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Evidence accumulation, not “self-control,” explains why the dlPFC activates during normative choice

Cendri A. Hutcherson, Antonio Rangel, Anita Tusche
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.06.328476
Cendri A. Hutcherson
1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
2Department of Marketing, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
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  • For correspondence: c.hutcherson@utoronto.ca
Antonio Rangel
3Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
4Computational and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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Anita Tusche
3Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
5Departments of Psychology and Economics, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
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Abstract

What role do cognitive control regions like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) play in normative behavior (e.g., generosity, healthy eating)? Some models suggest that dlPFC activation during normative choice reflects the use of control to overcome default hedonistic preferences. Here, we develop an alternative account, showing that an attribute-based neural drift diffusion model (anDDM) predicts trial-by-trial variation in dlPFC response across three fMRI studies and two self-control contexts (altruistic sacrifice and healthy eating). Using the anDDM to simulate a variety of self-control dilemmas generated a novel prediction: although dlPFC activity might typically increase for norm-consistent choices, deliberate self-regulation focused on normative goals should decrease or even reverse this pattern (i.e., greater dlPFC response for hedonic, self-interested choices). We confirmed these predictions in both altruistic and dietary choice contexts. Our results suggest that dlPFC’s response during normative choice may depend more on value-based evidence accumulation than inhibition of our baser instincts.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted October 08, 2020.
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Evidence accumulation, not “self-control,” explains why the dlPFC activates during normative choice
Cendri A. Hutcherson, Antonio Rangel, Anita Tusche
bioRxiv 2020.10.06.328476; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.06.328476
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Evidence accumulation, not “self-control,” explains why the dlPFC activates during normative choice
Cendri A. Hutcherson, Antonio Rangel, Anita Tusche
bioRxiv 2020.10.06.328476; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.06.328476

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