Reinforcement Learning and its Connections with Neuroscience and Psychology
Authors: Ajay Subramanian, Sharad Chitlangia, Veeky Baths
AI-generated Key Points
- Reinforcement learning (RL) methods have achieved success in complex sequential tasks such as playing Atari games, Go, and Poker.
- RL algorithms have surpassed human performance by learning from scratch and relying solely on scalar rewards obtained through interaction with the environment.
- Fundamental concepts in RL draw inspiration from animal learning, psychology, and neuroscience.
- The paper conducts an extensive review of findings in neuroscience and psychology to establish a comprehensive understanding of RL's potential for modeling learning and decision-making in the brain.
- Mapping modern RL algorithms to specific discoveries in neurophysiological and behavioral literature highlights the relationship between RL, neuroscience, and psychology.
- This mapping provides insights into how RL aligns with biological processes underlying learning and decision-making.
- The observed connection between RL, neuroscience, and psychology has implications for advancing research in both artificial intelligence (AI) and brain science.
- Bridging these disciplines allows researchers to enhance our understanding of how RL algorithms function within biological systems.
- The integration of insights from neuroscience and psychology enhances our understanding of RL and opens up new avenues for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of AI and brain science.
Abstract: Reinforcement learning methods have recently been very successful at performing complex sequential tasks like playing Atari games, Go and Poker. These algorithms have outperformed humans in several tasks by learning from scratch, using only scalar rewards obtained through interaction with their environment. While there certainly has been considerable independent innovation to produce such results, many core ideas in reinforcement learning are inspired by phenomena in animal learning, psychology and neuroscience. In this paper, we comprehensively review a large number of findings in both neuroscience and psychology that evidence reinforcement learning as a promising candidate for modeling learning and decision making in the brain. In doing so, we construct a mapping between various classes of modern RL algorithms and specific findings in both neurophysiological and behavioral literature. We then discuss the implications of this observed relationship between RL, neuroscience and psychology and its role in advancing research in both AI and brain science.
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