Extinction learning is strongly dependent on the contexts, in which acquisition and extinction took place, and we know that the hippocampus is critical for mediating this context dependence. However, we still do not understand the learning and neural mechanisms by which this context-dependence comes about. In this project, computational modeling and robotics will be used to study 1. what distinguishes cues from contextual information, 2. what makes extinction learning strongly context-dependent, while other forms of learning are less so, and 3. why the hippocampus is required for context-dependence.

Guiding questions of A14:

• What distinguishes cues from contextual information in (extinction) learning?
• What makes extinction learning strongly context-dependent, while other forms of learning are less so?
• Why is the hippocampus required for context-dependence?