Modeling hidden cognitive states reveals acute and chronic effects of fentanyl on decision-making.

ABSTRACT: The cognitive mechanisms underlying behavior are often dynamic, shifting gradually or abruptly over time scales spanning years, to weeks, to minutes. Whether drug-induced changes in learning and decision-making follow similarly dynamic patterns remains unclear. To address this, we apply a reinforcement learning model to choice data from rats performing a two-step task for oral fentanyl and sucrose rewards. The model contains a set of agents with their own learning and decision-making rules that differentially influence choice, and, critically, each agent's contribution to choice is allowed to vary across latent states that fluctuate over time. Using a dimensionality reduction method to align latent states across subjects, we identified three distinct states reflecting mixtures of goal-dire

SUBMITTER: Zhang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12340821 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature