Zuckerman Mind Brain Behaviour Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
Cereb Cortex. 2020 Mar 14;30(3):1199-1212. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhz160.
Voluntary actions rely on appropriate flexibility of intentions. Usually, we should pursue our goals, but sometimes we should change goals if they become too costly to achieve. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural dynamics underlying the capacity to change one's mind based on new information after action onset. Multivariate pattern analyses revealed that in visual areas, neural representations of intentional choice between 2 visual stimuli were unchanged by additional decision-relevant information. However, in fronto-parietal cortex, representations changed dynamically as decisions evolved. Precuneus, angular gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex encoded new externally cued rewards/costs that guided subsequent changes of mind. Activity in medial frontal cortex predicted changes of mind when participants detached from externally cued evidence, suggesting a role in endogenous decision updates. Finally, trials with changes of mind were associated with an increase in functional connectivity between fronto-parietal areas, allowing for integration of various endogenous and exogenous decision components to generate a distributed consensus about whether to pursue or abandon an initial intention. In conclusion, local and global dynamics of choice representations in fronto-parietal cortex allow agents to maintain the balance between adapting to changing environments versus pursuing internal goals.
自愿行为依赖于意图的适当灵活性。通常，我们应该追求自己的目标，但有时如果实现目标的代价太高，我们应该改变目标。我们使用功能磁共振成像研究了在行动开始后基于新信息改变主意的能力的神经动力学基础。多元模式分析显示，在视觉区域中，2 个视觉刺激之间的意图选择的神经表示不受附加的决策相关信息的影响。然而，在额顶叶皮层中，代表随着决策的发展而动态变化。顶下小叶、角回和背外侧前额叶皮层编码新的外部提示的奖励/成本，指导随后的改变主意。内侧前额叶皮层的活动预测了参与者从外部提示证据中分离出来时的改变主意，表明它在自主决策更新中起作用。最后，改变主意的试验与额顶区域之间的功能连接增加有关，这允许整合各种内源性和外源性决策成分，以生成关于是否追求或放弃初始意图的分布式共识。总之，额顶叶皮层中选择表示的局部和全局动态使主体能够在适应变化的环境与追求内部目标之间保持平衡。
