Early adversity and the development of explore–exploit tradeoffs.

This opinion article brings together research on the effects of early adversity, computational accounts of learning, and life-history theory. These bodies of research have independently converged on the finding that exposures to chronic adversity may accelerate maturation, yet synergies between them have hardly been explored. We connect these bodies of research by proposing the hypothesis that early experiences influence hyperparameters that determine the balance between exploration and exploitation. Specifically, we argue that childhood adversity may accelerate a shift from exploration to exploitation, with wide-ranging effects on the adult brain and mind. Understanding which types of adversity accelerate the explore–exploit shift, and formal theory exploring when such a response may be adaptive, are key directions for future work. Childhood adversity can have wide-ranging and long-lasting effects on later life. But what are the mechanisms that are responsible for these effects? This article brings together the cognitive science literature on explore–exploit tradeoffs, the empirical literature on early adversity, and the literature in evolutionary biology on 'life history' to explain how early experience influences later life. We propose one potential mechanism: early experiences influence 'hyperparameters' that determine the balance between exploration and exploitation. Adversity might accelerate a shift from exploration to exploitation, with broad and enduring effects on the adult brain and mind. These effects may be produced by life-history adaptations that use early experience to tailor development and learning to the likely future states of an organism and its environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]