Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

This event will be held online via Zoom.

Find out more about Alireza Soltani,  Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences: http://ccnl.dartmouth.edu/.

 

Abstract

While changing on many timescales, the world around us looks rather still at any point in time because how our perception works. To be successful, however, living organisms should be able to adapt their behavioural responses according to timescales of regularities and changes in the environment. Identifying these timescales can be beneficial in at least two ways: (1) to adopt a proper response; for example, foraging at the right time of the day; (2) to use deviation from what is predicted to detect drastic environmental changes to adjust response, for example, by moving to a new location when the environment is no longer rewarding. Importantly, the brain possesses multiple mechanisms for responding to and processing information at different timescales, allowing us to learn and predict regularities of the environment and to detect its changes. But is it possible to benefit from both unboundedly?  

In this talk, I argue that this is not possible due to a general tradeoff in learning: precision in learning regularities of the environment limits flexibility in adjusting what is learned and vice versa. On a brighter note, I will share some of our findings about different sources of flexibility in learning and choice behaviour. Specifically, I will use computational methods and experimental data across multiple species to address: (1) how is the amount or speed of learning determined and adjusted? (2) how are learning strategies determined and adjusted? (3) how are different sources of information combined to allow flexibility? and (4) how are such adjustments reflected in timescales of neural responses?  Addressing these questions is more important than ever when facing multiple global challenges, because adaptability is what made us a successful species and can save us too.

 

Links for joining will be sent out before each seminar. Please contact the host if you would like to set up a remote meeting with a speaker. If you have suggestions for future speakers, please contact Lauren (lauren.burgeno@dpag.ox.ac.uk), or Nima (nima.khalighinejad@psy.ox.ac.uk).