Exploration Disrupts Choice-Predictive Signals and Alters Dynamics in Prefrontal Cortex

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Decision-Making

Background:

• Balancing exploitation and exploration is crucial in uncertain environments.
• How these states affect sensory-to-action transformations in the brain remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate how exploration and exploitation influence neural activity and control dynamics in the brain.
• Understand the neural mechanisms underlying the transition between exploring and exploiting.

Main Methods:

• Recorded neural activity in a prefrontal sensorimotor area in monkeys.
• Monkeys naturally transitioned between exploring and exploiting rewarding options.

Main Results:

• Exploration significantly reduced spatially selective, choice-predictive neural activity.
• Exploration delayed population dynamics predictive of choices.
• Exploration enhanced reward learning behaviorally and neurally.

Conclusions:

• Exploration is associated with disruptions in prefrontal sensorimotor control.
• Rapid, reward-dependent reorganization of control dynamics may facilitate discovery.
• Neural mechanisms underlying exploration support trial-and-error learning.