Exploration versus exploitation decisions in the human brain: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies.

Wyatt, Lindsay E.; Hewan, Patrick A.; Hogeveen, Jeremy; Spreng, R. Nathan; Turner, Gary R.

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108740

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 164 publications

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“… 13 and SI Appendix , Materials and Methods ). Consistent with our model ( 1 ) and review ( 14 ), we observed a robust age-related exploitation bias on our foraging task (No bias = 0, positive score = exploration bias, negative score = exploitation-bias). Younger adults (N = 108): M = 6.7(SD = 13.8), range = −32.2 to 44.9; Older adults (N = 145): M = −3.1(SD = 15.1), range = −49.2 to 28.2; t(251) = −5.3, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.67).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Locus coeruleus integrity is related to an exploitation-based decision-making bias in older adulthood

Turner,

Hewan,

Wearn

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Optimal decision-making balances exploration for new information against exploitation of known rewards, a process mediated by the locus coeruleus and its norepinephrine projections. We predicted that an exploitation-bias that emerges in older adulthood would be associated with lower microstructural integrity of the locus coeruleus. Leveraging in vivo histological methods from quantitative MRI-magnetic transfer saturation—we provide evidence that older age is associated with lower locus coeruleus integrity. Critically, we demonstrate that an exploitation bias in older adulthood, assessed with a foraging task, is sensitive and specific to lower locus coeruleus integrity. Because the locus coeruleus is uniquely vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease pathology, our findings suggest that aging, and a presymptomatic trajectory of Alzheimer’s related decline, may fundamentally alter decision-making abilities in later life.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Locus coeruleus integrity is related to an exploitation-based decision-making bias in older adulthood

Turner,

Hewan,

Wearn

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Nonetheless, the interpretations emphasizing the role of the ACC in foraging may be confounded as one investigation found that dACC engagement was only explained by choice difficulty, and not the value of foraging (Shenhav et al 2014). Our results are consistent with the prefrontal and parietal circuits integrating and switching between exploration and exploitation (Hogeveen et al 2022; Wyatt et al 2024). Integrating the dlPFC and ACC roles in regulating exploration versus exploitation is consistent with recent findings suggesting that these regions could be part of a circuit that modulates strategic decisions (Jahn et al 2023) and contribute toward the opponent processing of exploration or exploitation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Since we began this investigation, one group of researchers has conducted a meta-analysis of explore decisions (Zhen et al 2022) finding that exploration results in consistent activation in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inferior frontal gyrus, and motor processing regions. Another group prefrontal and parietal circuits integrating and switching between exploration and exploitation (Wyatt et al 2024). We extend on their results by comparing exploration versus exploitation with a larger sample of studies and exploring task-based differences between exploration and exploitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-Analysis Reveals That Explore-Exploit Decisions are Dissociable by Activation in the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Insula, and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Sazhin,

Dachs,

Smith

2023

Preprint

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Explore-exploit research has challenges in generalizability due to a limited theoretical basis of exploration and exploitation. Neuroimaging can help identify whether explore-exploit decisions use an opponent processing system to address this issue. Thus, we conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (N=23 studies) where we found activation in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex during exploration versus exploitation, providing some evidence for opponent processing. However, the conjunction of explore-exploit decisions was associated with activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, and anterior insula, suggesting that these brain regions do not engage in opponent processing. Further, exploratory analyses revealed heterogeneity in brain responses between task types during exploration and exploitation respectively. Coupled with results suggesting that activation in exploration and exploitation decisions is generally more similar than it is different suggests there remain significant challenges toward characterizing explore-exploit decision making. Nonetheless, dlPFC and ACC activation differentiate explore and exploit decisions and identifying these responses can help in targeted interventions aimed at manipulating these decisions.

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“…The neural basis of exploration and information-seeking (Kobayashi and Kable, 2024;Wyatt et al, 2023) and how they relate to anxiety, is another area that will be important for future work. Potentially meaningful connections appear plausible, as partially overlapping networks of brain regions appear to be engaged by each of these phenomena.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of anxiety on exploration: A review of computational modeling studies

Chou,

Wilson,

Smith

2024

Preprint

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Exploratory behaviors can serve an adaptive role within novel or changing environments. Namely, they facilitate information gain, allowing an organism to maintain accurate beliefs about the environment and select actions that better maximize reward. However, finding the optimal balance between exploration and reward-seeking behavior – the so-called explore-exploit dilemma – can be challenging, as it requires sensitivity to one’s own uncertainty and to the predictability of one’s surroundings. Here, we review computational modeling studies investigating how exploration is influenced by anxiety. While some apparent inconsistencies remain to be resolved, studies using reinforcement learning tasks suggest that directed (but not random) forms of exploration may be elevated by trait and/or cognitive anxiety, but reduced by state and/or somatic anxiety. Anxiety is also consistently associated with less exploration in foraging tasks. Some differences in exploration may further stem from how anxiety modulates changes in uncertainty over time (learning rates). Jointly, these results highlight important directions for future work in refining choice of tasks and anxiety measures and maintaining consistent methodology across studies.

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Exploration versus exploitation decisions in the human brain: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies.

Cited by 6 publications

References 164 publications

Locus coeruleus integrity is related to an exploitation-based decision-making bias in older adulthood

Locus coeruleus integrity is related to an exploitation-based decision-making bias in older adulthood

Meta-Analysis Reveals That Explore-Exploit Decisions are Dissociable by Activation in the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Insula, and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

The influence of anxiety on exploration: A review of computational modeling studies

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