Surprised? Cholinergic neurons send broadcasts enabling us to learn from the unexpected
Thursday, August 27, 2015 - 12:20
in Psychology & Sociology
Neuroscientists have discovered a set of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain that broadcast messages throughout the cerebral cortex, rapidly informing multiple distributed subregions of any surprising rewards or punishments -- what scientists call reinforcers. It's a way we learn from the unexpected.