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Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a decline in episodic memory and executive functioning, hampering learning ability. Insight into outcome‐based learning capacity may be relevant for optimizing the learning potential of these patients. To date, mixed results have been found in studies in which cognitively impaired participants have to learn based on positive and negative outcomes. In this study, we investigated the role of negative and positive feedback on memory performance and participants' ability to adjust their behaviour accordingly in a sample of 23 early‐stage AD patients and 23 matched healthy controls. We administered a novel computerized object‐location memory task, in which participants were instructed to learn and memorize the locations of different everyday objects following errorless learning (EL) and trial‐and‐error learning (TEL). A separate probabilistic TEL task was employed in which participants had to learn how to adjust their behaviour based on positive and negative feedback. EL had a beneficial general effect on memory performance for object locations. However, this effect was not larger in early‐stage AD patients compared to controls and error frequency during acquisition of object locations was unrelated to later recall performance. No group differences were found on the probabilistic learning task with respect to learning performance over time and based on positive and negative feedback. Although the error monitoring system seems intact in patients with early‐stage AD, errors during learning are likely acting as a source of interference causing difficulty in storage or retrieval of object locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies investigating the efficacy of errorless learning (EL), a rehabilitation method in which the occurrence of errors during learning are eliminated, have predominantly involved patients with memory impairment. However, the most recent perspective on the underlying mechanism of EL explicitly takes executive processes into account. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EL of object locations is beneficial for memory performance compared to trial-and-error learning (TEL) in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) experiencing executive deficits (N = 15) and matched healthy controls (N = 15). Participants completed an EL and TEL condition of a computerized spatial learning task, in which the location of everyday objects had to be memorized. The number of errors made during learning was predetermined, varying from 0 (EL condition) to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 errors (TEL condition). Results showed a beneficial effect of EL on memory performance in both ABI patients and controls (p <.001), but this advantage was not larger in ABI patients compared to controls and was not moderated by the amount of errors made during learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychopathy is a severe personality disorder that has been linked to impaired behavioural adaptation during reinforcement learning. Recent electrophysiological studies have suggested that psychopathy is related to impairments in intentionally using information relevant for adapting behaviour, whereas these impairments remain absent for behaviour relying on automatic use of information. We sought to investigate whether previously found impairments in response reversal in individuals with psychopathy also follow this dichotomy. We expected response reversal to be intact when the automatic use of information was facilitated. In contrast, we expected impaired response reversal when intentional use of information was required. Methods: We included offenders with psychopathy and matched healthy controls in 2 experiments with a probabilistic cued go/no-go reaction time task. The task implicated the learning and reversal of 2 predictive contingencies. In experiment 1, participants were not informed about the inclusion of a learning component, thus making cue-dependent learning automatic/incidental. In experiment 2, the instructions required participants to actively monitor and learn predictive relationships, giving learning a controlled/intentional nature. Results: While there were no significant group differences in acquisition learning in either experiment, the results revealed impaired response reversal in offenders with psychopathy when controlled learning was facilitated. Interestingly, this impairment was absent when automatic learning was predominant. Limitations: Possible limitations are the use of a nonforensic control group and of self-report measures for drug use. Conclusion: Response reversal deficits in individuals with psychopathy are modulated by the context provided by the instructions, according to the distinction between automatic and controlled processing in these individuals., Introduction Our ability to learn associations between events with rewarding or punishing outcomes plays an important role in guiding our behaviour. (1) Of equal importance is our capacity to successfully [...]