Anterior cingulate neurons combine outcome monitoring of past decisions with ongoing movement signals.

Lukas T Oesch, Makenna C Thomas, Davis Sandberg, João Couto, Anne K Churchland

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Anterior cingulate neurons combine outcome monitoring of past decisions with ongoing movement signals.Nature communications · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

Update of
Anterior cingulate cortex mixes retrospective cognitive signals and ongoing movement signatures during decision-making.2025

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Lukas T OeschDepartment of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2819-812X

Makenna C ThomasDepartment of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Davis SandbergDepartment of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3772-0658

João CoutoDepartment of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5580-6947

Anne K ChurchlandDepartment of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. AChurchland@mednet.ucla.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3205-3794

Funding

The role of parietal cortex in multisensory decision-makingR01EY022979 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ANNE KATHRYN CHURCHLAND · 2013 to 2026

$5.7M

National Science Foundation (NSF) 221994Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) P2BEP3_200212U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Eye Institute (NEI) R01EY022979

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In dynamic environments, animals must closely monitor the effects of their actions to inform switches in behavioral strategy. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) neurons track decision outcomes in these environments. Yet, it remains unclear whether ACC neurons similarly monitor behavioral history in static environments and, if so, whether these signals are distinct from movement representations. We recorded large-scale ACC activity in freely moving mice making visual evidence-accumulation decisions. Many ACC neurons exhibited nonlinear mixed selectivity for previous choices and outcomes (trial history) and were modulated by movements. Trial history could be stably decoded from population activity and accounted for a separable component of neural activity than posture and movements. Trial history encoding was conserved across different subjects and was unaffected by fluctuating behavioral biases. These findings demonstrate that trial history monitoring in ACC is implemented in a conserved population code that is independent of the volatility of subjects' task environment.

Indexed as

Decision MakingGyrus CinguliNeuronsAnimalsBehavior, AnimalMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMovement

Identifiers

PMID41872182

DOI10.1038/s41467-026-70639-1

PMCPMC13171896

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LicenceCC BY

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Registered trials

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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.