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Poster C132 in Poster Session C - Friday, August 9, 2024, 11:15 am – 1:15 pm, Johnson Ice Rink
Excessive neural replay of aversive and uncertain options predicts human irrational decision-making
Tricia Seow1 (), Jessica McFadyen1, Raymond Dolan1,2, Tobias Hauser1,3; 1University College London, 2Beijing Normal University, 3University of Tübingen
Choice deliberation is guided by the uncertainties of available options and their associated outcomes. However, it is unclear how these choice components are involved in the brain’s decision process. Neural replay, a neuromechanism involving the rapid sequential reactivation of states, has recently been proposed to underlie human cognition including value-based decision-making, but yet is unclear how outcome value and uncertainty are involved. With magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings during a gambling-style task (N=30), we probed the role of replay in evaluating outcome value and uncertainty for choice. We found that forward replay increased for option paths with more aversive outcomes and greater uncertainty during deliberation, which then predicted irrational choices. Moreover, we observed that individual differences in obsessive-compulsive tendencies exacerbated the modulation of value and irrational choice related replay. These findings highlight the significance of replay dynamics in prospective deliberation involving value and uncertainty, and suggest a mechanistic explanation for how these processes may go awry in psychopathology.
Keywords: Neural Replay Decision Making Value-based Decision Making Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder