Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence
Abstract The ventromedial prefrontal-cortex (vmPFC) is known to contain expected value signals that inform our choices. But expected values even for the same stimulus can differ by task. In this study, we asked how the brain flexibly switches between such value representations in a task-dependent ma...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38709-w |
| _version_ | 1797811412474527744 |
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| author | Nir Moneta Mona M. Garvert Hauke R. Heekeren Nicolas W. Schuck |
| author_facet | Nir Moneta Mona M. Garvert Hauke R. Heekeren Nicolas W. Schuck |
| author_sort | Nir Moneta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The ventromedial prefrontal-cortex (vmPFC) is known to contain expected value signals that inform our choices. But expected values even for the same stimulus can differ by task. In this study, we asked how the brain flexibly switches between such value representations in a task-dependent manner. Thirty-five participants alternated between tasks in which either stimulus color or motion predicted rewards. We show that multivariate vmPFC signals contain a rich representation that includes the current task state or context (motion/color), the associated expected value, and crucially, the irrelevant value of the alternative context. We also find that irrelevant value representations in vmPFC compete with relevant value signals, interact with task-state representations and relate to behavioral signs of value competition. Our results shed light on vmPFC’s role in decision making, bridging between its role in mapping observations onto the task states of a mental map, and computing expected values for multiple states. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72732546edd94c7fb0c3b1d5e89117aa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:23:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-72732546edd94c7fb0c3b1d5e89117aa2023-06-04T11:32:55ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-05-0114112110.1038/s41467-023-38709-wTask state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influenceNir Moneta0Mona M. Garvert1Hauke R. Heekeren2Nicolas W. Schuck3Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentMax Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentEinstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité Universitätsmedizin BerlinMax Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentAbstract The ventromedial prefrontal-cortex (vmPFC) is known to contain expected value signals that inform our choices. But expected values even for the same stimulus can differ by task. In this study, we asked how the brain flexibly switches between such value representations in a task-dependent manner. Thirty-five participants alternated between tasks in which either stimulus color or motion predicted rewards. We show that multivariate vmPFC signals contain a rich representation that includes the current task state or context (motion/color), the associated expected value, and crucially, the irrelevant value of the alternative context. We also find that irrelevant value representations in vmPFC compete with relevant value signals, interact with task-state representations and relate to behavioral signs of value competition. Our results shed light on vmPFC’s role in decision making, bridging between its role in mapping observations onto the task states of a mental map, and computing expected values for multiple states.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38709-w |
| spellingShingle | Nir Moneta Mona M. Garvert Hauke R. Heekeren Nicolas W. Schuck Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence Nature Communications |
| title | Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| title_full | Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| title_fullStr | Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| title_short | Task state representations in vmPFC mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| title_sort | task state representations in vmpfc mediate relevant and irrelevant value signals and their behavioral influence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38709-w |
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