4 replies to this topic

[8bitmore]

This new article would suggest that developing techniques and/or drugs (or use already existing drugs?) to amplify the functional connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex could enable more direct confidence in choice and hence may be the silver bullet against anhedonia and general dithering.

Fascinating stuff, would love to hear if anyone here have ideas as to how to boost this "functional connectivity"?!

Source:
http://www.readcube....10.1038/nn.3279
http://www.nature.co...ll/nn.3279.html
http://saypeople.com...n-of-the-brain/

Confidence in value-based choice
Benedetto De Martino1–3,6, Stephen M Fleming2,4–6, Neil Garrett1 & Raymond J Dolan2

Decisions are never perfect, with confidence in one’s choices fluctuating over time. How subjective confidence and valuation of choice options interact at the level of brain and behavior is unknown. Using a dynamic model of the decision process, we show that confidence reflects the evolution of a decision variable over time, explaining the observed relation between confidence, value, accuracy and reaction time. As predicted by our dynamic model, we show that a functional magnetic resonance imaging signal in human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) reflects both value comparison and confidence in the value comparison process. Crucially, individuals varied in how they related confidence to accuracy, allowing us to show that this introspective ability is predicted by a measure of functional connectivity between vmPFC and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex. Our findings provide a mechanistic link between noise in value comparison and metacognitive awareness of choice, enabling us both to want and to express knowledge of what we want.

[LBGSHI]

Certainly interesting. Modifying this function could be dangerous, though - perhaps a quicker, more confident decision would be completely premature and incorrect. Still, for those with severe problems making decisions and confidently sticking by them, this might be very useful.

[8bitmore]

Certainly interesting. Modifying this function could be dangerous, though - perhaps a quicker, more confident decision would be completely premature and incorrect. Still, for those with severe problems making decisions and confidently sticking by them, this might be very useful.

True, but that can be said of almost all the nootropic compounds (like you allude to as well) - too much of a good thing is always pathological, all psychological traits work much alike the axis principle that govern for example insulin/glucose; the key is the right balance, not maxing out the one or the other! Anyway, as can be glimpsed from the readcube site (all washed out due to protected content) the full paper contains a number of magnetic resonance images which show EXACTLY which regions are involved in the confidence/choice process.. would be very interesting to have the full paper to see if these sites/images of the brain compare to any of the known drugs that are out there (I don't know how many have been mapped in relation to their propensity to influence different sites in the brain, MDMA comes to mind)

[the_apollo]

Sadly an old topic, since it would imply such an interesting topic,  if anyone has the patience to still get a look on this topic, what part of the VMPFC did the studies refer to? I've gone over it but to my knowledge have not found what/if they specified as the "other end" of that functional connectivity, the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex is brodmann area 10 (BA10), but the VMPFC is a pretty large area of the PFC..

 

On a related topic, what could increase activity in the related areas? any drugs/medicines that could change the activity (for the better) ?

Or.. (fishing here), could increased activity in the DLPFC that come from say ADHD meds effect the VMPFC?

[umop 3pisdn]

I'd take up Chinese calligraphy or something. On some level you have to be content with whatever goes on the paper.