Task Learnability Modulates Surprise but Not Valence Processing for Reinforcement Learning in Probabilistic Choice Tasks.

The goal of temporal difference (TD) reinforcement learning is to maximize outcomes and improve future decision-making. It does so by utilizing a prediction error (PE), which quantifies the difference between the expected and the obtained outcome. In gambling tasks, however, decision-making cannot be improved because of the lack of learnability.

Neurophysiological evidence for evaluative feedback processing depending on goal relevance.

Feedback signaling the success or failure of actions is readily exploited to implement goal-directed behavior. Two event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been identified as reliable markers of evaluative feedback processing: the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and the P3. Recent ERP studies have shown a substantial reduction of these components when the feedback's goal relevance (in terms of goal informativeness) was decreased.

Dissociable effects of reward magnitude on fronto-medial theta and FRN during performance monitoring.

Reward processing is influenced by reward magnitude, as previous EEG studies showed changes in amplitude of the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and reward positivity (RewP), or power of fronto-medial theta (FMθ). However, it remains unclear whether these changes are driven by increased reward sensitivity, altered reward predictions, enhanced cognitive control, or a combination of these effects. To address this question, we asked 36 participants to perform a simple gambling task where feedback valence (reward vs.

When the outcome is different than expected: Subjective expectancy shapes reward prediction error at the FRN level.

Converging evidence in human electrophysiology suggests that evaluative feedback provided during performance monitoring (PM) elicits two distinctive and successive ERP components: the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the P3b. Whereas the FRN has previously been linked to reward prediction error (RPE), the P3b has been conceived as reflecting motivational or attentional processes following the early processing of the RPE, including action value updating. However, it remains unclear whether these two consecutive neurophysiological effects depend on the direction of the unexpectedness (better- or worse-than-expected outcomes; signed RPE) or instead only on the degree of unexpectedness irrespective of direction (i.

Goals matter: Amplification of the motivational significance of the feedback when goal impact is increased.

Performance monitoring (PM) entails the continuous evaluation of actions and their outcomes. At the electrophysiological level, PM has been consistently related to two event-related brain potentials (ERPs): the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and the P3. In a previous within-subject crossover design study, we showed that feedback's goal impact (i.

The causal role of the somatosensory cortex in prosocial behaviour.

Witnessing another person's suffering elicits vicarious brain activity in areas that are active when we ourselves are in pain. Whether this activity influences prosocial behavior remains the subject of debate. Here participants witnessed a confederate express pain through a reaction of the swatted hand or through a facial expression, and could decide to reduce that pain by donating money.

Relevance and uncertainty jointly influence reward anticipation at the level of the SPN ERP component.

The stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) component reflects the anticipatory phase of reward processing. Its amplitude is usually larger for informative compared to uninformative upcoming stimuli, as well as for uncertain relative to predictable ones. In this study, we sought to assess whether these two effects, when combined together, produced a synergistic effect or rather independent ones on the SPN during performance monitoring.

Goal impact influences the evaluative component of performance monitoring: Evidence from ERPs.

Successful performance monitoring (PM) requires continuous assessment of context and action outcomes. Electrophysiological studies have reliably identified event-related potential (ERP) markers for evaluative feedback processing during PM: the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and P3 components. The functional significance of FRN remains debated in the literature, with recent research suggesting that feedback's goal relevance can account for FRN (amplitude) modulation, apart from its valence or expectedness alone.