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Computations and Connectivity Underlying Aversive Counterfactuals.

Colleen Mills-Finnerty1, Catherine Hanson2, Mohannad Khadr3

  • 1Palo Alto Veterans Administration Health Care System, Stanford University Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Palo Alto, California, USA.

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|August 27, 2020
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Summary

Mentally simulating negative scenarios, like in "would you rather" games, shows framing effects influence decisions. Brain connectivity and computational modeling reveal how approach vs. avoidance choices impact decision-making processes.

Keywords:
connectivitycorticostriatal circuitcounterfactualdecision makingvalue

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Decision Making
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Mental simulation of counterfactuals is key to human cognition, creativity, and planning.
  • The "would you rather" game exemplifies choices between negative counterfactuals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate behavioral and neural correlates of making choices about aversive counterfactual scenarios.
  • To examine the influence of framing (approach vs. avoidance) on decision-making and brain activity.

Main Methods:

  • Participants made "would you rather" choices framed as approaching or avoiding negative counterfactuals.
  • Behavioral data (reaction times) and brain imaging (fMRI) were collected.
  • Bayesian graph connectivity analysis and computational modeling were employed.

Main Results:

  • Participants responded significantly slower to approach frames than avoidance frames, indicating framing susceptibility.
  • Brain imaging revealed activation patterns consistent with aversive stimulus processing networks, with differing connectivity for approach vs. avoidance choices.
  • Computational modeling showed approach frames led to longer nondecision times and altered evidence accumulation compared to avoidance frames.

Conclusions:

  • Decisions about aversive counterfactuals differentially recruit limbic circuit connectivity based on choice framing.
  • Cognitive evaluations of counterfactuals involve flexible representations influenced by framing.
  • Findings have implications for understanding prospective decision-making.