Matthew F. S. Rushworth

TL;DR: It is shown that human subjects assess volatility in an optimal manner and adjust decision-making accordingly, and this optimal estimate of volatility is reflected in the fMRI signal in the anterior cingulate cortex when each trial outcome is observed.

TL;DR: A medial superior frontal gyrus (SFG) region centred on the pre-supplementary motor area is involved in the selection of action sets whereas the anterior cingulate cortex has a fundamental role in relating actions to their consequences, both positive reinforcement outcomes and errors, and in guiding decisions about which actions are worth making.

TL;DR: This work attempts to identify common themes in experiments with human participants and with animal models which suggest roles that the areas play in learning about reward associations, selecting reward goals, choosing actions to obtain reward, and monitoring the potential value of switching to alternative courses of action.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the ACC's critical role in reinforcement-guided behavior is neither in detecting nor in correcting errors, but in guiding voluntary choices based on the history of actions and outcomes.

TL;DR: Reinforcement learning models that focus on the striatum and dopamine can predict the choices of animals and people but representation of reward expectation and of reward prediction errors that are pertinent to decision making are not confined to these regions but are also found in prefrontal and cingulate cortex.