated with hal in the same cage, already sensitized pigeons responded much as if they had been challenged with sal. The sensitization induced by apo was thus blocked by hal co-administered during acquisition, but during the maintenance or retrieval phase hal did not impair a previously sensitized responding. It is concluded that when pigeons are sensitized to apo, dopaminergic mechanisms are implicated in initiating the neural modifications that underlie the conditioned sensitization, but that they themselves are not importantly altered.

Animals↗

Physiological learning theory.

Attention or "concentration" requires control of activity in those excess neurons that are not necessary for the present task. The control is probably not a massive inhibitory suppression but may be a recruiting process, a function of complex perceptual and associative learning that begins with early experience. Inhibition, however, may still be of crucial importance as a sharpener of associative mechanisms, and the child with minimal brain damage may have suffered a selective loss of inhibitory neurons.

Attention↗

Exponential or polynomial learning Curves? - case-based studies

Learning curves exhibit a diversity of behaviors such as phase transition. However, the understanding of learning curves is still extremely limited, and existing theories can give the impression that without empirical studies (e.g., cross validation), one can probably do nothing more than qualitative interpretations. In this note, we propose a theory of learning curves based on the idea of reducing learning problems to hypothesis-testing ones. This theory provides a simple approach that is potentially useful for predicting and interpreting (a diversity of) learning curve behaviors qualitatively and quantitatively, and it applies to finite training sample size and finite learning machine and for learning situations not necessarily within the Bayesian framework. We illustrate the results by examining some exponential learning curve behaviors observed in Cohn and Tesauro (1992)'s experiment.

Journal Article↗

Role of 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(7) receptors in the facilitatory response induced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation.

The present study further explored the mechanisms involved in the facilitatory effect induced by (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) on learning consolidation. For this purpose, we analyzed in parallel the effects of LY215840 and ritanserin, two 5-HT(2) receptor antagonists with high affinity for the 5-HT(7) receptor, and WAY100635, a selective 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist, on the facilitatory effect induced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation. We also determined whether LY215840 and/or ritanserin could be beneficial in restoring a deficient learning condition. Using the model of autoshaping task, post-training injection of LY215840 or WAY100635 had no effect on learning consolidation. However, both drugs abolished the enhancing effect of 8-OH-DPAT, with LY215840 being slightly more effective than WAY100635 in this respect. Ritanserin produced an increase in performance by itself and also abolished the effect of 8-OH-DPAT. Remarkably, selective blockade of 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2B/2C) receptors with MDL100907 and SB200646, respectively, failed to alter the 8-OH-DPAT effect. LY215840 and ritanserin, at the doses that inhibited the 8-OH-DPAT-induced response, reversed the learning deficits induced by scopolamine and dizocilpine. The present results suggest that the enhancing effect produced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation involves activation of 5-HT(1A) receptors and an additional mechanism, probably related to the 5-HT(7) receptor. Blockade of 5-HT(2) receptors, and perhaps of 5-HT(7) receptors as well, may provide some benefit in reversing learning deficits associated with decreased cholinergic and/or glutamatergic neurotransmission.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Learning and decision making in monkeys during a rock-paper-scissors game.

Game theory provides a solution to the problem of finding a set of optimal decision-making strategies in a group. However, people seldom play such optimal strategies and adjust their strategies based on their experience. Accordingly, many theories postulate a set of variables related to the probabilities of choosing various strategies and describe how such variables are dynamically updated. In reinforcement learning, these value functions are updated based on the outcome of the player's choice, whereas belief learning allows the value functions of all available choices to be updated according to the choices of other players. We investigated the nature of learning process in monkeys playing a competitive game with ternary choices, using a rock-paper-scissors game. During the baseline condition in which the computer selected its targets randomly, each animal displayed biases towards some targets. When the computer exploited the pattern of animal's choice sequence but not its reward history, the animal's choice was still systematically biased by the previous choice of the computer. This bias was reduced when the computer exploited both the choice and reward histories of the animal. Compared to simple models of reinforcement learning or belief learning, these adaptive processes were better described by a model that incorporated the features of both models. These results suggest that stochastic decision-making strategies in primates during social interactions might be adjusted according to both actual and hypothetical payoffs.

Algorithms↗

Learning at a distance II. Statistical learning of non-adjacent dependencies in a non-human primate.

In earlier work we have shown that adults, infants, and cotton-top tamarin monkeys are capable of computing the probability with which syllables occur in particular orders in rapidly presented streams of human speech, and of using these probabilities to group adjacent syllables into word-like units. We have also investigated adults' learning of regularities among elements that are not adjacent, and have found strong selectivities in their ability to learn various kinds of non-adjacent regularities. In the present paper we investigate the learning of these same non-adjacent regularities in tamarin monkeys, using the same materials and familiarization methods. Three types of languages were constructed. In one, words were formed by statistical regularities between non-adjacent syllables. Words contained predictable relations between syllables 1 and 3; syllable 2 varied. In a second type of language, words were formed by statistical regularities between non-adjacent segments. Words contained predictable relations between consonants; the vowels varied. In a third type of language, also formed by regularities between non-adjacent segments, words contained predictable relations between vowels; the consonants varied. Tamarin monkeys were exposed to these languages in the same fashion as adults (21 min of exposure to a continuous speech stream) and were then tested in a playback paradigm measuring spontaneous looking (no reinforcement). Adult subjects learned the second and third types of language easily, but failed to learn the first. However, tamarin monkeys showed a different pattern, learning the first and third type of languages but not the second. These differences held up over multiple replications, using different sounds instantiating each of the patterns. These results suggest differences among learners in the elementary units perceived in speech (syllables, consonants, and vowels) and/or the distance over which such units can be related, and therefore differences among learners in the types of patterned regularities they can acquire. Such studies with tamarins open interesting questions about the perceptual and computational capacities of human learners that may be essential for language acquisition, and how they may differ from those of non-human primates.

Animals↗

The information generated in a man-to-man game called "Renju (Go-bang)".

A learning experiment was designed using "Renju (Go-bang)". The matches could proceed with prior indefiniteness, distinct from probability, as under the finite VOP (velocity of observation propagation). The information of each situation in the first game SSG and one in the replay SRE were investigated with the basic strategy derived from the "Renju" rules. The behavior of the difference (SRE (i)-SSG (i)) suggested that prior indefiniteness turned into definiteness, suggesting that perpetual decision change occurred and that it perpetually allowed observers to construct higher levels of hierarchical learning logic.

Decision Making↗

Increase of hippocampal acetylcholine release at the onset of dark phase is suppressed in a mutant mice model of evening-type individuals.

We have previously reported that clock mutant mice on Jcl:ICR background show about 2-h delayed circadian profiles in body temperature, spontaneous activity and sleep-wake rhythm, and that they appear to be useful as a model of evening-type of individual. Hippocampal acetylcholine (ACh) release which is positively correlated with attention, learning and memory shows a circadian variation. In this study, changes in hippocampal ACh release in transitional phase from light (rest) to dark (active) period in clock mutant mice were monitored using an in vivo microdialysis method. Compared with wild mice, the increase in hippocampal ACh in the first 2 h of the active period in the mutant mice was suppressed in parallel with peak frequency in electroencephalogram theta rhythm. The molecular basis of the circadian system appears to have a strong effect on hippocampal cholinergic function, and is probably associating with individual temporal differences in voluntary behavior, cognition, learning and/or memory performance.

Acetylcholine↗

Recall and recognition memory in patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are associated with cognitive impairment, although the pattern of cognitive dysfunction is not identical. We investigated the recall and recognition memory of 18 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and of 32 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the list-learning test using Buschke's selective reminding method, PD patients showed superior delayed recognition memory capability compared to AD patients, whereas immediate recall did not differ in the two groups. In the delayed story recall, PD patients were also able to benefit from rehearsal and probe more than AD patients. The results suggest that PD patients are able to bind information better into long-term storage than are AD patients. This may be due to better function in PD of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus.

Aged↗

Rhabdoid tumors of the central nervous system.

Rhabdoid tumors of the central nervous system are rare malignancies with a still almost uniformly fatal outcome. There is still no proven curative therapy available. We report our experience with nine patients with central nervous system rhabdoid tumors. Gross complete surgical removal of the tumor was achieved in six patients. Seven patients received intensive chemotherapy. Four of these were treated in addition with both neuroaxis radiotherapy and a local boost directed to the tumor region, while two patients received local radiotherapy only. The therapy was reasonably well tolerated in most cases. Despite the aggressive therapy, eight of the nine patients died from progressive tumor disease, and one patient died from hemorrhagic brain stem lesions of unknown etiology. The mean survival time was 10 months after diagnosis. Conventional treatment, although aggressive, cannot change the fatal prognosis of central nervous system rhabdoid tumors. As these neoplasms are so rare, a coordinated register would probably be a good idea, offering a means of learning more about the tumor's biology and possible strategies of treatment.

Adolescent↗

Fluoxetine and 8-OH-DPAT in the lateral septum enhances and impairs retention of an inhibitory avoidance response in rats.

The present study investigated the role of lateral septal serotonin (5HT) in memory consolidation and the subtype of 5HT receptors involved in this process. Rats with cannulae implanted bilaterally into the lateral septum were trained in an inhibitory avoidance task. Immediately after training, the septal serotonergic function was manipulated by pharmacological agents selectively blocking 5HT reuptake (fluoxetine and zimelidine), antagonizing 5HT2 receptors (ketanserin and ritanserin), or activating 5HT1A receptors, respectively. Results indicated that direct fluoxetine infusions into the lateral septum at a dose of 6 micrograms/0.5 microliter and zimelidine at a dose of 5 micrograms/0.5 microliter both markedly enhanced memory. Intralateral septal injections of ketanserin (0.3 microgram/0.5 microliter and 0.5 microgram/0.5 microliter) and ritanserin (0.3 microgram/0.5 microliter and 0.6 microgram/0.5 microliter) did not have a significant effect by themselves on memory, and neither did they attenuate the memory-facilitating effect of fluoxetine in the same area. Intralateral septal infusions of 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin at 5 micrograms/0.5 microliter significantly impaired memory retention. These findings altogether support the notion that the lateral septal nuclei of rats are involved in the memory processes of inhibitory avoidance learning. Furthermore, postsynaptic 5HT receptor activation (not the 5HT2 receptor subtype) probably exerts a facilitatory effect while presynaptic 5HT1A receptor activation exerts an impairing effect on the memory consolidation process, probably due to autoreceptor inhibition of 5HT release.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

How can clinicians measure safety and quality in acute care?

The demand for high quality care is increasing and warranted. Evidence suggests that the quality of care in hospitals can be improved. The greatest opportunity to improve outcomes for patients over the next quarter century will probably come not from discovering new treatments but from learning how to deliver existing effective therapies. To improve, caregivers need to know what to do, how they are doing, and be able to improve the processes of care. The ability to monitor performance, though challenging in healthcare, is essential to improving quality of care. We present a practical method to assess and learn from routine practice. Methods to evaluate performance from industrial engineering can be broadly applied to efforts to improve the quality of healthcare. One method that may help to provide caregivers frequent feedback is time series data--ie, results are graphically correlated with time. Broad use of these tools might lead to the necessary improvements in quality of care.

Critical Care↗

Multilayer Perceptrons to Approximate Quaternion Valued Functions.

In this paper a new type of multilayer feedforward neural network is introduced. Such a structure, called hypercomplex multilayer perceptron (HMLP), is developed in quaternion algebra and allows quaternionic input and output signals to be dealt with, requiring a lower number of neurons than the real MLP, thus providing a reduced computational complexity. The structure introduced represents a generalization of the multilayer perceptron in the complex space (CMLP) reported in the literature. The fundamental result reported in the paper is a new density theorem which makes HMLPs universal interpolators of quaternion valued continuous functions. Moreover the proof of the density theorem can be restricted in order to formulate a density theorem in the complex space. Due to the identity between the quaternion and the four-dimensional real space, such a structure is also useful to approximate multidimensional real valued functions with a lower number of real parameters, decreasing the probability of being trapped in local minima during the learning phase. A numerical example is also reported in order to show the efficiency of the proposed structure. Copyright 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Journal Article↗

Characteristic Functions and Process Identification by Neural Networks.

Principal component analysis (PCA) algorithms use neural networks to extract the eigenvectors of the correlation matrix from the data. However, if the process is non-Gaussian, PCA algorithms or their higher order generalisations provide only incomplete or misleading information on the statistical properties of the data. To handle such situations we propose neural network algorithms, with an hybrid (supervised and unsupervised) learning scheme, which constructs the characteristic function of the probability distribution and the transition functions of the stochastic process. Illustrative examples are presented, which include Cauchy and Lévy-type processes.

Journal Article↗

Tolerance to the behavioural effects of the selective 5-HT(1A) agent, ipsapirone.

Effects of ipsaprione on rats were studied in procedures in which tolerance was assessed with operant responding and in feeding tests. Initially, the suppressant effect of ipsapirone on Fixed Ratio 20 behaviour was studied. During 33 days treatment (7.5mg/kg daily) no tolerance developed. Subsequently, the same rats received ipsapirone (7.5mg/kg) three times daily, at intervals of 2.5h, the first injection preceding operant sessions. Over 10 further days of treatment, there was still no evidence of tolerance. In a second study, ipsapirone was again administered at 7.5mg/kg before operant sessions, followed by 2 daily injections of 20mg/kg, at at 2.5h intervals after operant sessions. Under these conditions, some tolerance developed although it was incomplete and rapidly lost. The effects of ipsapirone on operant responding were found to be short-lasting. The suppressant action of 7.5mg/kg of ipsapirone (to 50% of baseline) was abolished if the drug was injected 4h before sessions. In other studies, we confirmed that tolerance develops very rapidly to hyperphagic actions of ipsapirone (see Kennett et al., 1987). We conclude that: 1) tolerance develops at differing rates to various effects of ipsapirone; 2) only those effects of ipsapirone (and related agents) which involve activation of presynaptic autoreceptors show rapid tolerance; 3) tolerance develops to effects on operant responding only if high doses are administered frequently. Since ipsapirone is short-acting, tolerance to such effects develops only when drug is continuously present in body tissue. The tolerance observed (to effects on operant behaviour) was probably of a pharmacodynamic nature and did not involve learning processes.

Journal Article↗

Stochastic automata-based estimators for adaptively compressing files with nonstationary distributions.

This correspondence shows that learning automata techniques, which have been useful in developing weak estimators, can be applied to data compression applications in which the data distributions are nonstationary. The adaptive coding scheme utilizes stochastic learning-based weak estimation techniques to adaptively update the probabilities of the source symbols, and this is done without resorting to either maximum likelihood, Bayesian, or sliding-window methods. The authors have incorporated the estimator in the adaptive Fano coding scheme and in an adaptive entropy-based scheme that "resembles" the well-known arithmetic coding. The empirical results obtained for both of these adaptive methods are obtained on real-life files that possess a fair degree of nonstationarity. From these results, it can be seen that the proposed schemes compress nearly 10% more than their respective adaptive methods that use maximum-likelihood estimator-based estimates.

Algorithms↗