Seul Ah Lee L&S Biological Sciences
Effects of Reward History on Cue-Reward Learning
Animals, including humans, form associations between rewards and cues that predict them through the process of cue-reward learning (CRL). CRL has long served as an advantageous tool in evolution for acquisition of rewards such as food and mating. However, CRL can also be maladaptive in disorders such as addiction, wherein drug-associated cues drive compulsive drug-seeking behavior and relapse.
Past and recent studies have found that CRL largely depends on cue-reward contingency, or how much the occurrence of rewards depends on the occurrence of cues. CRL is attenuated when contingency is degraded through introduction of uncued rewards delivered between cue-reward experiences. Yet, how CRL is affected by reward history, including the rate and number of prior reward experiences, before cue introduction is unclear. This project will investigate how reward exposure prior to the introduction of its predictive cues affects the rate and strength of CRL. Understanding the parameters that are important for CRL will provide insight into both healthy and disordered learning.
Message To Sponsor
I am immensely grateful for the Pergo Fund that allowed me to spend my summer in such a meaningful way. Throughout my time as a SURF fellow, I was able to devote myself to my project full-time and experience what it is like to pursue a graduate degree and, furthermore, a career in research. With the skills and insights that I was able to gain and improve, I now have a greater confidence and faith in my aspirations to become a neuroscientist. Having experienced how meaningful it is to discover new knowledge in my field and share it with others, I am all the more excited to continue this in my future academic endeavors.