Role of the hippocampal CA1 region in incremental value learning

Abstract It is generally believed that the hippocampus plays a crucial role in declarative memory—remembering facts and events—but not in gradual stimulus-response association or incremental value learning. Based on the finding that CA1 conveys strong value signals during dynamic foraging, we invest...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yeongseok Jeong, Namjung Huh, Joonyeup Lee, Injae Yun, Jong Won Lee, Inah Lee, Min Whan Jung
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: Nature Portfolio 2018
Subjects:
R
Q
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/57412bb9e8ef4a70a7dbe27b0a763eeb
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract It is generally believed that the hippocampus plays a crucial role in declarative memory—remembering facts and events—but not in gradual stimulus-response association or incremental value learning. Based on the finding that CA1 conveys strong value signals during dynamic foraging, we investigated the possibility that the hippocampus contributes to incremental value learning. Specifically, we examined effects of inactivating different subregions of the dorsal hippocampus on behavioral performance of mice performing a dynamic foraging task in a modified T-maze. A reinforcement learning model-based analysis indicated that inactivation of CA1, but not dentate gyrus, CA3, or CA2, impaired trial-by-trial updating of chosen value without affecting value-dependent action selection. As a result, it took longer for CA1-inactivated mice to bias their choices toward the higher-reward-probability target after changes in reward probability. Our results indicate, contrary to the traditional view, that the hippocampus, especially CA1, might contribute to incremental value learning under certain circumstances.