HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article
Front. Syst. Neurosci.
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2025.1649748
A Valuation Based Theory of Learning's Origin and Development
Provisionally accepted
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
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This paper proposes that learning in animals occurs thru sleep and is fundamentally driven by dynamic information valuation processes. These take the form of either pain and pleasure sensations or the more nuanced emotions that evolved from them. Acting as value identifiers, these sensations and emotions enable animals, from the simplest to the most complex, to mark valuable experiences for both retention and later recall. In this way, the paper argues that learning itself is made possible. The remainder of the paper explores the cognitive, neurological and behavioural implications of this framework, including several novel, testable hypotheses derived from it.
Keywords: Learning, Sleep, Emotions, Information valuation, dreaming
Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 15 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Moneymaker. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vincent Moneymaker, vbmoneymaker@gmail.com
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