Reinforcement Learning with Multiple Representations in The Basal Ganglia Loops for Sequential Motor Control

|The basal ganglia (BG) have been hypothesized to perform reinforcement learning by use of reinforcement signals provided by dopamine neurons. It is well known that there exist multiple BG-thalamocortical loops, but their functions are poorly understood. Here, we propose a computational model of how di erent BG loops are employed in visuomotor sequence learning using di erent representations of sequence. The central idea of the model is that a visuomotor sequence is easier to learn in spatial representation (e.g. visual coordinates) but is easier to control in bodybased representation (e.g. joint angle coordinates). The results of simulations of the model replicated both behavioral and neurophysiological ndings in recent experimental studies using "2x5 task". Keywords| reinforcement learning, basal ganglia, procedural memory, visuomotor learning