The role of mPFC and MTL neurons in human\xa0choice under goal-conflict

Firas Fahoum,Talma Hendler,Itzhak Fried,Yoav Zeevi,Tomer Gazit,Guy Gurevitch,Ido Strauss,Tal Gonen,Noa Cohen,Hagar Yamin

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16908-z

Firas Fahoum, Talma Hendler + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16908-z

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Abstract

Resolving approach-avoidance conflicts relies on encoding motivation outcomes and learning from past experiences. Accumulating evidence points to the role of the Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL) and Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) in these processes, but their differential contributions have not been convincingly deciphered in humans. We detect 310 neurons from mPFC and MTL from patients with epilepsy undergoing intracranial recordings and participating in a goal-conflict task where rewards and punishments could be controlled or not. mPFC neurons are more selective to punishments than rewards when controlled. However, only MTL firing following punishment is linked to a lower probability for subsequent approach behavior. mPFC response to punishment precedes a similar MTL response and affects subsequent behavior via an interaction with MTL firing. We thus propose a model where approach-avoidance conflict resolution in humans depends on outcome value tagging in mPFC neurons influencing encoding of such value in MTL to affect subsequent choice.

Highlights

Resolving approach-avoidance conflicts relies on encoding motivation outcomes and learning from past experiences
Accumulating evidence points to the striatum as an important region involved in signaling prediction errors (PEs)[3] and to the medial prefrontal cortex[4], and medial temporal lobe (MTL) as processing outcome values and valence[5,6]
We find that when players have control over the outcome, units in Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) and Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL) areas demonstrate a complementary role in the encoding of punishment and the affect on subsequent behavioral choice toward a reward cue

Summary

Introduction

Resolving approach-avoidance conflicts relies on encoding motivation outcomes and learning from past experiences. Classical animal studies have not clearly differentiated the neural substrates involved in using information regarding the valence of outcomes (reward vs punishment) for subsequent adaptation of approach behavior, from those that mediate the actual resolution of the goal conflict[17]. Disruption of prediction-outcome associations in the bilateral amygdala–hippocampal complex was found in patients with schizophrenia[21] It remains to be seen whether these results, pointing to the significance of the MTL in the processing of outcomes and adapting behavior, are relevant to outcomes that appear in the context of an approach-avoidance conflict. To investigate these processes, we use a rare opportunity to perform intracranial recordings from multiple sites in the MTL and mPFC of 14 patients with epilepsy (Table 1). Reward trials during the Controlled condition are classified as either high goal conflict (HGC; more than one ball between the avatar and the reward cue) or low goal conflict

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