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Sampling memory to make profitable choices

Nature Neuroscience volume 20, pages 903–904 (2017)Cite this article

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A computational model explains how memories of past rewards guide value-based choices. Incorporating behavioral and functional MRI evidence, the findings indicate that 'sampling' from individual memories of past rewards influences choices.

When faced with a buffet table of oysters, you may need to choose whether and to what degree you will indulge. This decision is based on your estimation of whether or not eating the oysters will lead to a rewarding outcome. In such instances, it seems obvious that our decision will be informed by our past experiences. What is less obvious, however, is in exactly what way we use our memories of past experiences to guide current decisions. An intuitive idea that has dominated decision-making research for many years is that we store something like a running average of our experiences (“I tend to be fine after eating oysters”), weighting recent experiences more heavily1. The next time we need to make the same decision, we 'load' this norm-based expectation to guide our decision. Researchers studying value-based decision-making have fine-tuned this basic idea over the years, generating detailed computational models that can powerfully explain variability in how human subjects actually respond in these situations (though, typically, without using oysters)2,3.

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Figure 1: Memory sampling and choice behavior.

Kim Caesar/Springer Nature

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology,

    Brice A Kuhl & Nicole M Long

  2. Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA

    Brice A Kuhl & Nicole M Long

Authors
  1. Brice A Kuhl
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  2. Nicole M Long
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Correspondence to Brice A Kuhl.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Kuhl, B., Long, N. Sampling memory to make profitable choices. Nat Neurosci 20, 903–904 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4588

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