The neural representation of prospective choice during spatial planning and decisions

Kaplan, Raphael, King, John, Koster, Raphael, Penny, William D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9064-1191, Burgess, Neil and Friston, Karl J. (2017) The neural representation of prospective choice during spatial planning and decisions. PLoS Biology, 15 (1). ISSN 1545-7885

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Abstract

We are remarkably adept at inferring the consequences of our actions, yet the neuronal mechanisms that allow us to plan a sequence of novel choices remain unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the human brain plans the shortest path to a goal in novel mazes with one (shallow maze) or two (deep maze) choice points. We observed two distinct anterior prefrontal responses to demanding choices at the second choice point: one in rostrodorsal medial prefrontal cortex (rd-mPFC)/superior frontal gyrus (SFG) that was also sensitive to (deactivated by) demanding initial choices and another in lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), which was only engaged by demanding choices at the second choice point. Furthermore, we identified hippocampal responses during planning that correlated with subsequent choice accuracy and response time, particularly in mazes affording sequential choices. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses showed that coupling between the hippocampus and rd-mPFC increases during sequential (deep versus shallow) planning and is higher before correct versus incorrect choices. In short, using a naturalistic spatial planning paradigm, we reveal how the human brain represents sequential choices during planning without extensive training. Our data highlight a network centred on the cortical midline and hippocampus that allows us to make prospective choices while maintaining initial choices during planning in novel environments.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adult,brain,brain mapping,choice behavior,decision making,female,frontal lobe,hippocampus,humans,magnetic resonance imaging,male,prefrontal cortex,psychophysiology,reaction time,space perception,young adult
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2017 05:06
Last Modified:	31 Jan 2024 02:16
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/64575
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pbio.1002588

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