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Learning in Games: Neural Computations underlying Strategic Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2015

Ming Hsu  and
Lusha Zhu
Ming Hsu
Affiliation:
Maas School of Business Helen Wills Neuroscience Program University of California, Berkeley
Lusha Zhu
Affiliation:
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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Summary

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented growth in our understanding of the brain basis of economic decision-making. In particular, research is uncovering not only the location of brain regions where certain processes are taking place, but also the nature of the (economically meaningful) latent variables that are represented, as well as how they relate to behavior. This transition from understanding where to how economic decisions are being made in the brain has been integral to relating neural processes to economic models of behavior. This progress, however, has been notably uneven. Neu-roeconomic studies of individual decision-making, such as those involve risk and time preferences, have the benefit of drawing on decades of work from neuroscientific studies of animal behavior. Critically, many of these findings are based on quantitative, computational approach that lends well to economic experimentation. In contrast, our understanding of the neural systems underlying social behavior is much less specific. A large measure of the current challenge in fact arises from the empirical shortcomings of standard game theoretic predictions of behavior, which are largely equilibrium-based. Using our own study as an example, we show how one can directly search for the latent variables implied by current economic models of strategic learning, and attempt to localize them in the brain. Specifically, we show that the neural systems underlying strategic learning build directly on top of those involved in simple trial-and-error learning, but incorporate additional computations that capture belief-based learning. Finally, we discuss how our approach can be extended to address fundamental problems in economics.

Les dernières décennies ont connu une croissance inédite de notre compréhension des fondements cérébraux de la prise de décision économique. En particulier, la recherche a découvert non seulement la localisation de régions du cerveau où certains processus ont lieu, mais également la nature de variables latentes (économiquement significatives) ainsi que la manière dont elles sont liées au comportement. Cette transition d'une compréhension du lieu de la décision économique vers la manière dont se prend cette décision au niveau cérébral est intégrante à l'identification d'une relation entre processus nerveux et modèles de comportements économiques.

Toutefois, le progrès accompli a été inégal. Les études neuro-économiques sur la prise de décision individuelle, telles que celles impliquant les préférences temporelles ou l'attitude face au risque, ont l'avantage de s'inscrire dans des décennies d'études neuroscientifiques sur les comportements animaliers. La plupart de ces résultats sont basés sur des approches quantitatives et informatiques, qui se prêtent aisément à l'expérimentation économique. En revanche, notre compréhension des systèmes nerveux sous-jacents au comportement social est bien moins spécifique.

Une grande partie du défi actuel résulte des lacunes empiriques des prédictions de comportement issues de la théorie des jeux standard, qui sont largement basées sur l'équilibre. Utilisant notre propre étude comme exemple, nous montrons comment il est possible de chercher directement les variables latentes induites par les modèles actuels d'apprentissage stratégique, et de tenter de les localiser dans le cerveau. Plus précisément, nous montrons que les systèmes nerveux sous-jacents à l'apprentissage stratégique s'ajoutent à ceux impliqués dans l'apprentissage par essais-erreurs, mais incluent également des calculs additionnels qui captent l'apprentissage basé sur la croyance. Finalement, nous discutons la manière dont notre approche peut être élargie pour traiter les problèmes fondamentaux de l'économie.

Keywords

strategic learninggame theoryneuroeconomicsC92D83apprentissage stratégiquethéorie des jeuxneuro-économieC92D83
Type
I) Neurocellular Economics
Information
Recherches Économiques de Louvain/ Louvain Economic Review , Volume 78 , Issue 3-4 , December 2012 , pp. 47 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de recherches économiques et sociales 2012 

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