title: A computational model of risk, conflict, and individual difference effects in the anterior cingulate cortex.
abstract: The error likelihood effect in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has recently been shown to be a special case of an even more general risk prediction effect, which signals both the likelihood of an error and the potential severity of its consequences. Surprisingly, these error likelihood and anticipated consequence effects are strikingly absent in risk-taking individuals. Conversely, conflict effects in ACC were found to be stronger in these same individuals. Here we show that the error likelihood computational model can account for individual differences in error likelihood, predicted error consequence, and conflict effects in ACC with no changes from the published version of the model. In particular, the model accounts for the counterintuitive inverse relationship between conflict and error likelihood effects as a function of the ACC learning rate in response to errors. As the learning rate increases, ACC learns more effectively from mistakes, which increases risk prediction effects at the expense of conflict effects. Thus, the model predicts that individuals with faster error-based learning in ACC will be more risk-averse and shows greater ACC error likelihood effects but smaller ACC conflict effects. Furthermore, the model suggests that apparent response conflict effects in ACC may actually consist of two related effects: increased error likelihood and a greater number of simultaneously cued responses, whether or not the responses are mutually incompatible. The results clarify the basic computational mechanisms of learned risk aversion and may have broad implications for predicting and managing risky behavior in healthy and clinical populations.
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E Tenth St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. jwmbrown@indiana.edu
authors: Joshua W
authors: JW
authors: Brown
authors: Todd S
authors: TS
authors: Braver
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D015588:Observer Variation; D012309:Risk-Taking
references: Psychol Rev. 2014 Jan;121(1):66-95
references: 24490789
references: J Neurosci. 2005 Sep 14;25(37):8402-6
references: 16162922
references: J Neurosci. 1996 Mar 1;16(5):1936-47
references: 8774460
references: Science. 2000 Jun 9;288(5472):1835-8
references: 10846167
references: J Neurophysiol. 2000 Jun;83(6):3575-7
references: 10848573
references: Science. 2005 Mar 11;307(5715):1642-5
references: 15761155
references: J Neurophysiol. 2001 Nov;86(5):2634-7
references: 11698551
references: Psychiatry Res. 2002 May 15;110(1):63-72
references: 12007594
references: Neurosci Lett. 1986 Oct 8;70(2):223-7
references: 3774229
references: Nature. 1999 Nov 11;402(6758):179-81
references: 10647008
references: Am J Psychiatry. 2001 Sep;158(9):1423-8
references: 11532726
references: Science. 1998 Nov 13;282(5392):1335-8
references: 9812901
references: J Neurosci. 1999 Dec 1;19(23):10502-11
references: 10575046
references: Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2007 Dec;7(4):266-77
references: 18189000
references: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2000 Feb;26(1):141-151
references: 10696610
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2001 Mar;12(3):131-43
references: 11170305
references: J Exp Psychol Gen. 2005 May;134(2):163-91
references: 15869344
references: J Neurosci. 2006 May 3;26(18):4769-73
references: 16672649
references: Cereb Cortex. 2001 Sep;11(9):825-36
references: 11532888
references: Nature. 2001 Aug 2;412(6846):549-53
references: 11484056
references: J Neurophysiol. 2005 Feb;93(2):884-908
references: 15295008
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Dec;14(6):1302-8
references: 11707086
references: Science. 1998 May 1;280(5364):747-9
references: 9563953
references: Nat Neurosci. 2003 Feb;6(2):117-8
references: 12536212
references: Nat Neurosci. 2004 Nov;7(11):1259-65
references: 15494729
references: J Comp Neurol. 1987 Aug 8;262(2):271-89
references: 3624555
references: Neuropsychologia. 1998 Jun;36(6):521-9
references: 9705062
references: Neural Netw. 2004 May;17(4):471-510
references: 15109680
references: Science. 2003 Oct 3;302(5642):120-2
references: 14526085
references: Psychol Rev. 2004 Oct;111(4):931-959
references: 15482068
references: Trends Cogn Sci. 2000 Jun;4(6):215-222
references: 10827444
references: Exp Brain Res. 1993;95(1):28-40
references: 8405252
references: Cogn Psychol. 2007 Aug;55(1):37-85
references: 17078941
references: Science. 2005 Feb 18;307(5712):1118-21
references: 15718473
references: Behav Neurosci. 2006 Jun;120(3):497-517
references: 16768602
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001 Jul;25(1):139-48
references: 11377927
references: Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Sep;144(9):1184-8
references: 3631315
references: Br J Psychiatry. 1992 Feb;160:179-86
references: 1540757
references: Psychol Sci. 2000 Jan;11(1):1-6
references: 11228836
references: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005 Apr;23(1):119-36
references: 15795139
references: Psychol Methods. 2002 Mar;7(1):19-40
references: 11928888
references: Nat Neurosci. 2000 May;3(5):516-20
references: 10769394
references: Psychol Rev. 2002 Oct;109(4):679-709
references: 12374324
references: Science. 2004 Dec 10;306(5703):1940-3
references: 15528409
references: Psychol Rev. 2001 Jul;108(3):624-52
references: 11488380
references: J Neurophysiol. 1992 Jan;67(1):145-63
references: 1552316
references: Psychol Sci. 2005 Dec;16(12):973-8
references: 16313662
references: Cogn Sci. 2014 Aug;38(6):1024-77
references: 25087578
references: Science. 2004 Feb 13;303(5660):1023-6
references: 14963333
references: J Comp Neurol. 1988 Oct 15;276(3):313-42
references: 3192766
references: Science. 1997 Mar 14;275(5306):1593-9
references: 9054347
references: Neuron. 2005 Jul 7;47(1):129-41
references: 15996553
references: J Physiol. 1952 Aug;117(4):500-44
references: 12991237
references: Science. 2005 May 6;308(5723):863-6
references: 15774725
references: Cereb Cortex. 2007 Jul;17(7):1570-81
references: 16956979
references: Exp Brain Res. 1998 Aug;121(3):350-4
references: 9746140
references: Behav Neurosci. 2007 Feb;121(1):31-49
references: 17324049
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Dec;14(6):1387-401
references: 11707094
references: Science. 2006 Aug 4;313(5787):684-7
references: 16888142
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Mar 1;55(5):531-7
references: 15023582