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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Published on: September 16, 2015

Strategic control in decision-making under uncertainty.

Vinod Venkatraman¹, Scott A Huettel

¹Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.

The European Journal of Neuroscience

|April 11, 2012

Summary

Strategic meta-decision processes help simplify complex choices under uncertainty. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) plays a key role in this strategic control, with distinct subregions managing different aspects of decision-making.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Published on: September 16, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Decision Science

Background:

Complex decisions often involve uncertainty, requiring strategic meta-decision processes.
The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is implicated in flexible behavioral control.
Previous research primarily linked dmPFC to executive function, not complex decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

To review evidence demonstrating the dmPFC's contribution to strategic control in complex decision-making.
To explore the functional topography within the dmPFC related to decision control.
To propose specific computational roles for dmPFC subregions in decision-making.

Main Methods:

Literature review of studies on decision-making and prefrontal cortex function.
Analysis of functional topography within the dmPFC.
Examination of how anterior dmPFC activation influences decision problem representation.

Main Results:

The dmPFC contributes significantly to strategic control in complex decision-making.
Posterior dmPFC supports response control, while anterior dmPFC supports strategic control.
Anterior dmPFC activation reflects changes in decision problem representation, influencing brain-wide computations.

Conclusions:

The dmPFC has generalized roles in cognitive control and specific subregional functions in decision-making.
Strategic control mediated by the dmPFC is crucial for navigating complex choices.
These findings extend to decision-making in social and interpersonal contexts.