Apathy is associated with reduced precision of prior beliefs about action outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Apathy is a debilitating syndrome that is associated with reduced goal-directed behavior. Although apathy is common and detrimental to prognosis in many neuropsychiatric diseases, its underlying mechanisms remain controversial. We propose a new model of apathy, in the context of Bayesian theories of brain function, whereby actions require predictions of their outcomes to be held with sufficient precision for "explaining away" differences in sensory inputs. In the active inference model, apathy results from reduced precision of prior beliefs about action outcomes. We tested this hypothesis using a visuomotor task in healthy adults (N = 47), with experimental manipulation of physical effort and financial reward. Bayesian modeling of performance and participants' perception of their performan

SUBMITTER: Hezemans FH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7397861 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature