The Neurophysiology of Expectations, Feedback, and Surprises – Towards a Brain Based Model of Skill Acquisition

Behavioral studies show that learning is fueled by surprises: we construct models of the world from which we derive expectations. It is when our expectations are not realized – when we are surprised – that we change our behavior. But what does it mean to say that the brain is expecting something?

This project aims to develop a neurophysiological understanding of learning within the context of skill acquisition.

Research has shown that the inferior olive – whose cerebellar afferents known as the climbing fibers induce the plasticity that is responsible for the acquisition of new skills – fires in a burst-like manner.

Moreover, research from our lab and other labs have shown that the size of the olivary burst directly influences learning.

Recently, I proposed that this burst-like firing, combined with negative feedback from the cerebellum, can explain how expectations, feedback, and surprises work at a neurophysiological level.

In this project, we will use to use in-vivo patch-clamp recordings combined with multi-unit extracellular recordings using new high-tech silicon probes (Neuropixel) to examine what determines the size of olivary bursts and what their precise role in skill acquisition is. These empirical investigations will enable us to test predictions derived from my model of skill acquisition.

The overarching aim is to develop a model of skill acquisition that is based – not on abstract psychological concepts – but on quantitative neurophysiological measures.