 |
| Research article summary (published 9 Jun 2009): |
How green is the grass on the other side? Frontopolar cortex and the evidence in favor of alternative courses of action.
Full Abstract
Behavioral flexibility is the hallmark of goal-directed behavior. Whereas a great deal is known about the neural substrates of behavioral adjustment when it is explicitly cued by features of the external environment, little is known about how we adapt our behavior when such changes are made on the basis of uncertain evidence. Using a Bayesian reinforcement-learning model and fMRI, we show that frontopolar cortex (FPC) tracks the relative advantage in favor of switching to a foregone alternative when choices are made voluntarily. Changes in FPC functional connectivity occur when subjects finally decide to switch to the alternative behavior. Moreover, interindividual variation in the FPC signal predicts interindividual differences in effectively adapting behavior. By contrast, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encodes the relative value of the current decision. Collectively, these findings reveal complementary prefrontal computations essential for promoting short- and long-term behavioral flexibility.
Author information
Author/s: Boorman, Erie D (ED); Behrens, Timothy E J (TE); Woolrich, Mark W (MW); Rushworth, Matthew F S (MF);
Affiliation: Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford, Oxford 0X3 9DU, UK. erie.boorman(-atsign-)psy.ox.ac.uk
Grants: (Agency:Medical Research Council) ; (Agency:Wellcome Trust)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Neuron (Neuron), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2009-Jun; vol 62 (issue 5) : pp 733-43
Dates: Created 2009/06/15; Completed 2009/06/26;
PMID: 19524531, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/26/2009, IMS Date: 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
Comments and Corrections
CommentIn: Neuron. 2009 Jun 11;62(5):609-11. (PMID: 19524521)
External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
Related articles
This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.