title: Multiple signals in anterior cingulate cortex.
abstract: Activity in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been linked both to commitment to a course of action, even when it is associated with costs, and to exploring or searching for alternative courses of action. Here we review evidence that this is due to the presence of multiple signals in ACC reflecting the updating of beliefs and internal models of the environment and encoding aspects of choice value, including the average value of choices afforded by the environment ('search value'). We contrast this evidence with the influential view that ACC activity is better described as reflecting task difficulty. A consideration of cortical neural network properties explains why ACC may carry such signals and also exhibit sensitivity to task difficulty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: nils.kollling@psy.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kolling
authors.affiliation: Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Tej
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Wittmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Mfs
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rushworth
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D004777:Environment; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction