Longitudinal Changes in Value-based Learning and Brain Development in Middle Childhood

Główne pojęcia

Children's value-based learning improved longitudinally, with feedback timing modulating their decision-making. Hippocampal volume was associated with delayed feedback learning, while striatal volume supported both immediate and delayed feedback learning, suggesting less differentiated memory systems in middle childhood compared to adults.

Streszczenie

This longitudinal study examined the development of value-based learning and its relationship with structural brain changes in 6-to-7-year-old children over a 2-year period.
Key findings:

Children's learning accuracy, win-stay behavior, and reaction times improved over time, indicating more optimal value-based learning.
Computational modeling showed that feedback timing specifically modulated the inverse temperature parameter, which reflects value-guided decision-making. Children responded faster and made more value-guided choices during delayed feedback trials.
Hippocampal volume showed more protracted maturation compared to the striatum. Hippocampal volume was associated with delayed feedback learning, but did not enhance episodic memory as seen in adults.
Striatal volume was associated with both immediate and delayed feedback learning, suggesting a less differentiated contribution of memory systems in middle childhood compared to the adult literature.

These findings indicate that children's value-based learning becomes more optimal over time, with feedback timing modulating decision-making processes. The brain-cognition links point to less differentiated memory systems in middle childhood, where the hippocampus contributes to delayed feedback learning, and the striatum supports learning across feedback timescales.

Statystyki

"Children's learning accuracy improved between waves."
"Children's win-stay probability increased and lose-shift probability decreased between waves."
"Reaction times were faster at wave 2 compared to wave 1, and they were faster for delayed compared to immediate feedback trials."
"The average longitudinal change in learning rate and inverse temperature was mirrored by average increases in the learning scores, indicating more optimal value-based learning over time."

Cytaty

"Children's average accuracy improved over 2 years, while their win-stay probability increased and their lose-shift probability decreased between waves."
"Larger striatal volume was associated with better learning scores for both immediate and better delayed feedback."
"Larger hippocampal volume was specifically associated with better delayed learning."

Kluczowe wnioski z

Longitudinal Changes in Value-based Learning in Middle Childhood: Distinct Contributions of Hippocampus and Striatum

by Falck,J., Zh... o www.biorxiv.org 04-13-2023

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.13.536699v4

Głębsze pytania

How do environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status or stress, impact the development of hippocampal and striatal contributions to value-based learning in middle childhood?

Environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and stress, play a significant role in shaping the development of hippocampal and striatal contributions to value-based learning in middle childhood. Research has shown that children from lower SES backgrounds often experience higher levels of chronic stress, which can have detrimental effects on brain development. Chronic stress can lead to structural changes in the hippocampus, such as reduced volume and altered connectivity, which may impact memory and learning processes. Additionally, stress can impair hippocampal-dependent memory functions, affecting the ability to encode and retrieve information effectively during value-based learning tasks.
On the other hand, socioeconomic status can also influence the development of the striatal system, which is involved in habit formation and reinforcement learning. Children from higher SES backgrounds may have access to more enriching environments, which can positively impact the development of the striatum. Enriched environments with opportunities for cognitive stimulation and social interaction have been linked to larger striatal volumes and enhanced reinforcement learning abilities.
Overall, environmental factors like SES and stress can interact with the development of the hippocampus and striatum, influencing their contributions to value-based learning in middle childhood. Understanding these effects is crucial for designing interventions and educational practices that support children's cognitive development and learning outcomes.

How do environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status or stress, impact the development of hippocampal and striatal contributions to value-based learning in middle childhood?

The implications of less differentiated memory systems in middle childhood for educational practices that rely on feedback timing are significant. In educational settings, feedback timing plays a crucial role in shaping students' learning and decision-making processes. The findings of less differentiated memory systems in middle childhood suggest that children may rely on a combination of hippocampal and striatal contributions during value-based learning tasks, regardless of the timing of feedback.
Educators and policymakers need to consider the developmental stage of children when designing educational practices that involve feedback timing. For example, in tasks that require immediate feedback, children may predominantly engage the striatal system, which is associated with habitual memory and reinforcement learning. On the other hand, tasks that involve delayed feedback may recruit the hippocampal system more prominently, supporting episodic memory encoding and retrieval.
By understanding the less differentiated memory systems in middle childhood, educators can tailor feedback strategies to optimize learning outcomes. Providing a mix of immediate and delayed feedback in educational practices can help children develop both striatal and hippocampal-dependent memory functions. Additionally, creating learning environments that reduce stress and support cognitive development can enhance children's ability to adapt to different feedback timings and improve their value-based learning skills.

Could the observed brain-cognition links be further clarified by examining functional brain activations during the choice and feedback phases of the reinforcement learning task?

Examining functional brain activations during the choice and feedback phases of the reinforcement learning task could provide valuable insights into the observed brain-cognition links. Functional brain imaging techniques, such as fMRI, can help identify the neural mechanisms underlying the associations between brain structures (hippocampus and striatum) and cognitive processes (value-based learning).
During the choice phase, functional brain activations in the striatum and hippocampus can be monitored to understand how these regions contribute to decision-making processes. Activation patterns in the striatum may indicate the involvement of reward processing and reinforcement learning, while hippocampal activations may reflect memory encoding and retrieval during value-based decision-making.
Similarly, during the feedback phase, functional brain activations can reveal how the hippocampus and striatum respond to positive and negative outcomes. Differences in activation patterns between immediate and delayed feedback conditions can shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying feedback timing modulation of learning behavior.
By integrating functional brain imaging data with behavioral measures, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the hippocampal and striatal contributions to value-based learning are modulated by feedback timing. This approach can provide valuable insights into the dynamic interplay between brain structures and cognitive processes during reinforcement learning tasks in middle childhood.