Figure 5.

Per Coricelli et al. (2007), the circuitry of regret comprises the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), anterior cingulated cortex (ACC), and hippocampus (Hyp). Regret-related activity in the ACC corresponds to the dorsal component of the ACC and thus its cognitive division. Hippocampal activity is consistent with the declarative component of regret. The interplay of the ACC and Hyp, in addition to the OFC, suggests that regret is elicited through a cognitive (top-down modulation) and declarative process. In addition of these structures, the amygdale is a critical component of a brain circuit involved in the appraisal of self-relevant events that include social stimuli (Zalla and Sperduti, 2013). Based on our data, we hypothesize that the cerebellum (CB) functions in this neural circuit. In estimating regret, the subject must compare the basic emotional state (internal state) and the state determined by the external event, based on the gambling result (external event). Considering the cerebellar involvement in estimating the state (Molinari et al., 2009), we propose that cerebellar processing intervenes specifically in the internal state vs. external event comparison.