51
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Kolling N, Wittmann MK, Behrens TEJ, Boorman ED, Mars RB, Rushworth MFS. Value, search, persistence and model updating in anterior cingulate cortex. Nat Neurosci 2017; 19:1280-5. [PMID: 27669988 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 277] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) carries a wealth of value-related information necessary for regulating behavioral flexibility and persistence. It signals error and reward events informing decisions about switching or staying with current behavior. During decision-making, it encodes the average value of exploring alternative choices (search value), even after controlling for response selection difficulty, and during learning, it encodes the degree to which internal models of the environment and current task must be updated. dACC value signals are derived in part from the history of recent reward integrated simultaneously over multiple time scales, thereby enabling comparison of experience over the recent and extended past. Such ACC signals may instigate attentionally demanding and difficult processes such as behavioral change via interactions with prefrontal cortex. However, the signal in dACC that instigates behavioral change need not itself be a conflict or difficulty signal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Kolling
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim E J Behrens
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (MRI), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Erie D Boorman
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (MRI), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (MRI), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (MRI), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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52
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Alexander WH, Vassena E, Deraeve J, Langford ZD. Integrative Modeling of Prefrontal Cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 29:1674-1683. [PMID: 28430041 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
pFC is generally regarded as a region critical for abstract reasoning and high-level cognitive behaviors. As such, it has become the focus of intense research involving a wide variety of subdisciplines of neuroscience and employing a diverse range of methods. However, even as the amount of data on pFC has increased exponentially, it appears that progress toward understanding the general function of the region across a broad array of contexts has not kept pace. Effects observed in pFC are legion, and their interpretations are generally informed by a particular perspective or methodology with little regard with how those effects may apply more broadly. Consequently, the number of specific roles and functions that have been identified makes the region a very crowded place indeed and one that appears unlikely to be explained by a single general principle. In this theoretical article, we describe how the function of large portions of pFC can be accommodated by a single explanatory framework based on the computation and manipulation of error signals and how this framework may be extended to account for additional parts of pFC.
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53
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Strength and Diversity of Inhibitory Signaling Differentiates Primate Anterior Cingulate from Lateral Prefrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2017; 37:4717-4734. [PMID: 28381592 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3757-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Revised: 03/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the primate play distinctive roles in the mediation of complex cognitive tasks. Compared with the LPFC, integration of information by the ACC can span longer timescales and requires stronger engagement of inhibitory processes. Here, we reveal the synaptic mechanism likely to underlie these differences using in vitro patch-clamp recordings of synaptic events and multiscale imaging of synaptic markers in rhesus monkeys. Although excitatory synaptic signaling does not differ, the level of synaptic inhibition is much higher in ACC than LPFC layer 3 pyramidal neurons, with a significantly higher frequency (∼6×) and longer duration of inhibitory synaptic currents. The number of inhibitory synapses and the ratio of cholecystokinin to parvalbumin-positive inhibitory inputs are also significantly higher in ACC compared with LPFC neurons. Therefore, inhibition is functionally and structurally more robust and diverse in ACC than in LPFC, resulting in a lower excitatory: inhibitory ratio and a greater dynamic range for signal integration and network oscillation by the ACC. These differences in inhibitory circuitry likely underlie the distinctive network dynamics in ACC and LPC during normal and pathological brain states.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) play temporally distinct roles during the execution of cognitive tasks (rapid working memory during ongoing tasks and long-term memory to guide future action, respectively). Compared with LPFC-mediated tasks, ACC-mediated tasks can span longer timescales and require stronger engagement of inhibition. This study shows that inhibitory signaling is much more robust and diverse in the ACC than in the LPFC. Therefore, there is a lower excitatory: inhibitory synaptic ratio and a greater dynamic range for signal integration and oscillatory behavior in the ACC. These significant differences in inhibitory synaptic transmission form an important basis for the differential timing of cognitive processing by the LPFC and ACC in normal and pathological brain states.
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54
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Checking behavior in rhesus monkeys is related to anxiety and frontal activity. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45267. [PMID: 28349919 PMCID: PMC5368664 DOI: 10.1038/srep45267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
When facing doubt, humans can go back over a performed action in order to optimize subsequent performance. The present study aimed to establish and characterize physiological doubt and checking behavior in non-human primates (NHP). We trained two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in a newly designed “Check-or-Go” task that allows the animal to repeatedly check and change the availability of a reward before making the final decision towards obtaining that reward. By manipulating the ambiguity of a visual cue in which the reward status is embedded, we successfully modulated animal certainty and created doubt that led the animals to check. This voluntary checking behavior was further characterized by making EEG recordings and measuring correlated changes in salivary cortisol. Our data show that monkeys have the metacognitive ability to express voluntary checking behavior similar to that observed in humans, which depends on uncertainty monitoring, relates to anxiety and involves brain frontal areas.
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55
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Kaplan R, King J, Koster R, Penny WD, Burgess N, Friston KJ. The Neural Representation of Prospective Choice during Spatial Planning and Decisions. PLoS Biol 2017; 15:e1002588. [PMID: 28081125 PMCID: PMC5231323 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We are remarkably adept at inferring the consequences of our actions, yet the neuronal mechanisms that allow us to plan a sequence of novel choices remain unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the human brain plans the shortest path to a goal in novel mazes with one (shallow maze) or two (deep maze) choice points. We observed two distinct anterior prefrontal responses to demanding choices at the second choice point: one in rostrodorsal medial prefrontal cortex (rd-mPFC)/superior frontal gyrus (SFG) that was also sensitive to (deactivated by) demanding initial choices and another in lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), which was only engaged by demanding choices at the second choice point. Furthermore, we identified hippocampal responses during planning that correlated with subsequent choice accuracy and response time, particularly in mazes affording sequential choices. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses showed that coupling between the hippocampus and rd-mPFC increases during sequential (deep versus shallow) planning and is higher before correct versus incorrect choices. In short, using a naturalistic spatial planning paradigm, we reveal how the human brain represents sequential choices during planning without extensive training. Our data highlight a network centred on the cortical midline and hippocampus that allows us to make prospective choices while maintaining initial choices during planning in novel environments. Using neuroimaging and computational modelling, this study explains how the human brain represents initial versus subsequent choices during spatial planning in novel environments. We are remarkably adept at inferring the consequences of our actions, even in novel situations. However, the neuronal mechanisms that allow us to plan a sequence of novel choices remain a mystery. One hypothesis is that anterior prefrontal brain regions can jump ahead from an initial decision to evaluate subsequent choices. Here, we examine how the brain represents initial versus subsequent choices of varying difficulty during spatial planning in novel environments. Specifically, participants visually searched for the shortest path to a goal in pictures of novel mazes that contained one or two path junctions. We monitored the participants’ brain activity during the task with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We observed, in the anterior prefrontal brain, two distinct responses to demanding choices at the second junction: one in the rostrodorsal medial prefrontal cortex (rd-mPFC), which also signalled less demanding initial choices, and another one in the lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), which was only engaged by demanding choices at the second junction. Notably, interactions of the rd-mPFC with the hippocampus, a region associated with memory, increased when planning required extensive deliberation and particularly when planning led to accurate choices. Our findings show how humans can rapidly formulate a plan in novel environments. More broadly, these data uncover potential neural mechanisms underlying how we make inferences about states beyond a current subjective state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Kaplan
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - John King
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Clinical, Education and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Raphael Koster
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - William D. Penny
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Neil Burgess
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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56
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Scholl J, Kolling N, Nelissen N, Stagg CJ, Harmer CJ, Rushworth MFS. Excitation and inhibition in anterior cingulate predict use of past experiences. eLife 2017; 6:e20365. [PMID: 28055824 PMCID: PMC5213710 DOI: 10.7554/elife.20365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) mediates updating and maintenance of cognitive models of the world used to drive adaptive reward-guided behavior. We investigated the neurochemical underpinnings of this process. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy in humans, to measure levels of glutamate and GABA in dACC. We examined their relationship to neural signals in dACC, measured with fMRI, and cognitive task performance. Both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters in dACC were predictive of the strength of neural signals in dACC and behavioral adaptation. Glutamate levels were correlated, first, with stronger neural activity representing information to be learnt about the tasks' costs and benefits and, second, greater use of this information in the guidance of behavior. GABA levels were negatively correlated with the same neural signals and the same indices of behavioral influence. Our results suggest that glutamate and GABA in dACC affect the encoding and use of past experiences to guide behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Scholl
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nils Kolling
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Natalie Nelissen
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte J Stagg
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Matthew FS Rushworth
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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57
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Cavanagh SE, Wallis JD, Kennerley SW, Hunt LT. Autocorrelation structure at rest predicts value correlates of single neurons during reward-guided choice. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27705742 PMCID: PMC5052031 DOI: 10.7554/elife.18937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlates of value are routinely observed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during reward-guided decision making. In previous work (Hunt et al., 2015), we argued that PFC correlates of chosen value are a consequence of varying rates of a dynamical evidence accumulation process. Yet within PFC, there is substantial variability in chosen value correlates across individual neurons. Here we show that this variability is explained by neurons having different temporal receptive fields of integration, indexed by examining neuronal spike rate autocorrelation structure whilst at rest. We find that neurons with protracted resting temporal receptive fields exhibit stronger chosen value correlates during choice. Within orbitofrontal cortex, these neurons also sustain coding of chosen value from choice through the delivery of reward, providing a potential neural mechanism for maintaining predictions and updating stored values during learning. These findings reveal that within PFC, variability in temporal specialisation across neurons predicts involvement in specific decision-making computations. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.18937.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean E Cavanagh
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joni D Wallis
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Steven W Kennerley
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Laurence T Hunt
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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