The Best Laid Plans: Computational Principles of Anterior Cingulate Cortex.

Clay B Holroyd, Tom Verguts

Journal: Trends in cognitive sciences 2021;25(4):316-329

PMID: 33593641

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Despite continual debate for the past 30 years about the function of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), its key contribution to neurocognition remains unknown. However, recent computational modeling work has provided insight into this question. Here we review computational models that illustrate three core principles of ACC function, related to hierarchy, world models, and cost. We also discuss four constraints on the neural implementation of these principles, related to modularity, binding, encoding, and learning and regulation. These observations suggest a role for ACC in hierarchical model-based hierarchical reinforcement learning (HMB-HRL), which instantiates a mechanism motivating the execution of high-level plans.

Address: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.01.008

Link outs

Free resources

Other Literature Sources:

https://scite.ai/reports/33593641

Miscellaneous:

https://assays.cancer.gov/CPTAC-68

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

MeSH Terms: Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Learning, Reinforcement, Psychology