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Poster Session C: Friday, August 15, 2:00 – 5:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Neural Signatures of Tree Search

Nastaran Arfaei¹, Bas van Opheusden², Wei Ji Ma¹, Marcelo G Mattar¹, Nathaniel D. Daw²; ¹New York University, ²Princeton University

Presenter: Nastaran Arfaei

From the moon landing to meal preparation, people plan sequences of actions to achieve their goals. A leading theoretical framework proposes that human planning follows an algorithm akin to tree search. This framework predicts that during the decision-making process, the brain updates its estimate of the value of the current state by iteratively expanding a tree of future states. To test this prediction, we collected whole-brain BOLD activity from participants as they planned their move in a strategic game. Activity in the ventral striatum was modulated by the state value estimated by a tree search model. Moreover, in this area, the activity earlier (later) in the trial was more strongly modulated by the value predicted by the model earlier (later) in the tree search. Searchlight analysis revealed areas associated with the Default Mode Network to represent features critical for planning. This work contributes to an emerging understanding of the neural basis of tree search.

Topic Area: Memory, Spatial Cognition & Skill Learning

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF