Signatures of abstraction learning in primates

Internal models are believed to underlie our ability to rapidly process and organize incoming sensory information in order to navigate in a complex world. How are these models represented in the dynamics of brain activity? We approach this question through the exploration of schema formation in nonhuman primates. Using a combination of reinforcement learning-based behavioral modeling and neural decoding, we aim to infer internal belief states and to deduce how these are used dynamically in governing perception and decision behavior.