Do you remember the story of Pinocchio? This wooden boy was always accompanied by an even more unique and interesting character from a psychological point of view: Jiminy Cricket, who acted as his conscience, telling him what the best decision was and reprimanding him when he made a mistake.
In reality, the idea that we all have a Jiminy Cricket is much older. In popular culture, so rich in metaphors and allegories, conscience has always been represented as a little angel that whispers in our ears to help us get on the right path and, as a counterpart, there is also an imp that tempts us. Is this an elaborate fantasy or does this idea have a real basis in our brain?
Researchers at the University of Oxford are convinced that Jiminy Cricket exists, is found in our anterior prefrontal cortex and is unique to humans.
If you don’t have to think… Why do you think?
In one of the experiments, the researchers trained people to become familiar with the path of a virtual maze. They then scanned their brains as the participants ran through the maze. At this point, the researchers did not expect activity in the anterior prefrontal cortex since people simply had to follow the path they already knew by appealing to their memory. However, it was not.
In the experiment, it was observed that some areas of the anterior prefrontal cortex were activated when people reached a crossroads in the maze. That is, although they were already familiar with the path they should follow, their brains still activated at some points, as if they were weighing other options. This study raised alarm bells. Why, if people already knew the path, did they continue to consider options?
The answer came from another experiment in which the researchers changed the task a bit: people had to navigate a virtual maze in which some crossroads were more complex than others. To make their decision easier, each crossroads showed a number that indicated the probability that it was the correct path. For example, when reaching a point with three detours, one indicated 10, another 30 and a third 70.
It is logical to think that we will take the detour indicated by the number 70 since this way we will have a better chance of getting it right and finding the exit. In fact, all participants chose this path but even so, intense activity was shown in the anterior prefrontal cortex, which intensified when there were a greater number of options and was even maintained even if the person had already made their decision. What does this tell us?
A surreptitious mechanism for weighing alternatives
These experiments demonstrate that our anterior prefrontal cortex continues to evaluate the options we leave behind. In other words, it is responsible for evaluating the alternatives that we discard and analyzing whether the reasons that led us to do so were valid. It is worth clarifying that it is not about the sense of guilt and remorse that is unleashed after realizing that we have made a bad decision, it is a mechanism that is activated long before knowing the consequences of the decision we have made.
This area of the brain is responsible for quickly evaluating other alternatives and telling us that we have made a bad decision. It is like a parent’s voice, kind but authoritative, telling us that it would be better for us to go to our room to reflect on the decision we have made so that we do not do it again in the future.
This is a great discovery because it has traditionally been thought that the decision-making process follows a more linear path. That is, we believed that our brain evaluated all the alternatives, weighing pros and cons, both logically and emotionally, and then chose an alternative. Later, and only when the consequences were not as expected, we were forced to go back and analyze other options.
However, according to these researchers, our brain realizes that we have not made the best decision before the consequences arrive since it would continue looking for better alternatives. And then it lets us know.
In practice, our anterior prefrontal cortex continues to evaluate alternative options, as if they had been put on hold. The objective of this mechanism is to prepare us in case in the near future we have to retrace our steps or face the same situation again.
References:
Rushworth, M. et. Al. (2011) Frontal Cortex and Reward-Guided Learning and Decision-Making. Neuron 70(6): 1054–1069.
Boorman, E.E. et. Al. (2009) How Green Is the Grass on the Other Side? Frontopolar Cortex and the Evidence in Favor of Alternative Courses of Action. Neuron 62(5): 733–743.
Yoshida, W. & Ishii, S. (2006) Resolution of Uncertainty in Prefrontal Cortex. Neuron 50(5): 781–789.
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