Neural Basis for the Use and Update of Cognitive Maps

Abstract

Goal-directed behavior is ubiquitous in our lives, ranging from the pursuit of happiness to simply choosing tea over coffee. The adaptive and successful execution of goal-directed behavior relies on the use of cognitive maps, the mental models of the environments we interact with. Numerous studies have demonstrated the representation of cognitive maps in both hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). However, how goal information is learned, represented, and used, in coordination with the cognitive maps, to guide behavior, remained largely unknown. We hypothesized that goal simulation interacts with the representation of cognitive map to fulfill this function. This program of research uses reward-based decision making and 3D virtual reality foraging tasks in rhesus monkeys, with electrophysiology recording and anatomical approaches, to address this question and test our goal simulation hypothesis. We found that OFC evaluates and infers from experience to represent and update the cognitive map. Posteromedial regions, retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) uses learned goal information to guide behavior. Crucially, we identified an orbito-posteromedial axis that is anatomically directly connected and translates abstract goal information into concrete action plans for guiding behavior.