Evidence accumulation, not 'self-control', explains dorsolateral prefrontal activation during normative choice

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is traditionally linked to controlled inhibition of default preferences during normative behavior.
• Alternative models propose that dlPFC activation reflects value-based evidence accumulation rather than solely suppressing hedonistic impulses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of dlPFC activity in normative choices, specifically generosity and healthy eating.
• To test whether dlPFC activation patterns align with inhibition models or evidence accumulation models.

Main Methods:

• Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) across three distinct experimental paradigms.
• Employed evidence accumulation models to predict and analyze trial-by-trial dlPFC responses.
• Examined self-control contexts including altruistic sacrifice and healthy eating decisions.

Main Results:

• Evidence accumulation models accurately predicted trial-by-trial dlPFC activity variations.
• Contrary to inhibition theories, dlPFC response decreased or reversed for norm-consistent choices under deliberate self-regulation.
• Increased dlPFC activity was observed for hedonistic, self-interested choices when focused on normative goals.

Conclusions:

• dlPFC's role in normative choice is better explained by value-based evidence accumulation than by inhibiting default preferences.
• The observed pattern suggests a dynamic interplay between value computation and self-regulation in decision-making.