Preference by association: how memory mechanisms in the hippocampus bias decisions - PubMed (original) (raw)
. 2012 Oct 12;338(6104):270-3.
doi: 10.1126/science.1223252.
Affiliations
- PMID: 23066083
- DOI: 10.1126/science.1223252
Preference by association: how memory mechanisms in the hippocampus bias decisions
G Elliott Wimmer et al. Science. 2012.
Abstract
Every day people make new choices between alternatives that they have never directly experienced. Yet, such decisions are often made rapidly and confidently. Here, we show that the hippocampus, traditionally known for its role in building long-term declarative memories, enables the spread of value across memories, thereby guiding decisions between new choice options. Using functional brain imaging in humans, we discovered that giving people monetary rewards led to activation of a preestablished network of memories, spreading the positive value of reward to nonrewarded items stored in memory. Later, people were biased to choose these nonrewarded items. This decision bias was predicted by activity in the hippocampus, reactivation of associated memories, and connectivity between memory and reward regions in the brain. These findings explain how choices among new alternatives emerge automatically from the associative mechanisms by which the brain builds memories. Further, our findings demonstrate a previously unknown role for the hippocampus in value-based decisions.
Similar articles
- Decisions bias future choices by modifying hippocampal associative memories.
Luettgau L, Tempelmann C, Kaiser LF, Jocham G. Luettgau L, et al. Nat Commun. 2020 Jul 3;11(1):3318. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17192-7. Nat Commun. 2020. PMID: 32620879 Free PMC article. - Selectivity in Postencoding Connectivity with High-Level Visual Cortex Is Associated with Reward-Motivated Memory.
Murty VP, Tompary A, Adcock RA, Davachi L. Murty VP, et al. J Neurosci. 2017 Jan 18;37(3):537-545. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4032-15.2016. J Neurosci. 2017. PMID: 28100737 Free PMC article. - Memory guidance of value-based decision making at an abstract level of representation.
Liashenko A, Dizaji AS, Melloni L, Schwiedrzik CM. Liashenko A, et al. Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 9;10(1):21496. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-78460-6. Sci Rep. 2020. PMID: 33299077 Free PMC article. - Influence of reward motivation on human declarative memory.
Miendlarzewska EA, Bavelier D, Schwartz S. Miendlarzewska EA, et al. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Feb;61:156-76. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.11.015. Epub 2015 Dec 2. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016. PMID: 26657967 Review. - The contribution of sleep to hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation.
Marshall L, Born J. Marshall L, et al. Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Oct;11(10):442-50. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2007.09.001. Epub 2007 Oct 1. Trends Cogn Sci. 2007. PMID: 17905642 Review.
Cited by
- Hippocampal representations of alternative possibilities are flexibly generated to meet cognitive demands.
Comrie AE, Monroe EJ, Kahn AE, Denovellis EL, Joshi A, Guidera JA, Krausz TA, Berke JD, Daw ND, Frank LM. Comrie AE, et al. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Sep 23:2024.09.23.613567. doi: 10.1101/2024.09.23.613567. bioRxiv. 2024. PMID: 39386651 Free PMC article. Preprint. - N-acetyltransferase 10 mediates cognitive dysfunction through the acetylation of GABABR1 mRNA in sepsis-associated encephalopathy.
Gao S, Shen R, Li J, Jiang Y, Sun H, Wu X, Li X, Miao C, He M, Wang J, Chen W. Gao S, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Sep 3;121(36):e2410564121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2410564121. Epub 2024 Aug 27. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024. PMID: 39190359 - Neural mechanisms of credit assignment for delayed outcomes during contingent learning.
Witkowski PP, Rondot L, Kurth-Nelson Z, Garvert MM, Dolan RJ, Behrens TEJ, Boorman ED. Witkowski PP, et al. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Aug 8:2024.08.06.606895. doi: 10.1101/2024.08.06.606895. bioRxiv. 2024. PMID: 39149338 Free PMC article. Preprint. - Adaptive Safety Coding in the Prefrontal Cortex.
Tashjian SM, Cussen J, Deng W, Zhang B, Mobbs D. Tashjian SM, et al. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jul 23:2024.07.19.604228. doi: 10.1101/2024.07.19.604228. bioRxiv. 2024. PMID: 39091862 Free PMC article. Preprint. - Semantic structures facilitate threat memory integration throughout the medial temporal lobe and medial prefrontal cortex.
Cooper SE, Hennings AC, Bibb SA, Lewis-Peacock JA, Dunsmoor JE. Cooper SE, et al. Curr Biol. 2024 Aug 5;34(15):3522-3536.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.071. Epub 2024 Jul 25. Curr Biol. 2024. PMID: 39059393
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical