Synergizing habits and goals with variational Bayes.

ABSTRACT: Behaving efficiently and flexibly is crucial for biological and artificial embodied agents. Behavior is generally classified into two types: habitual (fast but inflexible), and goal-directed (flexible but slow). While these two types of behaviors are typically considered to be managed by two distinct systems in the brain, recent studies have revealed a more sophisticated interplay between them. We introduce a theoretical framework using variational Bayesian theory, incorporating a Bayesian intention variable. Habitual behavior depends on the prior distribution of intention, computed from sensory context without goal-specification. In contrast, goal-directed behavior relies on the goal-conditioned posterior distribution of intention, inferred through variational free energy minimization. As

SUBMITTER: Han D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11525633 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature