The DOI matches its Crossref record; 126 of the 126 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A neural network for information seeking
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Humans and other animals often show a strong desire to know the uncertain rewards their future has in store, even when they cannot use this information to influence the outcome. However, it is unknown how the brain predicts opportunities to gain information and motivates this information-seeking behavior. Here we show that neurons in a network of interconnected subregions of primate anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia predict the moment of gaining information about uncertain rewards. Spontaneous increases in their information prediction signals are followed by gaze shifts toward objects associated with resolving uncertainty, and pharmacologically disrupting this network reduces the motivation to seek information. These findings demonstrate a cortico-basal ganglia mechanism responsible for motivating actions to resolve uncertainty by seeking knowledge about the future.
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“all the neuromodulatory systems with their origins in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), substantia nigra (SN), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), locus coeruleus (LC) and ventral septal nucleus (VSN) have at one time or another been proposed to reflect uncertainty or the potential for information gain3,21–27”
From Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
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“All major neuromodulatory systems have at one time or another been linked to uncertainty processing3,21–27, but identifying a specific or preeminent contribution has been difficult.”
From Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
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“which project to or are adjacent to VTA and SN3,22,29–33,54,55 (with multisynaptic routes via habenula56,57)”
From Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“Activity in individual neurons in both habenula and VTA reflects both the value of a stimulus in terms of the reward that it predicts58–60 as well as VoI21,22,27,61”
From Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“Activity in ACC has also been linked to information seeking and initiation of behavioral change14,17,22,62–66”
From Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
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Cites
Parallel organization of functionally segregated circuits linking basal ganglia and cortex
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Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting
Bromberg-Martin, E. S., Matsumoto, M., & Hikosaka, O. (2010) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.022 · Cited by 2,396
Self-citationLearning the value of information in an uncertain world
Behrens, T. E. J., Woolrich, M. W., Walton, M. E., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2007) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1954 · Cited by 2,053
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Frank, M. J., Seeberger, L. C., & O'Reilly, R. C. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1102941 · Cited by 1,964
Basal ganglia and cerebellar loops: motor and cognitive circuits
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Temporal Resolution of Uncertainty and Dynamic Choice Theory
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Multiple reward signals in the brain
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Klein-Flügge, M. C., Bongioanni, A., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2022) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2022.05.022 · Cited by 244
Prefrontal connectomics: From anatomy to human imaging
Haber, S. N., Liu, H., Seidlitz, J., & Bullmore, E. (2022) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-021-01156-6 · Cited by 129
Self-citationThe Versatile Wayfinder: Prefrontal Contributions to Spatial Navigation
Patai, E. Z., & Spiers, H. J. (2021) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2021.02.010 · Cited by 139
Anterior Cingulate Cortex and the Control of Dynamic Behavior in Primates
Monosov, I. E., Haber, S. N., Leuthardt, E. C., & Jezzini, A. (2020) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.009 · Cited by 118
Self-citationFormalizing planning and information search in naturalistic decision-making
Hunt, L. T., Daw, N. D., Kaanders, P., MacIver, M. A., Mugan, U., Procyk, E., Redish, A. D., Russo, E., Scholl, J., Stachenfeld, K., et al. (2021) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41593-021-00866-w · Cited by 112
Metadata
- Authors
- White, J. K., Bromberg-Martin, E. S., Heilbronner, S. R., Zhang, K., Pai, J., Haber, S. N., & Monosov, I. E.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- University of Rochester (US)
- Corresponding author
- Monosov, Ilya E.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2019-11-14
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5168-5168
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6856099
- OpenAlex
- W2984095784
- Cited by
- 129
- References
- 126
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 9.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons@Becker (Washington University School of Medicine) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- information seeking, uncertainty, anterior cingulate cortex, basal ganglia, cortico-basal ganglia network, reward prediction, gaze shifts, motivation, primate behavior
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Basal Ganglia, Fixation, Ocular, Macaca mulatta, Male, Nerve Net, Neurons, Reward, Uncertainty, Information Seeking Behavior
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