Officials of the countries stressed that such assumptions are linked with support personnel who will provide training, help set up processes, and do other work without being involved in hostilities.
Sunday, March 03, 2024
COALITION OF THE WILLING: Netherlands, Estonia, and Lithuania are ready to send troops to Ukraine
Saturday, March 02, 2024
Value-Based Decision-Making...in that little thing?
In their everyday lives, humans often weigh the value of different options and decide how to act based on this mental evaluation. This process, known as value-based decision-making, has been the topic of numerous studies rooted in psychology, neuroscience and economics.
KNOW YOUR BRAIN: HABENULA
Despite the fact that it is present in almost all vertebrate species, very little was known about the habenula until fairly recently. In the past several years, however, the habenula has received a significant amount of attention for its potential role in both cognition (e.g. reward processing) and disorders like depression. Still, the habenula remains a little-known structure whose functions are yet to be fully elucidated.
Study unveils the role of a neural substrate in the lateral habenula in value-based decision-making
". . .While value-based decision-making implies that humans making decisions attribute objective values to different possible choices, in many cases such objective values are unattainable, thus the values attributed to choices are subjective.
- The neural processes supporting these subjective evaluations, which are often linked to the value of uncertain rewards they might obtain following their decision, remains poorly understood.
"Behavioral and economic theory dictate that we decide between options based on their values," wrote Ethan S. Bromberg-Martin, Yang-Yang Feng and their colleagues in their paper.
"However, humans and animals eagerly seek information about uncertain future rewards, even when this does not provide any objective value. This implies that decisions are made by endowing information with subjective value and integrating it with the value of extrinsic rewards, but the mechanism is unknown."
As part of their study, Bromberg-Martin, Feng and their collaborators released a series of tasks in Amazon's Mechanical Turk, which were completed by 824 human participants between 18 and 55 years of age. These participants received money for completing these tasks and the amount depended on how well they performed.
Concurrently, the researchers also carried out a series of experiments involving four adult rhesus monkeys, who were rewarded with fruit juice. These monkeys completed two versions of the same task, while the team stimulated regions of their brain and observed their neural activity.
- "We show that human and monkey value judgements obey strikingly conserved computational principles during multi-attribute decisions trading off information and extrinsic reward," wrote Bromberg-Martin, Feng and their colleagues.
- "We then identify a neural substrate in a highly conserved ancient structure, the LHb. LHb neurons signal subjective value, integrating information's value with extrinsic rewards, and the LHb predicts and causally influences ongoing decisions.
- Neurons in key input areas to the LHb largely signal components of these computations, not integrated value signals."
DOH! DUH, DUH + Duh!
"Our work may explain why alterations in the LHb could have broad effects on mood and motivation in everyday life," the researchers wrote. "Its highly integrated code means that it could be engaged by diverse motivational goals."Overall, the findings of this study suggest that the LHb simultaneously fulfills two key functions, namely that of
(1) helping primates to learn what environments produce advantageous outcomes and
(2) giving them the motivational push to access these environments.
(2) giving them the motivational push to access these environments.
These functions, which support each other, are often impaired in individuals with various mental disorders.
The results gathered by the research team could soon inspire further studies examining the LHb in the context of subjective value-based decision-making. In addition, they could contribute to future efforts aimed at developing therapeutic interventions targeting the LHb.
More information: A neural mechanism for conserved value computations integrating information and rewards. Nature Neuroscience(2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01511-4.
Journal information: Nature Neuroscience
"Bring That War To A Close" - Erik Prince Explains Why Ukraine Needs To ...
Blackwater founder calls for ‘ugly peace’ in Ukraine
The West should recognize Crimea and Donbass as part of Russia in order to freeze the conflict, Erik Prince has said
The West should pull the plug on the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible because it will not be able to outperform Russia’s defense industry, Erik Prince, founder of the American private military company Blackwater has said.
Speaking to the podcast PBD on Friday, Prince, who served as the CEO of the mercenary group until 2009 and now heads Frontier Resource Group, a private equity fund, expressed doubts about whether Kiev and its Western backers could prevail in the conflict with Russia, which has just entered its third year.
“We need to bring this war to a close because all Ukraine is doing right now is destroying itself demographically,” he said, adding that hostilities are “chewing up the next generation of Ukrainian manpower,” which will be almost impossible to replace.
“The Western defense base is pathetic and you’re not going to out-conventional war the Russian bear,” Prince argued.
According to the former US Navy SEAL, in this light, the “ugly peace” and a freeze in hostilities would be a better option both for Kiev and its Western supporters than “whatever their idea of an ideal war is,” adding “let them [Russia] keep Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk. Whatever.”
The majority Russian-speaking Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol voted overwhelmingly to become part of Russia in a 2014 referendum after a Western-backed coup in Kiev. Donetsk and Lugansk, regions which had declared independence from Ukraine, followed suit in September, 2022 after the start of the current conflict.
However, Prince did not mention Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which also held successful referendums to join Russia in the fall of 2022.
“It’s not the American taxpayer’s obligation to spend another hundred billion in Ukraine when there’s been significant corruption and really nothing to show for it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk appeared to agree with Prince. Commenting on the Blackwater CEO’s quotes, which were cited by American investor David Sacks, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Unfortunately, that is true.”
Russia maintains it is open to talks on Ukraine; however, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree banning talks with the current leadership in Moscow after the referendums in Kiev’s four former regions, which it immediately condemned as illegitimate.
At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last year that Moscow is opposed to a freeze in the Ukraine conflict, saying that it will not stop until its goals are accomplished and national interests protected by military or other means. Russia has repeatedly said that its main goals are to “denazify” and “demilitarize” Ukraine.
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