Abstract
Goal-directed behavior is based on representations of contingencies between a certain situation (S), a certain (re)action (R) and a certain outcome (O). These S-R-O representations enable flexible response selection in different situations according to the currently pursued goal. Importantly however, the successful formation of such representations is a necessary but not sufficient precondition for goal-directed behavior which additionally requires the actual usage of the contingency information for action control. The present fMRI study aimed at identifying the neural basis of each of these two aspects: representing vs. explicitly using experienced S-R-O contingencies. To this end, we created three experimental conditions: S-R-O contingency present and used for outcome-based response selection, S-R-O contingency present but not used, and S-R-O contingency absent. The comparison between conditions with and without S-R-O contingency revealed that the angular gyrus is relevant for representing S-R-O contingencies. The explicit usage of learnt S-R-O representations in turn was associated with increased functional coupling between angular gyrus and several subcortical (hippocampus, caudate head), prefrontal (lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC)) and cerebellar areas, which we suggest represent different explicit and implicit processes of goal-directed action control. Hence, we ascribe a central role to the angular gyrus in associating actions to their sensory outcomes which is used to guide behavior through coupling of the angular gyrus with multiple areas related to different aspects of action control.
Highlights
Goal-directed behavior is characterized by choosing actions according to the outcomes they produce in a certain situation
In order to determine whether the activation difference we found in the specific part of the angular gyrus between the outcome-based and the control condition was due to mere representation or actual usage of S-R-O contingencies, we computed two directed pair-wise comparisons on the condition-specific activation estimates
If angular gyrus activity was related to the presence of an S-R-O representation, it should be higher in the stimulusbased condition than the control condition but should not differ between the outcome-based and the stimulus-based condition
Summary
Goal-directed behavior is characterized by choosing actions according to the outcomes they produce in a certain situation. The prerequisite of being able to act in a goal-directed manner is to have acquired representations of response-outcome relationships in a certain situation (S-R-O representations), and being able to anticipate the future outcome of an action. Neural mechanisms of goal-directed behavior the response (see de Wit and Dickinson, 2009) Evidence for this dissociation of both processes reach back to classic latent learning experiments with rats (Tolman and Honzik, 1930) demonstrating that S-R-O representations can be acquired without being used to guide behavior as long as the outcome is not motivationally relevant. Brain activation associated to the processing of action outcomes was found to be higher in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and hippocampus (Elsner et al, 2002) as well as angular gyrus and cerebellum (Melcher et al, 2008)
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