1
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Jensen KT, Hennequin G, Mattar MG. A recurrent network model of planning explains hippocampal replay and human behavior. Nat Neurosci 2024:10.1038/s41593-024-01675-7. [PMID: 38849521 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01675-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
When faced with a novel situation, people often spend substantial periods of time contemplating possible futures. For such planning to be rational, the benefits to behavior must compensate for the time spent thinking. Here, we capture these features of behavior by developing a neural network model where planning itself is controlled by the prefrontal cortex. This model consists of a meta-reinforcement learning agent augmented with the ability to plan by sampling imagined action sequences from its own policy, which we call 'rollouts'. In a spatial navigation task, the agent learns to plan when it is beneficial, which provides a normative explanation for empirical variability in human thinking times. Additionally, the patterns of policy rollouts used by the artificial agent closely resemble patterns of rodent hippocampal replays. Our work provides a theory of how the brain could implement planning through prefrontal-hippocampal interactions, where hippocampal replays are triggered by-and adaptively affect-prefrontal dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristopher T Jensen
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Guillaume Hennequin
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Marcelo G Mattar
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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2
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Deng X, Liu YX, Yang ZZ, Zhao YF, Xu YT, Fu MY, Shen Y, Qu K, Guan Z, Tong WY, Zhang YY, Chen BB, Zhong N, Xiang PH, Duan CG. Spatial evolution of the proton-coupled Mott transition in correlated oxides for neuromorphic computing. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadk9928. [PMID: 38820158 PMCID: PMC11141630 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk9928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
The proton-electron coupling effect induces rich spectrums of electronic states in correlated oxides, opening tempting opportunities for exploring novel devices with multifunctions. Here, via modest Pt-aided hydrogen spillover at room temperature, amounts of protons are introduced into SmNiO3-based devices. In situ structural characterizations together with first-principles calculation reveal that the local Mott transition is reversibly driven by migration and redistribution of the predoped protons. The accompanying giant resistance change results in excellent memristive behaviors under ultralow electric fields. Hierarchical tree-like memory states, an instinct displayed in bio-synapses, are further realized in the devices by spatially varying the proton concentration with electric pulses, showing great promise in artificial neural networks for solving intricate problems. Our research demonstrates the direct and effective control of proton evolution using extremely low electric field, offering an alternative pathway for modifying the functionalities of correlated oxides and constructing low-power consumption intelligent devices and neural network circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Deng
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yu-Xiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zhen-Zhong Yang
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yi-Feng Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ya-Ting Xu
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Meng-Yao Fu
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yu Shen
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ke Qu
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zhao Guan
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Wen-Yi Tong
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Bin-Bin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ni Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
| | - Ping-Hua Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
| | - Chun-Gang Duan
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Center of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
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3
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Russek EM, Moran R, Liu Y, Dolan RJ, Huys QJM. Heuristics in risky decision-making relate to preferential representation of information. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4269. [PMID: 38769095 PMCID: PMC11106265 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48547-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
When making choices, individuals differ from one another, as well as from normativity, in how they weigh different types of information. One explanation for this relates to idiosyncratic preferences in what information individuals represent when evaluating choice options. Here, we test this explanation with a simple risky-decision making task, combined with magnetoencephalography (MEG). We examine the relationship between individual differences in behavioral markers of information weighting and neural representation of stimuli pertinent to incorporating that information. We find that the extent to which individuals (N = 19) behaviorally weight probability versus reward information is related to how preferentially they neurally represent stimuli most informative for making probability and reward comparisons. These results are further validated in an additional behavioral experiment (N = 88) that measures stimulus representation as the latency of perceptual detection following priming. Overall, the results suggest that differences in the information individuals consider during choice relate to their risk-taking tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan M Russek
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
- Departments of Computer Science and Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - Rani Moran
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Yunzhe Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Quentin J M Huys
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
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4
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Arumugam D, Ho MK, Goodman ND, Van Roy B. Bayesian Reinforcement Learning With Limited Cognitive Load. Open Mind (Camb) 2024; 8:395-438. [PMID: 38665544 PMCID: PMC11045037 DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
All biological and artificial agents must act given limits on their ability to acquire and process information. As such, a general theory of adaptive behavior should be able to account for the complex interactions between an agent's learning history, decisions, and capacity constraints. Recent work in computer science has begun to clarify the principles that shape these dynamics by bridging ideas from reinforcement learning, Bayesian decision-making, and rate-distortion theory. This body of work provides an account of capacity-limited Bayesian reinforcement learning, a unifying normative framework for modeling the effect of processing constraints on learning and action selection. Here, we provide an accessible review of recent algorithms and theoretical results in this setting, paying special attention to how these ideas can be applied to studying questions in the cognitive and behavioral sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark K. Ho
- Center for Data Science, New York University
| | - Noah D. Goodman
- Department of Computer Science, Stanford University
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University
| | - Benjamin Van Roy
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
- Department of Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University
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5
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Ongchoco JDK, Knobe J, Jara-Ettinger J. People's thinking plans adapt to the problem they're trying to solve. Cognition 2024; 243:105669. [PMID: 38039797 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Much of our thinking focuses on deciding what to do in situations where the space of possible options is too large to evaluate exhaustively. Previous work has found that people do this by learning the general value of different behaviors, and prioritizing thinking about high-value options in new situations. Is this good-action bias always the best strategy, or can thinking about low-value options sometimes become more beneficial? Can people adapt their thinking accordingly based on the situation? And how do we know what to think about in novel events? Here, we developed a block-puzzle paradigm that enabled us to measure people's thinking plans and compare them to a computational model of rational thought. We used two distinct response methods to explore what people think about-a self-report method, in which we asked people explicitly to report what they thought about, and an implicit response time method, in which we used people's decision-making times to reveal what they thought about. Our results suggest that people can quickly estimate the apparent value of different options and use this to decide what to think about. Critically, we find that people can flexibly prioritize whether to think about high-value options (Experiments 1 and 2) or low-value options (Experiments 3, 4, and 5), depending on the problem. Through computational modeling, we show that these thinking strategies are broadly rational, enabling people to maximize the value of long-term decisions. Our results suggest that thinking plans are flexible: What we think about depends on the structure of the problems we are trying to solve.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joshua Knobe
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, USA
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6
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Wientjes S, Holroyd CB. The successor representation subserves hierarchical abstraction for goal-directed behavior. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011312. [PMID: 38377074 PMCID: PMC10906840 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans have the ability to craft abstract, temporally extended and hierarchically organized plans. For instance, when considering how to make spaghetti for dinner, we typically concern ourselves with useful "subgoals" in the task, such as cutting onions, boiling pasta, and cooking a sauce, rather than particulars such as how many cuts to make to the onion, or exactly which muscles to contract. A core question is how such decomposition of a more abstract task into logical subtasks happens in the first place. Previous research has shown that humans are sensitive to a form of higher-order statistical learning named "community structure". Community structure is a common feature of abstract tasks characterized by a logical ordering of subtasks. This structure can be captured by a model where humans learn predictions of upcoming events multiple steps into the future, discounting predictions of events further away in time. One such model is the "successor representation", which has been argued to be useful for hierarchical abstraction. As of yet, no study has convincingly shown that this hierarchical abstraction can be put to use for goal-directed behavior. Here, we investigate whether participants utilize learned community structure to craft hierarchically informed action plans for goal-directed behavior. Participants were asked to search for paintings in a virtual museum, where the paintings were grouped together in "wings" representing community structure in the museum. We find that participants' choices accord with the hierarchical structure of the museum and that their response times are best predicted by a successor representation. The degree to which the response times reflect the community structure of the museum correlates with several measures of performance, including the ability to craft temporally abstract action plans. These results suggest that successor representation learning subserves hierarchical abstractions relevant for goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Wientjes
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Clay B. Holroyd
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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7
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Wise T, Emery K, Radulescu A. Naturalistic reinforcement learning. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:144-158. [PMID: 37777463 PMCID: PMC10878983 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
Humans possess a remarkable ability to make decisions within real-world environments that are expansive, complex, and multidimensional. Human cognitive computational neuroscience has sought to exploit reinforcement learning (RL) as a framework within which to explain human decision-making, often focusing on constrained, artificial experimental tasks. In this article, we review recent efforts that use naturalistic approaches to determine how humans make decisions in complex environments that better approximate the real world, providing a clearer picture of how humans navigate the challenges posed by real-world decisions. These studies purposely embed elements of naturalistic complexity within experimental paradigms, rather than focusing on simplification, generating insights into the processes that likely underpin humans' ability to navigate complex, multidimensional real-world environments so successfully.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toby Wise
- Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Kara Emery
- Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Angela Radulescu
- Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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8
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Cushman F. Computational Social Psychology. Annu Rev Psychol 2024; 75:625-652. [PMID: 37540891 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-021323-040420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
Social psychologists attempt to explain how we interact by appealing to basic principles of how we think. To make good on this ambition, they are increasingly relying on an interconnected set of formal tools that model inference, attribution, value-guided decision making, and multi-agent interactions. By reviewing progress in each of these areas and highlighting the connections between them, we can better appreciate the structure of social thought and behavior, while also coming to understand when, why, and how formal tools can be useful for social psychologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiery Cushman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;
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9
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Kuperwajs I, Schütt HH, Ma WJ. Using deep neural networks as a guide for modeling human planning. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20269. [PMID: 37985896 PMCID: PMC10662256 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46850-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
When developing models in cognitive science, researchers typically start with their own intuitions about human behavior in a given task and then build in mechanisms that explain additional aspects of the data. This refinement step is often hindered by how difficult it is to distinguish the unpredictable randomness of people's decisions from meaningful deviations between those decisions and the model. One solution for this problem is to compare the model against deep neural networks trained on behavioral data, which can detect almost any pattern given sufficient data. Here, we apply this method to the domain of planning with a heuristic search model for human play in 4-in-a-row, a combinatorial game where participants think multiple steps into the future. Using a data set consisting of 10,874,547 games, we train deep neural networks to predict human moves and find that they accurately do so while capturing meaningful patterns in the data. Thus, deviations between the model and the best network allow us to identify opportunities for model improvement despite starting with a model that has undergone substantial testing in previous work. Based on this analysis, we add three extensions to the model that range from a simple opening bias to specific adjustments regarding endgame planning. Overall, our work demonstrates the advantages of model comparison with a high-performance deep neural network as well as the feasibility of scaling cognitive models to massive data sets for systematically investigating the processes underlying human sequential decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heiko H Schütt
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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10
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Fajardo S, Kozowyk PRB, Langejans GHJ. Measuring ancient technological complexity and its cognitive implications using Petri nets. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14961. [PMID: 37737280 PMCID: PMC10516984 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42078-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
We implement a method from computer sciences to address a challenge in Paleolithic archaeology: how to infer cognition differences from material culture. Archaeological material culture is linked to cognition, and more complex ancient technologies are assumed to have required complex cognition. We present an application of Petri net analysis to compare Neanderthal tar production technologies and tie the results to cognitive requirements. We applied three complexity metrics, each relying on their own unique definitions of complexity, to the modeled production processes. Based on the results, we propose that Neanderthal technical cognition may have been analogous to that of contemporary modern humans. This method also enables us to distinguish the high-order cognitive functions combining traits like planning, inhibitory control, and learning that were likely required by different ancient technological processes. The Petri net approach can contribute to our understanding of technology and cognitive evolution as it can be used on different materials and technologies, across time and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Fajardo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands.
| | - Paul R B Kozowyk
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands
| | - Geeske H J Langejans
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, 2092, Gauteng, South Africa
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11
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Cheng S, Zhao M, Tang N, Zhao Y, Zhou J, Shen M, Gao T. Intention beyond desire: Spontaneous intentional commitment regulates conflicting desires. Cognition 2023; 238:105513. [PMID: 37331323 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
The human mind is a mosaic composed of multiple selves with conflicting desires. How can coherent actions emerge from such conflicts? Classical desire theory argues that rational action depends on maximizing the expected utilities evaluated by all desires. In contrast, intention theory suggests that humans regulate conflicting desires with an intentional commitment that constrains action planning towards a fixed goal. Here, we designed a series of 2D navigation games in which participants were instructed to navigate to two equally desirable destinations. We focused on the critical moments in navigation to test whether humans spontaneously commit to an intention and take actions that would be qualitatively different from those of a purely desire-driven agent. Across four experiments, we found three distinctive signatures of intentional commitment that only exist in human actions: "goal perseverance" as the persistent pursuit of an original intention despite unexpected drift making the intention suboptimal; "self-binding" as the proactive binding of oneself to a committed future by avoiding a path that could lead to many futures; and "temporal leap" as the commitment to a distant future even before reaching the proximal one. These results suggest that humans spontaneously form an intention with a committed plan to quarantine conflicting desires from actions, supporting intention as a distinctive mental state beyond desire. Additionally, our findings shed light on the possible functions of intention, such as reducing computational load and making one's actions more predictable in the eyes of a third-party observer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaozhe Cheng
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | | | - Ning Tang
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Yang Zhao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Jifan Zhou
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China.
| | - Mowei Shen
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China.
| | - Tao Gao
- Department of Communication, UCLA, USA; Department of Statistics, UCLA, USA; Department of Psychology, UCLA, USA.
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12
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Gobet F, Waters AJ. Searching for answers: expert pattern recognition and planning. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:788-790. [PMID: 37507243 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Does expertise mostly stem from pattern recognition or look-ahead search? van Opheusden et al. contribute to this important debate in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) with a multi-method, multi-experiment study and a new model. Using a novel, relatively simple board game, they show that players increase depth of search when improving their skill.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernand Gobet
- London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
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13
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van Opheusden B, Kuperwajs I, Galbiati G, Bnaya Z, Li Y, Ma WJ. Expertise increases planning depth in human gameplay. Nature 2023; 618:1000-1005. [PMID: 37258667 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06124-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A hallmark of human intelligence is the ability to plan multiple steps into the future1,2. Despite decades of research3-5, it is still debated whether skilled decision-makers plan more steps ahead than novices6-8. Traditionally, the study of expertise in planning has used board games such as chess, but the complexity of these games poses a barrier to quantitative estimates of planning depth. Conversely, common planning tasks in cognitive science often have a lower complexity9,10 and impose a ceiling for the depth to which any player can plan. Here we investigate expertise in a complex board game that offers ample opportunity for skilled players to plan deeply. We use model fitting methods to show that human behaviour can be captured using a computational cognitive model based on heuristic search. To validate this model, we predict human choices, response times and eye movements. We also perform a Turing test and a reconstruction experiment. Using the model, we find robust evidence for increased planning depth with expertise in both laboratory and large-scale mobile data. Experts memorize and reconstruct board features more accurately. Using complex tasks combined with precise behavioural modelling might expand our understanding of human planning and help to bridge the gap with progress in artificial intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bas van Opheusden
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - Ionatan Kuperwajs
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gianni Galbiati
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Vidrovr, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zahy Bnaya
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yunqi Li
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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14
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Correa CG, Ho MK, Callaway F, Daw ND, Griffiths TL. Humans decompose tasks by trading off utility and computational cost. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011087. [PMID: 37262023 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Human behavior emerges from planning over elaborate decompositions of tasks into goals, subgoals, and low-level actions. How are these decompositions created and used? Here, we propose and evaluate a normative framework for task decomposition based on the simple idea that people decompose tasks to reduce the overall cost of planning while maintaining task performance. Analyzing 11,117 distinct graph-structured planning tasks, we find that our framework justifies several existing heuristics for task decomposition and makes predictions that can be distinguished from two alternative normative accounts. We report a behavioral study of task decomposition (N = 806) that uses 30 randomly sampled graphs, a larger and more diverse set than that of any previous behavioral study on this topic. We find that human responses are more consistent with our framework for task decomposition than alternative normative accounts and are most consistent with a heuristic-betweenness centrality-that is justified by our approach. Taken together, our results suggest the computational cost of planning is a key principle guiding the intelligent structuring of goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos G Correa
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Mark K Ho
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Frederick Callaway
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Nathaniel D Daw
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Thomas L Griffiths
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
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15
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Jain YR, Callaway F, Griffiths TL, Dayan P, He R, Krueger PM, Lieder F. A computational process-tracing method for measuring people's planning strategies and how they change over time. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:2037-2079. [PMID: 35819717 PMCID: PMC10250277 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01789-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
One of the most unique and impressive feats of the human mind is its ability to discover and continuously refine its own cognitive strategies. Elucidating the underlying learning and adaptation mechanisms is very difficult because changes in cognitive strategies are not directly observable. One important domain in which strategies and mechanisms are studied is planning. To enable researchers to uncover how people learn how to plan, we offer a tutorial introduction to a recently developed process-tracing paradigm along with a new computational method for measuring the nature and development of a person's planning strategies from the resulting process-tracing data. Our method allows researchers to reveal experience-driven changes in people's choice of individual planning operations, planning strategies, strategy types, and the relative contributions of different decision systems. We validate our method on simulated and empirical data. On simulated data, its inferences about the strategies and the relative influence of different decision systems are accurate. When evaluated on human data generated using our process-tracing paradigm, our computational method correctly detects the plasticity-enhancing effect of feedback and the effect of the structure of the environment on people's planning strategies. Together, these methods can be used to investigate the mechanisms of cognitive plasticity and to elucidate how people acquire complex cognitive skills such as planning and problem-solving. Importantly, our methods can also be used to measure individual differences in cognitive plasticity and examine how different types (pedagogical) interventions affect the acquisition of cognitive skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yash Raj Jain
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany.
- Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Hyderabad, India.
| | | | | | - Peter Dayan
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ruiqi He
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Paul M Krueger
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Falk Lieder
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
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16
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Rischall I, Hunter L, Jensen G, Gottlieb J. Inefficient prioritization of task-relevant attributes during instrumental information demand. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3174. [PMID: 37264004 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38821-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In natural settings, people evaluate complex multi-attribute situations and decide which attribute to request information about. Little is known about how people make this selection and specifically, how they identify individual observations that best predict the value of a multi-attribute situation. Here show that, in a simple task of information demand, participants inefficiently query attributes that have high individual value but are relatively uninformative about a total payoff. This inefficiency is robust in two instrumental conditions in which gathering less informative observations leads to significantly lower rewards. Across individuals, variations in the sensitivity to informativeness is associated with personality metrics, showing negative associations with extraversion and thrill seeking and positive associations with stress tolerance and need for cognition. Thus, people select informative queries using sub-optimal strategies that are associated with personality traits and influence consequential choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Rischall
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laura Hunter
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Greg Jensen
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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17
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Zhu SL, Lakshminarasimhan KJ, Angelaki DE. Computational cross-species views of the hippocampal formation. Hippocampus 2023; 33:586-599. [PMID: 37038890 PMCID: PMC10947336 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of place cells and head direction cells in the hippocampal formation of freely foraging rodents has led to an emphasis of its role in encoding allocentric spatial relationships. In contrast, studies in head-fixed primates have additionally found representations of spatial views. We review recent experiments in freely moving monkeys that expand upon these findings and show that postural variables such as eye/head movements strongly influence neural activity in the hippocampal formation, suggesting that the function of the hippocampus depends on where the animal looks. We interpret these results in the light of recent studies in humans performing challenging navigation tasks which suggest that depending on the context, eye/head movements serve one of two roles-gathering information about the structure of the environment (active sensing) or externalizing the contents of internal beliefs/deliberation (embodied cognition). These findings prompt future experimental investigations into the information carried by signals flowing between the hippocampal formation and the brain regions controlling postural variables, and constitute a basis for updating computational theories of the hippocampal system to accommodate the influence of eye/head movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seren L Zhu
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kaushik J Lakshminarasimhan
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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18
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Gottlieb J. Emerging Principles of Attention and Information Demand. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/09637214221142778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
I review recent literature on information demand and its implications for attention control. I argue that this literature motivates a view of attention as a mechanism that reduces uncertainty by selectively sampling sensory stimuli on the basis of expected information gain (EIG). I discuss emerging evidence on how individuals estimate the two quantities that determine EIG, prior uncertainty and stimulus diagnosticity (predictive accuracy). I also discuss the neural mechanisms that compute EIG and integrate it with rewards in frontoparietal, executive, and neuromodulatory circuits. I end by considering the implications of this framework for a broader understanding of the factors that assign relevance to sensory stimuli and the role of attention in decision making and other cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Gottlieb
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University
- Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University
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19
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Ho MK, Abel D, Correa CG, Littman ML, Cohen JD, Griffiths TL. People construct simplified mental representations to plan. Nature 2022; 606:129-136. [PMID: 35589843 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04743-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
One of the most striking features of human cognition is the ability to plan. Two aspects of human planning stand out-its efficiency and flexibility. Efficiency is especially impressive because plans must often be made in complex environments, and yet people successfully plan solutions to many everyday problems despite having limited cognitive resources1-3. Standard accounts in psychology, economics and artificial intelligence have suggested that human planning succeeds because people have a complete representation of a task and then use heuristics to plan future actions in that representation4-11. However, this approach generally assumes that task representations are fixed. Here we propose that task representations can be controlled and that such control provides opportunities to quickly simplify problems and more easily reason about them. We propose a computational account of this simplification process and, in a series of preregistered behavioural experiments, show that it is subject to online cognitive control12-14 and that people optimally balance the complexity of a task representation and its utility for planning and acting. These results demonstrate how strategically perceiving and conceiving problems facilitates the effective use of limited cognitive resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark K Ho
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. .,Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
| | - David Abel
- Department of Computer Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.,DeepMind, London, UK
| | - Carlos G Correa
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Michael L Littman
- Department of Computer Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Jonathan D Cohen
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.,Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Thomas L Griffiths
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.,Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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