Dataset Information

Neurons in posterior cingulate cortex signal exploratory decisions in a dynamic multioption choice task.

ABSTRACT: In dynamic environments, adaptive behavior requires striking a balance between harvesting currently available rewards (exploitation) and gathering information about alternative options (exploration). Such strategic decisions should incorporate not only recent reward history, but also opportunity costs and environmental statistics. Previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have implicated orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum in distinguishing between bouts of exploration and exploitation. Nonetheless, the neuronal mechanisms that underlie strategy selection remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that posterior cingulate cortex (CGp), an area linking reward processing, attention, memory, and motor control systems, mediates the integration of variables such as reward, uncertainty, and target location that underlie this dynamic balance. Here we show that CGp neurons distinguish between exploratory and exploitative decisions made by monkeys in a dynamic foraging task. Moreover, firing rates of these neurons predict in graded fashion the strategy most likely to be selected on upcoming trials. This encoding is distinct from switching between targets and is independent of the absolute magnitudes of rewards. These observations implicate CGp in the integration of individual outcomes across decision making and the modification of strategy in dynamic environments.

SUBMITTER: Pearson JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3515083 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neurons in posterior cingulate cortex signal exploratory decisions in a dynamic multioption choice task.

Pearson John M JM Hayden Benjamin Y BY Raghavachari Sridhar S Platt Michael L ML

Current biology : CB 20090903 18

In dynamic environments, adaptive behavior requires striking a balance between harvesting currently available rewards (exploitation) and gathering information about alternative options (exploration). Such strategic decisions should incorporate not only recent reward history, but also opportunity costs and environmental statistics. Previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have implicated orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum in distinguishing between bo ...[more]

PMID: 19733074

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Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of toxic misfolded proteins, which are believed to have propagated from disease-specific epicenters through their corresponding large-scale structural networks in the brain. Although previous cross-sectional studies have identified potential AD-associated epicenters and corresponding brain networks, it is unclear whether these networks are associated with disease progression. Hence, this study aims to identify the most vulnerable epicenters and corresponding large-scale structural networks involved in the early stages of AD and to evaluate its associations with multiple cognitive domains using longitudinal study design. Annual neuropsychological and MRI assessments were obtained from 23 patients with AD, 37 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 33 healthy controls (HC) for 3 years. Candidate epicenters were identified as regions with faster decline rate in the gray matter volume (GMV) in patients with MCI who progressed to AD as compared to those regions in patients without progression. These epicenters were then further used as pre-defined regions of interest to map the synchronized degeneration network (SDN) in HCs. Spatial similarity, network preference and clinical association analyses were used to evaluate the specific roles of the identified SDNs. Our results demonstrated that the hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were the most vulnerable AD-associated epicenters. The corresponding PCC-SDN showed significant spatial association with the patterns of GMV atrophy rate in each patient group and the overlap of these patterns was more evident in the advanced stages of the disease. Furthermore, individuals with a higher GMV atrophy rate of the PCC-SDN also showed faster decline in multiple cognitive domains. In conclusion, our findings suggest the PCC and hippocampus are two vulnerable regions involved early in AD pathophysiology. However, the PCC-SDN, but not hippocampus-SDN, was more closely associated with AD progression. These results may provide insight into the pathophysiology of AD from large-scale network perspective.

Dataset Information

Neurons in posterior cingulate cortex signal exploratory decisions in a dynamic multioption choice task.

Publications

Neurons in posterior cingulate cortex signal exploratory decisions in a dynamic multioption choice task.

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