Future planning: default network activity couples with frontoparietal control network and reward-processing regions...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Goal-directed simulations are common but their neural underpinnings are not fully understood.
• Previous neuroimaging studies primarily focused on executive functions in the frontal lobe.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural basis of process simulations (imagining steps) and outcome simulations (imagining goal achievement).
• To test hypotheses regarding the involvement of default, frontoparietal control, and reward-processing networks.

Main Methods:

• Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing process simulation, outcome simulation, and control tasks.
• Functional connectivity analyses were conducted using seed regions including posterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior inferior parietal lobule, medial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala.

Main Results:

• Brain activity during process simulations correlated with default and frontoparietal control network regions.
• Outcome simulations showed correlated activity between medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, linking to default and reward-processing regions.
• Functional connectivity confirmed distinct network recruitment for process versus outcome simulations.

Conclusions:

• The brain utilizes distinct networks for simulating the process of goal attainment versus the affective outcomes of achieving goals.
• Findings elucidate the neural architecture supporting future-oriented thought and motivation.