Creatures Caves

OK, I was thinking about how a norn can alleviate boredom by standing pushing an elevator button nonstop. My impression of real-life creatures, in contrast, is that doing pretty much anything nonstop tends to be boring, and shifting to something new is what alleviates boredom. But norns have no way of telling that they've hit that elevator button 15 times already.

So, I was thinking I'd like norns who can tell what they were just doing and compare it to what they're currently doing. I was thinking maybe have a couple of lobes that copy what the attention and decision lobes are doing, but change more slowly than those lobes. And then wire stuff up so boredom is released when those copy lobes show the same thing as their corresponding lobes, and lowered when they're different. I'd also like some way for them to learn from this - which would have the added bonus of making them able to use dispensers and such without needing instincts!

Problem is, I don't really understand norn brains. Could anyone give me some advice on how I might do this?

By the way, I don't care if anyone steals my ideas for their own work, as long as you don't try to stop me from making my own stuff. Many ideas I mention are things I don't have the time or skill to actually do.