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Hierarchical reasoning by neural circuits in the frontal cortex.
Morteza Sarafyazd1, Mehrdad Jazayeri2
1Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 18, 2019
Summary
Humans assess confidence to resolve ambiguity in hierarchical reasoning. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) specifically infers covert rule switches, revealing neural mechanisms for complex decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Humans process information hierarchically, leading to ambiguity in failure attribution.
- Confidence assessment is a key strategy humans use to resolve this ambiguity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural basis of hierarchical reasoning and confidence assessment.
- To elucidate the roles of the dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in inferring rule switches.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings from DMFC and ACC in monkeys performing a task with ambiguous negative outcomes.
- Perturbation experiments to determine causal roles of DMFC and ACC in rule inference.
Main Results:
- Both DMFC and ACC represented evidence supporting a rule switch.
- ACC was found to function downstream of DMFC.
- ACC was directly and specifically involved in inferring covert rule switches.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals computational principles of hierarchical reasoning implemented by cortical circuits.
- Differentiates the roles of DMFC and ACC in complex decision-making and rule inference.
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