Abstract
Studying aversive behaviour is critical for understanding negative emotions and associated psychopathologies. However a comprehensive picture of the mechanisms underlying aversion is lacking, with associative learning theories focusing on Pavlovian reactions and decision-making theoretic approaches on prospective functions. We propose a computational model of aversion that combines goal-directed and Pavlovian forms of control into a unifying framework in which their relative importance is regulated by factors such as threat distance and controllability. Using simulations, we test whether the model can reproduce available empirical findings and discuss its relevance to understanding factors underlying negative emotions such as fear and anxiety. Furthermore, the specific method used to construct the model permits a natural mapping from its components to brain structure and function. Our model provides a basis for a unifying account of aversion that can guide empirical and interventional study contexts.
Highlights
Given their fundamental importance in evolution, the strategies adopted by living organisms to manage danger have been extensively studied
These results show how the model implements a modulatory influence of specific controllability on the relative strength of goal-directed and Pavlovian control, as Pavlovian strength is inhibited when a given action is better than others and is boosted when action values are roughly equivalent
We propose a computational model of aversion based on a goaldirected/Pavlovian interaction wherein controllability and threat distance occupy an important modulatory role by influencing the relative strength of the two controllers
Summary
Given their fundamental importance in evolution, the strategies adopted by living organisms to manage danger have been extensively studied. ⇑ Corresponding author at: The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, More recent findings argue even more strongly against a central role for instrumental learning as they show that in some cases repeated experience of electric shock increases (rather than diminishing) the probability of performing a pre-specified response such as freezing (Fanselow & Lester, 1988) These data highlight the existence of a set of innate (i.e., Pavlovian) aversive reactions elicited by certain conditions of shock temporal delay, as rats froze immediately after the presentation of a conditioned stimulus, while just before and after a shock they exhibited a fight/flight reaction consistent in jumping, biting and vocalizing (Fendt & Fanselow, 1999). A similar response pattern was observed when manipulating the spatial, instead of temporal, threat distance, together with the observation that rats engage in cautious exploration (described as risk-assessment behaviour) when a threat is not present but is potential, such as in a novel context or where a predator has been previously seen (Blanchard & Blanchard, 1989)
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