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Confidence in value-based choice

2012; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 16; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/nn.3279

1546-1726

Benedetto De Martino, Stephen M. Fleming, Neil Garrett, Raymond J. Dolan,

Neural dynamics and brain function

This study examines the neural coding of decision confidence when human subjects make value-based economic choices, and finds that signals of explicit confidence are encoded in the activity of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and its interaction with the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex. 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.