title: Conditional routing of information to the cortex: a model of the basal ganglia's role in cognitive coordination.
abstract: The basal ganglia play a central role in cognition and are involved in such general functions as action selection and reinforcement learning. Here, we present a model exploring the hypothesis that the basal ganglia implement a conditional information-routing system. The system directs the transmission of cortical signals between pairs of regions by manipulating separately the selection of sources and destinations of information transfers. We suggest that such a mechanism provides an account for several cognitive functions of the basal ganglia. The model also incorporates a possible mechanism by which subsequent transfers of information control the release of dopamine. This signal is used to produce novel stimulus-response associations by internalizing transferred cortical representations in the striatum. We discuss how the model is related to production systems and cognitive architectures. A series of simulations is presented to illustrate how the model can perform simple stimulus-response tasks, develop automatic behaviors, and provide an account of impairments in Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. stocco@cmu.edu
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stocco
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lebiere
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D001332:Automatism; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D007858:Learning; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine