PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Meropi Topalidou AU - Daisuke Kase AU - Thomas Boraud AU - Nicolas P. Rougier TI - A Computational Model of Dual Competition between the Basal Ganglia and the Cortex AID - 10.1523/ENEURO.0339-17.2018 DP - 2018 Nov 01 TA - eneuro PG - ENEURO.0339-17.2018 VI - 5 IP - 6 4099 - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/6/ENEURO.0339-17.2018.short 4100 - http://www.eneuro.org/content/5/6/ENEURO.0339-17.2018.full SO - eNeuro2018 Nov 01; 5 AB - We propose a model that includes interactions between the cortex, the basal ganglia (BG), and the thalamus based on a dual competition. We hypothesize that the striatum, the subthalamic nucleus (STN), the internal globus pallidus (GPi), the thalamus, and the cortex are involved in closed feedback loops through the hyperdirect and direct pathways. These loops support a competition process that results in the ability of BG to make a cognitive decision followed by a motor one. Considering lateral cortical interactions, another competition takes place inside the cortex allowing the latter to make a cognitive and a motor decision. We show how this dual competition endows the model with two regimes. One is driven by reinforcement learning and the other by Hebbian learning. The final decision is made according to a combination of these two mechanisms with a gradual transfer from the former to the latter. We confirmed these theoretical results on primates (Macaca mulatta) using a novel paradigm predicted by the model.