Topic: habitual control

Research into decision-making suggest that the brain contains multiple systems for generating adaptive strategies. The usual explanation is that each strategy is optimized for different environmental conditions. Neurophysiologically, current theories suggest that habitual control requires dorsolateral striatal (DLS) networks, while deliberative control depends on hippocampus (HC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Within mPFC, manipulation studies and prior research suggest that prelimbic cortex (PL) contains strategy representations making it especially important for this interaction. To ex

A fundamental tenet of animal behavior is that decision-making involves multiple ‘controllers.’ Initially, behavior is goal-directed, driven by desired outcomes, shifting later to habitual control, where cues trigger actions independent of motivational state. Clark Hull’s question from 1943 still resonates today: “Is this transition abrupt, or is it gradual and progressive?” Despite a century-long belief in gradual transitions, this question remains unanswered as current methods cannot disambiguate goal-directed versus habitual control in real-time. Here, we introduce a novel ‘volitional engag