Imagining the future self through thought experiments

Kentaro Miyamoto

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2023.01.005

Imagining the future self through thought experiments

2023-05-01

2

OA

AI

K

Kentaro Miyamoto *

M

Matthew F. S. Rushworth

N

Nicholas Shea

DOI：10.1016/j.tics.2023.01.005

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Abstract

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The ability of the mind to conceptualize what is not present is essential. It allows us to reason counterfactually about what might have happened had events unfolded differently or had another course of action been taken. It allows us to think about what might happen - to perform 'Gedankenexperimente' (thought experiments) - before we act. However, the cognitive and neural mechanisms mediating this ability are poorly understood. We suggest that the frontopolar cortex (FPC) keeps track of and evaluates alternative choices (what we might have done), whereas the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex (alPFC) compares simulations of possible future scenarios (what we might do) and evaluates their reward values. Together, these brain regions support the construction of suppo-sitional scenarios.

Keywords:

ROSTRAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX

FRONTOPOLAR CORTEX

INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES

AREAS

REPRESENTATION

CONSCIOUSNESS

ACCURACY

NETWORK

IMAGERY

MEMORY

Imagining the future self through thought experiments

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