Anterior prefrontal function and the limits of human decision-making.
The frontopolar cortex (FPC), the most anterior part of the frontal lobes, forms the apex of the executive system underlying decision-making. Here, we review empirical evidence showing that the FPC function enables contingent interposition of two concurrent behavioral plans or mental tasks according to respective reward expectations, overcoming the serial constraint that bears upon the control of task execution in the prefrontal cortex. This function is mechanistically explained by interactions between FPC and neighboring prefrontal regions. However, its capacity appears highly limited, which suggests that the FPC is efficient for protecting the execution of long-term mental plans from immediate environmental demands and for generating new, possibly more rewarding, behavioral or cognitive sequences, rather than for complex decision-making and reasoning.
Koechlin
Etienne
E
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 9, quai Saint Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. koechlin@ccr.jussieu.fr
Hyafil
Alexandre
A
D003071:Cognition; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008959:Models, Neurological; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012201:Reward