The influence of Markov decision process structure on the possible strategic use of working memory and episodic memory.

ABSTRACT: Researchers use a variety of behavioral tasks to analyze the effect of biological manipulations on memory function. This research will benefit from a systematic mathematical method for analyzing memory demands in behavioral tasks. In the framework of reinforcement learning theory, these tasks can be mathematically described as partially-observable Markov decision processes. While a wealth of evidence collected over the past 15 years relates the basal ganglia to the reinforcement learning framework, only recently has much attention been paid to including psychological concepts such as working memory or episodic memory in these models. This paper presents an analysis that provides a quantitative description of memory states sufficient for correct choices at specific decision points. Using in

SUBMITTER: Zilli EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2447173 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature