{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T06:17:36Z","timestamp":1772173056419,"version":"3.50.1"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,20]],"date-time":"2022-12-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1671494400000}}],"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]],"date-time":"2022-12-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1670457600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100019180","name":"HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ERC-CoG 771432"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ERC-CoG 771432"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100019180","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.ploscompbiol.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Comput Biol"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Performance during instrumental learning is commonly believed to reflect the knowledge that has been acquired up to that point. However, recent work in rodents found that instrumental performance was enhanced during periods when reinforcement was withheld, relative to periods when reinforcement was provided. This suggests that reinforcement may mask acquired knowledge and lead to impaired performance. In the present study, we investigated whether such a beneficial effect of removing reinforcement translates to humans. Specifically, we tested whether performance during learning was improved during non-reinforced relative to reinforced task periods using signal detection theory and a computational modelling approach. To this end, 60 healthy volunteers performed a novel visual go\/no-go learning task with deterministic reinforcement. To probe acquired knowledge in the absence of reinforcement, we interspersed blocks without feedback. In these non-reinforced task blocks, we found an increased\n                    <jats:italic>d\u2019<\/jats:italic>\n                    , indicative of enhanced instrumental performance. However, computational modelling showed that this improvement in performance was not due to an increased sensitivity of decision making to learnt values, but to a more cautious mode of responding, as evidenced by a reduction of a general response bias. Together with an initial tendency to act, this is sufficient to drive differential changes in hit and false alarm rates that jointly lead to an increased\n                    <jats:italic>d\u2019<\/jats:italic>\n                    . To conclude, the improved instrumental performance in the absence of reinforcement observed in studies using asymmetrically reinforced go\/no-go tasks may reflect a change in response bias rather than unmasking latent knowledge.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]],"date-time":"2022-12-08T13:40:07Z","timestamp":1670506807000},"page":"e1010201","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Removal of reinforcement improves instrumental performance in humans by decreasing a general action bias rather than unmasking learnt associations"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9317-5840","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hannah","family":"Kurtenbach","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5546-3561","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Eduard","family":"Ort","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5657-8798","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Monja Isabel","family":"Frob\u00f6se","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gerhard","family":"Jocham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]]},"reference":[{"issue":"9","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1214","DOI":"10.1038\/nn1954","article-title":"Learning the value of information in an uncertain world","volume":"10","author":"TEJ Behrens","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"issue":"6","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1204","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2011.02.027","article-title":"Model-Based Influences on Humans\u2019 Choices and Striatal Prediction Errors","volume":"69","author":"ND Daw","year":"2011","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-062111-150512","article-title":"Neural Basis of Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making","volume":"35","author":"D Lee","year":"2012","journal-title":"Annu Rev Neurosci"},{"issue":"2","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"267","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2013.11.005","article-title":"Orbitofrontal Cortex as a Cognitive Map of Task Space","volume":"81","author":"RC Wilson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"issue":"3","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1016\/S0163-1047(89)90457-3","article-title":"Damage to the hippocampal formation in rats selectively impairs the ability to learn cue relationships.","volume":"52","author":"RJ Sutherland","year":"1989","journal-title":"Behav Neural Biol."},{"issue":"20","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7737","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.20-20-07737.2000","article-title":"Coincident Activation of NMDA and Dopamine D 1 Receptors within the Nucleus Accumbens Core Is Required for Appetitive Instrumental Learning","volume":"20","author":"SL Smith-Roe","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"84","DOI":"10.1037\/0735-7044.114.1.84","article-title":"W-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor-Dependent Plasticity Within a Distributed Corticostriatal Network Mediates Appetitive Instrumental Learning.","volume":"114","author":"AE Baldwin","year":"2000","journal-title":"Behav Neurosci."},{"issue":"8","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2951","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1778-09.2010","article-title":"Acquisition and Performance of Goal-Directed Instrumental Actions Depends on ERK Signaling in Distinct Regions of Dorsal Striatum in Rats","volume":"30","author":"MW Shiflett","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"issue":"7","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1144","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-9568.2012.08043.x","article-title":"Decomposing effects of dopaminergic medication in Parkinson\u2019s disease on probabilistic action selection\u2014learning or performance?: Dopamine and value-based choice","volume":"35","author":"P Smittenaar","year":"2012","journal-title":"Eur J Neurosci"},{"issue":"15","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2133","DOI":"10.1016\/S0042-6989(97)00043-6","article-title":"The role of feedback in learning a vernier discrimination task","volume":"37","author":"MH Herzog","year":"1997","journal-title":"Vision Res"},{"issue":"19","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3177","DOI":"10.1016\/j.visres.2006.03.022","article-title":"Perceptual learning without feedback in non-stationary contexts: Data and model","volume":"46","author":"AA Petrov","year":"2006","journal-title":"Vision Res"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2151","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-10089-0","article-title":"Dissociating task acquisition from expression during learning reveals latent knowledge.","volume":"10","author":"KV Kuchibhotla","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat Commun.Dec"},{"issue":"2","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1037\/0096-1523.28.2.431","article-title":"Unraveling mechanisms for expert object recognition: Bridging brain activity and behavior","volume":"28","author":"I Gauthier","year":"2002","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27389","DOI":"10.1038\/srep27389","article-title":"Performance in a GO\/NOGO perceptual task reflects a balance between impulsive and instrumental components of behaviour.","volume":"6","author":"A Berditchevskaia","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"issue":"7859","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-021-03452-z","article-title":"Mouse prefrontal cortex represents learned rules for categorization","volume":"593","author":"S Reinert","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"pcbi.1010201.ref016","volume-title":"Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics","author":"DM Green","year":"1966"},{"issue":"3","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1020","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-017-0923-5","article-title":"Optimal go\/no-go ratios to maximize false alarms.","volume":"50","author":"ME Young","year":"2018","journal-title":"Behav Res Methods."},{"key":"pcbi.1010201.ref018","first-page":"322","volume-title":"Reinforcement learning: an introduction","author":"RS Sutton","year":"1998"},{"issue":"23","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7489","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0349-09.2009","article-title":"Adaptive Coding of Action Values in the Human Rostral Cingulate Zone","volume":"29","author":"G Jocham","year":"2009","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16033","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms16033","article-title":"Learning relative values in the striatum induces violations of normative decision making.","volume":"8","author":"TA Klein","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat Commun."},{"key":"pcbi.1010201.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cobeha.2021.04.020","article-title":"Value-free reinforcement learning: policy optimization as a minimal model of operant behavior.","volume":"41","author":"D Bennett","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr Opin Behav Sci."},{"issue":"9","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"726","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2019.06.007","article-title":"Nonmonotonic Plasticity: How Memory Retrieval Drives Learning.","volume":"23","author":"VJH Ritvo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci."},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3318","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-020-17192-7","article-title":"Decisions bias future choices by modifying hippocampal associative memories.","volume":"11","author":"L Luettgau","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat Commun."},{"issue":"22","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12174","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.94.22.12174","article-title":"Response-reinforcement learning is dependent on N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor activation in the nucleus accumbens core","volume":"94","author":"AE Kelley","year":"1997","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci"},{"issue":"2","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroscience.2005.06.038","article-title":"Instrumental learning, but not performance, requires dopamine D1-receptor activation in the amygdala","volume":"135","author":"ME Andrzejewski","year":"2005","journal-title":"Neuroscience"},{"issue":"1\u20132","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbr.2003.09.023","article-title":"The role of prelimbic cortex in instrumental conditioning","volume":"146","author":"LH Corbit","year":"2003","journal-title":"Behav Brain Res"},{"issue":"17","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4398","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5472-07.2008","article-title":"Differential Involvement of the Basolateral Amygdala and Mediodorsal Thalamus in Instrumental Action Selection","volume":"28","author":"SB Ostlund","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"issue":"2","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1177\/09567976211032887","article-title":"The Impact of Feedback on Perceptual Decision-Making and Metacognition: Reduction in Bias but No Change in Sensitivity","volume":"33","author":"N Haddara","year":"2022","journal-title":"Assoc Psychol Sci."},{"key":"pcbi.1010201.ref029","volume-title":"Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex.","author":"IP Pavlov","year":"1927"},{"issue":"5","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.1101\/lm.78804","article-title":"Context and Behavioral Processes in Extinction.","volume":"11","author":"ME Bouton","year":"2004","journal-title":"Learn Mem."},{"issue":"9","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0257011","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0257011","article-title":"Curiosity or savouring? Information seeking is modulated by both uncertainty and valence","volume":"16","author":"LLF van Lieshout","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLOS ONE."},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2016.02.018","article-title":"Reward-Guided Learning with and without Causal Attribution","volume":"90","author":"G Jocham","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-018-01193-y","article-title":"PsychoPy2: Experiments in behavior made easy.","volume":"51","author":"J Peirce","year":"2019","journal-title":"Behav Res Methods."},{"issue":"1","key":"pcbi.1010201.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03203619","article-title":"Corrections for extreme proportions and their biasing effects on estimated values of d\u2032","volume":"27","author":"MJ Hautus","year":"1995","journal-title":"Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput"}],"updated-by":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,20]],"date-time":"2022-12-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1671494400000}}],"container-title":["PLOS Computational Biology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,20]],"date-time":"2022-12-20T13:41:51Z","timestamp":1671543711000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Stefano","family":"Palminteri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"editor","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1010201","relation":{"has-preprint":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1101\/2022.10.25.492051","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["1553-7358"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1553-7358","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,8]]}}}