Differential reinforcement encoding along the hippocampal long axis helps resolve the explore-exploit dilemma.

ABSTRACT: When making decisions, should one exploit known good options or explore potentially better alternatives? Exploration of spatially unstructured options depends on the neocortex, striatum, and amygdala. In natural environments, however, better options often cluster together, forming structured value distributions. The hippocampus binds reward information into allocentric cognitive maps to support navigation and foraging in such spaces. Here we report that human posterior hippocampus (PH) invigorates exploration while anterior hippocampus (AH) supports the transition to exploitation on a reinforcement learning task with a spatially structured reward function. These dynamics depend on differential reinforcement representations in the PH and AH. Whereas local reward prediction error signals are

SUBMITTER: Dombrovski AY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7589536 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature