Do dopaminergic reward structures represent the expected utility of information similarly to a reward? Optimal experimental design models from Bayesian decision theory and statistics have proposed a theoretical framework for quantifying the expected value of information that might result from a query. In particular, this formulation quantifies the value of information before the answer to that query is known, in situations where payoffs are unknown and the goal is purely epistemic: That is, to increase knowledge about the state of the world. Whether and how such a theoretical quantity is represented in the brain is unknown. Here we use an event-related functional MRI (fMRI) task design to disentangle information expectation, information revelation and categorization outcome anticipation, and response-contingent reward processing in a visual probabilistic categorization task. We identify a neural signature corresponding to the expectation of information, involving the left lateral ventral striatum. Moreover, we show a temporal dissociation in the activation of different reward-related regions, including the nucleus accumbens, medial prefrontal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex, during information expectation versus reward-related processing.

多巴胺能的奖励结构是否像奖励一样表示预期的信息效用？来自贝叶斯决策理论和统计数据的最佳实验设计模型已经提出了一个理论框架，用于量化可能来自查询的信息的期望值。特别是，在收益未知，目标纯粹是认识性的情况下，这种表述会在知道该查询的答案之前量化信息的价值：即增加对世界状况的了解。这种理论量在大脑中是否以及如何表示尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用事件相关的功能性MRI（fMRI）任务设计来区分信息期望，信息显示和分类结果预期，视觉概率分类任务中的响应和或有奖赏处理。我们确定涉及信息的期望，涉及左侧腹侧纹状体的神经签名。此外，我们在信息期望与奖励相关处理期间显示了不同奖励相关区域（包括伏隔核，内侧前额叶皮层和眶额皮质）的激活在时间上的分离。