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Habit formation generates secondary modules that emulate the efficiency of evolved behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2017

Samuel A. Nordli  and
Peter M. Todd
Samuel A. Nordli
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-7007 snordli@indiana.edu pmtodd@indiana.edu http://www.indiana.edu/~abcwest/
Peter M. Todd
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-7007 snordli@indiana.edu pmtodd@indiana.edu http://www.indiana.edu/~abcwest/
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Abstract

We discuss the evolutionary implications of connections drawn between the authors' learned “secondary modules” and the habit-formation system that appears to be ubiquitous among vertebrates. Prior to any subsequent coevolution with social learning, we suggest that aspects of general intelligence likely arose in tandem with mechanisms of adaptive motor control that rely on basal ganglia circuitry.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e214
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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