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Interactions between decision making and performance monitoring within prefrontal cortex
Mark E Walton1, Joseph T Devlin, Matthew F S Rushworth
1Department of Experimental Psychology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, England, UK. mark.walton@psy.ox.ac.uk
Nature Neuroscience
|October 21, 2004
Summary
Our brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Decision Making
Background:
- Rational decision-making relies on judging action consequences.
- Prefrontal cortex regions are implicated in this ability.
- Differentiating frontal lobe functions is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct roles of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACd) in monitoring behavioral outcomes.
- To understand how volition influences the neural assessment of choice consequences.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed.
- Participants' decisions were either self-generated or experimenter-guided.
- Neural activation in OFC and ACd was measured and correlated.
Main Results:
- OFC and ACd showed complementary and reciprocal activation patterns.
- Self-generated decisions led to increased ACd and decreased OFC activation.
- Experimenter-guided responses reversed this activation pattern.
Conclusions:
- The neural mechanisms for assessing choice consequences differ based on volition.
- OFC and ACd play distinct, interacting roles in outcome monitoring.
- This research clarifies functional segregation within the human prefrontal cortex.