Biologically plausible mechanisms underlying motor response correction during reward-based decision-making

Abstract

Our propensity to acclimate to new surroundings and choose a goal-directed behavior for maximal reward (i.e., optimal outcome) is natural, for it affects our survival. A line of studies suggested that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a potential hub for regulating adaptive behaviors. For instance, an experimental study noted ACC contribution to selecting motor response for maximal reward; it found 1) that ACC neurons were selectively activated when reward was reduced and 2) that the suppression of ACC activity impaired monkeys' ability to change motor response to gain maximal reward. Then, how does ACC modulate motor responses? To address this question, we sought biologically-plausible mechanisms that can account for experimental findings mentioned above.Here, we built a computational model that can replicate the observed ACC activity patterns. Our simulation results raise the possibility that ACC can correct behavioral response by reading out and updating motor plans (guiding future motor responses) stored in prefrontal cortex (PFC).