Dorsal anterior cingulate-brainstem ensemble as a reinforcement meta-learner.

ABSTRACT: Optimal decision-making is based on integrating information from several dimensions of decisional space (e.g., reward expectation, cost estimation, effort exertion). Despite considerable empirical and theoretical efforts, the computational and neural bases of such multidimensional integration have remained largely elusive. Here we propose that the current theoretical stalemate may be broken by considering the computational properties of a cortical-subcortical circuit involving the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the brainstem neuromodulatory nuclei: ventral tegmental area (VTA) and locus coeruleus (LC). From this perspective, the dACC optimizes decisions about stimuli and actions, and using the same computational machinery, it also modulates cortical functions (meta-learning),

SUBMITTER: Silvetti M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6126878 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature