Reversal Learning

Reversal learning is flexibly changing our behavior to be rewarded when the rules for getting the reward change. If I learn to get a reward by pressing a red button in response to a stimulus and then must switch my behavior to get the same reward by pressing a blue button, then I’m reversing my learning. Researchers measure how well we can suppress a previously rewarded response and disengage from a current behavior—to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of decision-making, cognitive flexibility, and updating learned associations in a dynamic environment. Studies show reversal learning takes place in the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which when impaired slows it down, which registers as impulsivity.