Neurocomputational mechanisms underlying the subjective value of information.

ABSTRACT: Humans have a striking desire to actively seek new information, even when it is devoid of any instrumental utility. However, the mechanisms that drive individuals' subjective preference for information remain unclear. Here, we used fMRI to examine the processing of subjective information value, by having participants decide how much effort they were willing to trade-off for non-instrumental information. We showed that choices were best described by a model that accounted for: (1) the variability in individuals' estimates of uncertainty, (2) their desire to reduce that uncertainty, and (3) their subjective preference for positively valenced information. Model-based analyses revealed the anterior cingulate as a key node that encodes the subjective value of information across multiple stages

SUBMITTER: Goh AX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8669024 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature