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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Aug 31;5(1):83–98. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0929-3

Figure 8. Summary. From exploration to exploitation: polarity of subjective uncertainty in vmPFC changes with behavioural mode.

Figure 8

At the beginning of a block, choices are exploratory and directed towards uncertain predictors (like a shuffle mode when playing music, left panel). VmPFC and an extended network centred in dACC represent the difference in uncertainty between the predictors that might be selected. With time passing, participants learn about the predictors’ accuracy through observing how well they predict an outcome. A participant’s belief in the accuracy of the predictors exerts the predominant influence on vmPFC activity during this transition phase (middle panel). Towards the end of a block, vmPFC activity represents the difference in negative uncertainty, in other words the certainty between predictors. In this exploitative period, choices are repeatedly directed towards certain predictors (like a repeat mode, right panel). We show that vmPFC carries information about a multiplicity of decision variables, the strength and polarity of which vary according to their relevance for the current context of exploration, exploitation or their transition.