A Distinct Neural Code Supports Prospection of Future Probabilities During Instrumental Information-Seeking.

ABSTRACT: To make adaptive decisions, we must actively demand information, but relatively little is known about the mechanisms of active information gathering. An open question is how the brain estimates expected information gains (EIG) when comparing the current decision uncertainty with the uncertainty that is expected after gathering information. We examined this question using fMRI in a task in which people placed bids to obtain information in conditions that varied independently by prior decision uncertainty, information diagnosticity, and the penalty for an erroneous choice. Consistent with value of information theory, bids were sensitive to EIG and its components of prior certainty and expected posterior certainty. Expected posterior certainty was decoded above chance from multivoxel activati

SUBMITTER: Singletary NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10705234 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature