Rewards are crucial objects that induce learning, approach behavior, choices, and
emotions. Whereas emotions are difficult to investigate in animals, the learning function is …

Visual attention enables us to selectively prioritize or suppress information in the
environment. Prominent models concerned with the control of visual attention differentiate …

The dopamine projection from ventral tegmental area (VTA) to nucleus accumbens (NAc) is
critical for motivation to work for rewards and reward-driven learning. How dopamine …

Prominent models of attentional control assert a dichotomy between top-down and bottom-
up control, with the former determined by current selection goals and the latter determined …

When making a subjective choice, the brain must compute a value for each option and
compare those values to make a decision. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is critically involved …

Statistical regularities in the environment create prior beliefs that we rely on to optimize our
behavior when sensory information is uncertain. Bayesian theory formalizes how prior …

The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is one of the least understood regions of the cerebral
cortex. By contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex has been the subject of intensive …

Dopamine cell firing can encode errors in reward prediction, providing a learning signal to
guide future behavior. Yet dopamine is also a key modulator of motivation, invigorating …

We review the current state of knowledge on the computational and neural mechanisms of
reinforcement-learning with a particular focus on fronto-striatal circuits. We divide the …

Reinforcement learning (RL) uses sequential experience with situations (" states") and
outcomes to assess actions. Whereas model-free RL uses this experience directly, in the …