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Rewards obtained from specific behaviors can and do change across time. To adapt to such conditions, humans need to represent and update associations between behaviors and their outcomes. Much previous work focused on how rewards affect the processing of specific tasks. However, abstract associations between multiple potential behaviors and multiple rewards are an important basis for adaptation as well. In this experiment, we directly investigated which brain areas represent associations between multiple tasks and rewards, using time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Importantly, we were able to dissociate neural signals reflecting task–reward associations from those related to task preparation and reward expectation processes, variables that were often correlated in previous research. We hypothesized that brain regions involved in processing tasks and/or rewards will be involved in processing associations between them. Candidate areas included the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in associating simple actions and rewards, and the parietal cortex, which has been shown to represent task rules and action values. Our results indicate that local spatial activation patterns in the inferior parietal cortex indeed represent task–reward associations. Interestingly, the parietal cortex flexibly changes its content of representation within trials. It first represents task–reward associations, later switching to process tasks and rewards directly. These findings highlight the importance of the inferior parietal cortex in associating behaviors with their outcomes and further show that it can flexibly reconfigure its function within single trials.

In recent years multivariate decoding has allowed to test where and how mental representations can be decoded from neuroimaging signals, which sheds light on how these representations are encoded in the brain. In one line of experiments, we investigated how intentions are encoded in fMRI signals, thus revealing information in medial and lateral prefrontal regions. These informative neural representations were even present prior to the person's awareness of their chosen intention. In comparison, for cued intentions we found information predominantly in lateral, but not medial prefrontal cortex. Intention coding in prefrontal cortex followed a compositional code and could also be observed across extended delays during which participants were busy performing other tasks. Taken together, our results suggest a systematic, compositional and hierarchical code in prefrontal cortex which intentions are encoded across delays while the mind is busy working on other tasks.

In recent years multivariate decoding has allowed to test where and how mental representations can be decoded from neuroimaging signals, which sheds light on how these representations are encoded in the brain. In one line of experiments, we investigated how intentions are encoded in fMRI signals, thus revealing information in medial and lateral prefrontal regions. These informative neural representations were even present prior to the person's awareness of their chosen intention. In comparison, for cued intentions we found information predominantly in lateral, but not medial prefrontal cortex. Intention coding in prefrontal cortex followed a compositional code and could also be observed across extended delays during which participants were busy performing other tasks. Taken together, our results suggest a systematic, compositional and hierarchical code in prefrontal cortex which intentions are encoded across delays while the mind is busy working on other tasks.

Rewards obtained from specific behaviors can and do change across time. To adapt to such conditions, humans need to represent and update associations between behaviors and their outcomes. Much previous work focused on how rewards affect the processing of specific tasks. However, abstract associations between multiple potential behaviors and multiple rewards are an important basis for adaptation as well. In this experiment, we directly investigated which brain areas represent associations between multiple tasks and rewards, using time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Importantly, we were able to dissociate neural signals reflecting task–reward associations from those related to task preparation and reward expectation processes, variables that were often correlated in previous research. We hypothesized that brain regions involved in processing tasks and/or rewards will be involved in processing associations between them. Candidate areas included the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in associating simple actions and rewards, and the parietal cortex, which has been shown to represent task rules and action values. Our results indicate that local spatial activation patterns in the inferior parietal cortex indeed represent task–reward associations. Interestingly, the parietal cortex flexibly changes its content of representation within trials. It first represents task–reward associations, later switching to process tasks and rewards directly. These findings highlight the importance of the inferior parietal cortex in associating behaviors with their outcomes and further show that it can flexibly reconfigure its function within single trials.

When choosing actions, humans have to balance carefully between different task demands. On the one hand, they should perform tasks repeatedly to avoid frequent and effortful switching between different tasks. On the other hand, subjects have to retain their flexibility to adapt to changes in external task demands such as switching away from an increasingly difficult task. Here, we developed a difficulty-based choice task to investigate how subjects voluntarily select task-sets in predictably changing environments. Subjects were free to choose 1 of the 3 task-sets on a trial-by-trial basis, while the task difficulty changed dynamically over time. Subjects self-sequenced their behavior in this environment while we measured brain responses with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using multivariate decoding, we found that task choices were encoded in the medial prefrontal cortex (dorso-medial prefrontal cortex, dmPFC, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dACC). The same regions were found to encode task difficulty, a major factor influencing choices. Importantly, the present paradigm allowed us to disentangle the neural code for task choices and task difficulty, ensuring that activation patterns in dmPFC/dACC independently encode these 2 factors. This finding provides new evidence for the importance of the dmPFC/dACC for task-selection and motivational functions in highly dynamic environments.

In changing environments we need to dynamically re-organize our behavior in order to reach desired goals. This requires strategic switches between different tasks. However, little is known about the neural basis of such adaptation processes. We developed a novel, motivated choice paradigm and used multivariate pattern analysis of fMRI data (MVPA) to investigate this. Subjects chose between three different tasks on a trial-by-trial basis. Task difficulty varied independently for all three tasks, increasing for the chosen task set and decreasing for the non-chosen task sets. This created an exploration-exploitation dilemma for which subjects needed to find a solution. To keep difficulty and error rates low, they had to produce a motivated decision on which task to perform next, based on their estimation of the changing environmental variables. Using MVPA, we were able to predict subjects’ choices from medial PFC, and parietal cortex. Furthermore, we could predict the current difficulty level – the motivational factor driving choices – from reward related areas. Interestingly, the ventro-medial PFC (vmPFC) encoded both the choices and the diffi- culty. This area was previously associated with the processing of stimu- lus-values. Our results suggest that vmPFC is also involved in encoding motivated choices. Further planned analyses will investigate the interaction between areas encoding choices and areas encoding motivational factors in more detail. This should provide important clues on how humans endogenously adapt their behavior to cope with changing environments.