Neural networks : the official journal of the International Neural Network Society
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This article offers a new neural network framework for understanding both the transients and the asymptotes of operant (instrumental) learning. The theory shows that interplay between simple short and long-term memory mechanisms is sufficient to explain a large number of operant phenomena. It describes short- and long-term effects of reinforcement and how these effects modulate the operant response, how novel events are detected and processed, and how their consequences also modulate the operant response. ⋯ Implications of the present theory for other operant conditioning phenomena, classical conditioning, and avoidance behavior are suggested. Copyright 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.