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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Effects of Mind-Body-Movement Practices on Brain Function

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Published on: January 26, 2024

Human subjects exploit a cognitive map for credit assignment.

Rani Moran^1,2, Peter Dayan^3,4, Raymond J Dolan^5,2

¹Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, WC1B 5EH London, United Kingdom; rani.moran@gmail.com.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|January 22, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cognitive maps enhance reinforcement learning by influencing how model-free and model-based systems assign credit for rewards, improving behavioral control.

Keywords:

cognitive maps decision making model-based model-free reinforcement learning

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Reinforcement learning involves model-free (MF) and model-based (MB) controllers.
MF learns action values directly; MB uses a cognitive map for prospective calculation.
Credit assignment in MF and MB systems is crucial but underexplored regarding cognitive map influence.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how cognitive map knowledge impacts credit assignment in both MF and MB reinforcement learning systems.
To examine the role of task structure in modulating credit assignment processes.

Main Methods:

Utilized a dual-outcome bandit task to study credit assignment.
Analyzed how rewards related or unrelated to choices influenced subsequent action valuation.

Main Results:

Cognitive map knowledge enhanced MF credit assignment for choice-related rewards and modulated responses to choice-unrelated rewards.
MB credit assignment was boosted by outcomes affecting value differences between bandits.
These modulations highlight the role of task structure in sophisticated credit assignment.

Conclusions:

Cognitive maps significantly influence credit assignment in both MF and MB reinforcement learning.
Findings expand the understanding of cognitive map-based credit assignment and its role in behavioral control.
Suggests sophisticated integration of task knowledge in reinforcement learning mechanisms.