Dynamic constraints on activity and connectivity during the learning of value

Abstract

Human learning is a complex process in which future behavior is altered via the modulation of neural activity. Yet, the degree to which brain activity and functional connectivity during learning is constrained across subjects, for example by conserved anatomy and physiology or by the nature of the task, remains unknown. Here, we measured brain activity and functional connectivity in a longitudinal experiment in which healthy adult human participants learned the values of novel objects over the course of four days. We assessed the presence of constraints on activity and functional connectivity using an inter-subject correlation approach. Constraints on activity and connectivity were greater in magnitude than expected in a non-parametric permutation-based null model, particularly in primary sensory and motor systems, as well as in regions associated with the learning of value. Notably, inter-subject connectivity in activity and connectivity displayed marked temporal variations, with inter-subject correlations in activity exceeding those in connectivity during early learning and visa versa in later learning. Finally, individual differences in performance accuracy tracked the degree to which a subjects connectivity, but not activity, tracked subject-general patterns. Taken together, our results support the notion that brain activity and connectivity are constrained across subjects in early learning, with constraints on activity, but not connectivity, decreasing in later learning.