ArticleNeuron2021
The Anterior Cingulate Cortex Predicts Future States to Mediate Model-Based Action Selection.
Article in Neuron, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Bad habits-good goals? Meta-analysis and translation of the habit construct to alcoholism.Translational psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Human claustrum neurons encode uncertainty and prediction errors during aversive learning.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Neural basis of compositional control.Nature · 2026Article
- The choice-wide behavioral association study: data-driven identification of interpretable behavioral components.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Dissociable roles of prefrontal plasticity in decision-making strategy and execution of habitual behavior.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Compressive learning scaffolds higher-order network structure to enhance human knowledge acquisition.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Anterior cingulate cortex monitors action state and action content in complex associative learning.eLife · 2026Article
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- Flexible route planning and rapid structure learning by mice in complex environments.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Prefrontal modulation of striatal engagement: a hierarchical framework for goal-directed behavior.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Fentanyl reinforcement history has sex-specific effects on multi-step decision-making.Neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Delay discounting correlates with depression but does not predict relapse after antidepressant discontinuation.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Meta-learning is expressed through altered prefrontal cortical dynamics.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Anterior cingulate neurons combine outcome monitoring of past decisions with ongoing movement signals.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Chronic neuropathic pain alters reversal learning and prefrontal cortex activation without generalized deficits in reward-related behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Orbitofrontal Thickness and Network Associations as Transdiagnostic Signature of Amotivation Along the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Spectrum.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Bridging neurobiological mechanisms and translational applications in cognitive science: inspirations from the MCCS-NYUAD meeting 2025.Molecular brain · 2026Review
- Neuronal Features of Visual Attention in the Mouse Superior Colliculus Depend on Learned Behavioral Relevance.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Article
- Time-dependent deployment of medial prefrontal cortical representations in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Behavioral control is not unitary. It comprises parallel systems, model based and model free, that respectively generate flexible and habitual behaviors. Model-based decisions use predictions of the specific consequences of actions, but how these are implemented in the brain is poorly understood. We used calcium imaging and optogenetics in a sequential decision task for mice to show that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) predicts the state that actions will lead to, not simply whether they are good or bad, and monitors whether outcomes match these predictions. ACC represents the complete state space of the task, with reward signals that depend strongly on the state where reward is obtained but minimally on the preceding choice. Accordingly, ACC is necessary only for updating model-based strategies, not for basic reward-driven action reinforcement. These results reveal that ACC is a critical node in model-based control, with a specific role in predicting future states given chosen actions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.