Adaptive behaviour under conflict: Deconstructing extinction, reversal, and active avoidance learning

• Changing associations between events in the environment cause behavioural conflict. The prefrontal cortex and amygdala contribute to adaptive behaviour during Conflict exists popular extinction, reversal learning active avoidance tasks. Deconstructing neural control reveals common features of In complex environments, organisms must respond adaptively situations despite conflicting information. Under natural (i.e. non-laboratory) circumstances, it is rare that cues or responses are consistently paired with a single outcome. Inconsistent pairings more common, as where associated multiple outcomes. Such inconsistency creates conflict, response one scenario may not be another. Learning adjust accordingly important for species survive prosper. Here we review brain mechanisms responding under conflict by focusing on three procedures: learning, avoidance. Extinction involves adapting from reinforcement non-reinforcement, swapping responses, performing avoid an aversive outcome, which other defensive strategies. We note each these phenomena relies somewhat overlapping circuits, suggesting such circuits critical general ability appropriately