The Role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Spatial Margin of Safety Calculations

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1162-22.2024
• Publication Date: 2024-07-12T17:50:19Z
• Authors: Song Qi; Logan Cross; Toby Wise; Xin Sui; John O’Doherty; Dean Mobbs
• Keywords: Ventromedial prefrontal cortex; Univariate

Naturalistic observations show that animals pre-empt danger by moving to locations increase their success in avoiding future threats. To test this humans, we created a spatial margin of safety (MOS) decision task quantifies pre-emptive avoidance measuring the distance subjects place themselves when facing different threats whose attack vary predictability. Behavioral results human participants closer safe with more outliers. Using both univariate and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) on fMRI data collected during 2 h session sexes, demonstrate dissociable role for vmPFC MOS-related decision-making. MVPA revealed posterior encoded unpredictable analyses showing functional coupling amygdala hippocampus. Conversely, anterior was active predictable attacks showed striatum. Our findings converge danger, may provide signal, possibly via foreseeable outcomes, while drives signals.