Surprise, value and control in anterior cingulate cortex during speeded decision-making

Activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is observed across a variety of contexts, and its function remains intensely debated in the field of cognitive neuroscience. While traditional views emphasize its role in inhibitory control (suppressing prepotent, incorrect actions), recent proposals suggest a more active role in motivated control (invigorating actions to obtain rewards). Lagging behind empirical findings, formal models of dACC function primarily focus on inhibitory control, highlighting surprise, choice difficulty and value of control as key computations. Although successful in explaining dACC involvement in inhibitory control, it remains unclear whether these mechanisms generalize to motivated control. In this study, we derive predictions from three prominent accounts of dACC and test these with functional magnetic resonance imaging during value-based decision-making under time pressure. We find that the single mechanism of surprise best accounts for activity in dACC during a task requiring response invigoration, suggesting surprise signalling as a shared driver of inhibitory and motivated control. The role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in decision-making and cognitive control is the subject of a long-standing debate. Vassena et al. tested the dominant accounts in the same paradigm and found that the ACC signals the difference between predicted and actual outcomes.