Optimal decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex

Kennerley, Steven W.; Walton, Mark E.; Behrens, Timothy E.J.; Buckley, Mark J.; Rushworth, Matthew F. S.

doi:10.1038/nn1724

Cited by 837 publications

(812 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Third, following the behavioral response to a target stimulus, neuronal groups in ACC signal whether the behavioral response was incorrect or resulted in unexpected reward outcome (10-13). Consequently, ACC neurons signal the adjustment of behavior following changes in task demands or unexpected outcomes on previous trials (8,14,15).Taken together, these findings show that neuronal activity in ACC reflects major functions underlying successful cognitive control. However, the question of exactly how these diverse functions arise in neuronal spiking responses within the ACC and how they are communicated dynamically during task processing to other nodes of the cognitive control network remains unresolved.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

Theta-activity in anterior cingulate cortex predicts task rules and their adjustments following errors

Womelsdorf

Johnston

Vinck

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

211

153

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Accomplishing even simple tasks depend on neuronal circuits to configure how incoming sensory stimuli map onto responses. Controlling these stimulus-response (SR) mapping rules relies on a cognitive control network comprising the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Single neurons within the ACC convey information about currently relevant SR mapping rules and signal unexpected action outcomes, which can be used to optimize behavioral choices. However, its functional significance and the mechanistic means of interaction with other nodes of the cognitive control network remain elusive and poorly understood. Here, we report that core aspects of cognitive control are encoded by rhythmic theta-band activity within neuronal circuits in the ACC. Throughout task performance, theta-activity predicted which of two SR mapping rules will be established before processing visual target information. Task-selective theta-activity emerged particularly early during those trials, which required the adjustment of SR rules following an erroneous rule representation in the preceding trial. These findings demonstrate a functional correlation of cognitive control processes and oscillatory theta-band activity in macaque ACC. Moreover, we report that spike output of a subset of cells in ACC is synchronized to predictive theta-activity, suggesting that the theta-cycle could serve as a temporal reference for coordinating local task selective computations across a larger network of frontal areas and the hippocampus to optimize and adjust the processing routes of sensory and motor circuits to achieve efficient sensory-motor control.cognitive control | theta-synchronization | attention | oscillation | antisaccade C ognitive control refers to those neuronal processes responsible for assembling task-relevant information, which in turn biases sensory and motor pathways for efficient communication during task processing. Two core functions of cognitive control are (i) the implementation and maintenance of task-relevant stimulusresponse (SR) mapping rules, and (ii) the adjustment and optimization of such representations during task performance according to behavioral outcome. Both functions are subserved by a mosaic of interconnected neuronal groups distributed within frontal cortex (1-4). The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the key nodes within this cognitive control network, conveying task relevant information at various time intervals during task processing (5, 6). First, during preparatory periods, ACC neurons convey signals selective for the currently relevant SR mapping rule (7), and allow inferences with respect to changes in SR mapping triggered by either an incorrect response, or an explicit cue to change SR mapping (8). Second, during stimulus processing and delay epochs in working memory paradigms, subsets of neurons encode the expected reward outcome associated with the stimulus (9). Third, following the behavioral response to a target stimulus, neuronal groups in ACC signal whether the behavioral response was incorrect or result...

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mentioning

confidence: 72%

Theta-activity in anterior cingulate cortex predicts task rules and their adjustments following errors

Womelsdorf

Johnston

Vinck

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

211

153

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“…Due to this probabilistic nature, participants cannot infer which stimulus is more advantageous based on the outcome of a single trial but need to integrate reinforcement history over time in order to optimize behavior (cf. Kennerley et al, 2006). In prior studies in non-clinical samples, subjects reporting elevated depressive symptoms showed reduced responsiveness to the more frequently rewarded stimulus ; moreover, reward responsiveness negatively correlated with self-reported anhedonic symptoms (Bogdan and Pizzagalli, 2006;, and predicted these symptoms one month later .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The medial prefrontal cortex, for example, has been found to be critically involved in response to single reward deliveries (e.g., Dillon et al, 2008;Knutson et al, 2003), while dorsal anterior cingulate regions play an important role in integrating reinforcement history over time (e.g., Ernst et al, 2004;Rogers et al, 2004). In a notable study in non-human primates, Kennerley et al (2006) recently showed that dorsal anterior cingulate lesions impaired monkeys' ability to integrate reinforcement history over time, which led to an inability to learn which of two differentially rewarded responses was most advantageous, while sparing the animals' ability to respond to single feedback trials. These findings suggest that dorsal anterior cingulate regions are critically involved in integrating reinforcement history necessary to guide goal-directed behavior (Rushworth et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced hedonic capacity in major depressive disorder: Evidence from a probabilistic reward task

Pizzagalli

Iosifescu

Hallett

et al. 2008

Journal of Psychiatric Research

651

693

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Objective-Anhedonia, the lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, is a cardinal feature of depression that has received renewed interest as a potential endophenotype of this debilitating disease. The goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that individuals with major depression are characterized by blunted reward responsiveness, particularly when anhedonic symptoms are prominent.Methods-A probabilistic reward task rooted within signal-detection theory was utilized to objectively assess hedonic capacity in 23 unmedicated subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) and 25 matched control subjects recruited from the community. Hedonic capacity was defined as reward responsiveness -i.e., the participants' propensity to modulate behavior as a function of reward.Results-Compared to controls, MDD subjects showed significantly reduced reward responsiveness. Trial-by-trial probability analyses revealed that MDD subjects, while responsive to delivery of single rewards, were impaired at integrating reinforcement history over time and expressing a response bias toward a more frequently rewarded cue in the absence of immediate reward. This selective impairment correlated with self-reported anhedonic symptoms, even after considering anxiety symptoms and general distress.Conclusions-These findings indicate that MDD is characterized by an impaired tendency to modulate behavior as a function of prior reinforcements, and provides initial clues about which aspects of hedonic processing might be dysfunctional in depression.

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“…current understanding regarding Acc in decision-making suggests that this region is critically involved in adaptative learning of decision values in a changing environment 59 . Kennerley and colleagues have shown that monkeys with Acc lesions fail to make the optimal decision choices based on previous gain and losses, when reward/action contingencies are manipulated 96 . Furthermore, Behrens and colleagues presented compelling evidence of Acc activation in tasks simulating naturalistic settings of "environmental volatility", whereby reward probabilities were dynamically manipulated 90 .…”

Section: Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex and Dopamine: Decoding Decisimentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurobiology of apathy in Alzheimer's disease

Guimarães

Lévy²,

Teixeira

et al. 2008

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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-Apathy is considered the most frequent neuropsychiatric disturbance in dementia and its outcome is generally deleterious. Apathy can be related to a dysfunction of the anatomical-system that supports the generation of voluntary actions, namely the prefrontal cortex and/or the prefrontal-subcortical circuits. In Alzheimer's disease, pathological and neuroimaging data indicate that apathy is likely due to a dysfunction of the medial prefrontal cortex. Accordingly, in this review article, we propose a pathophysiological model to explain apathetic behavior in Alzheimer's disease, combining data from neuroimaging, neuropathology and experimental research on the role of orbito-frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, basal ganglia and dopamine in decision-making neurobiology.Key words: apathy, Alzheimer's disease, decision-making, orbito-frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, basal ganglia, dopamine. Neurobiologia da apatia na doença de alzheimerResumo -Apatia é considerada a alteração neuropsiquiátrica mais freqüente nas demências e suas conseqüências são habitualmente deletérias. Apatia pode ser relacionada à disfunção do sistema anatômico responsável pela geração de ações voluntárias, conhecido com córtex pré-frontal e/ou circuitos pré-frontais-subcorticais. Na doença de Alzheimer, evidências neuropatológicas e de neuroimagem funcional indicam que a apatia é provavelmente decorrente da disfunção do córtex pré-frontal medial. Assim, neste artigo de revisão, apresentamos uma proposta de um modelo fisiopatológico para explicar o comportamento apático na doença de Alzheimer, combinando dados de neuropatologia, neuroimagem e experimentação animal sobre o papel do córtex órbito-frontal, cíngulo anterior, núcleos da base e dopamina na neurobiologia da tomada de decisão.PAlAvrAs-chAve: apatia, doença de Alzheimer, tomada de decisão, córtex órbito-frontal, córtex cingulado anterior, núcleos da base, dopamina.

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Optimal decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex

Cited by 837 publications

References 47 publications

Theta-activity in anterior cingulate cortex predicts task rules and their adjustments following errors

Theta-activity in anterior cingulate cortex predicts task rules and their adjustments following errors

Reduced hedonic capacity in major depressive disorder: Evidence from a probabilistic reward task

Neurobiology of apathy in Alzheimer's disease

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