The cognitive architecture of anxiety-like behavioral inhibition.

ABSTRACT: The combination of reward and potential threat is termed approach/avoidance conflict and elicits specific behaviors, including passive avoidance and behavioral inhibition (BI). Anxiety-relieving drugs reduce these behaviors, and a rich psychological literature has addressed how personality traits dominated by BI predispose for anxiety disorders. Yet, a formal understanding of the cognitive inference and planning processes underlying anxiety-like BI is lacking. Here, we present and empirically test such formalization in the terminology of reinforcement learning. We capitalize on a human computer game in which participants collect sequentially appearing monetary tokens while under threat of virtual "predation." First, we demonstrate that humans modulate BI according to experienced consequenc

SUBMITTER: Bach DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5178866 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature