Thanks to co-authors @morenobote.bsky.social and @benhayden.bsky.social for such a great opportunity, to @upf.edu, @crmatematica.bsky.social, and all supporters. 🧠🧪 #neurojc #neuroscience #neuropapers #compneuro #neuroeconomics #neurosky #academicsky #neuroskynce #decisionmaking #BehavioralEcology

Using a reference-dependent model based on Prospect Theory (PT), we reveal a functional asymmetry: More neurons encoded potential gains than losses, and gain-related signals were more tightly aligned with choices. This highlights a bias toward positive, goal-relevant outcomes in dACC value coding.

The core novelty of our model stands in the definition of a Prospect Theory (Kahneman & Tversky 1979) inspired reference r(ATC) that dynamically models the utility u(v,ATC) as the comparison of alternative offers for ATC<3 🤑 (r(ATC)→0) and of offer value to missing tokens (r(ATC)→6-ATC) for ATC≥3 😬.

Even when explicitly modeling interactions between value and token accumulation, neural encoding remained primarily driven by value signals. However, these signals were subtly reshaped across the task, suggesting that token accumulation modulates, but does not simply scale, value representations.

At the neural level we found that dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) encodes subjective value (SV) and ATC. SV-related signals peak during offer presentation, while ATC signals are sustained across the task, indicating progress monitoring. SV- but not ATC-related signals correlate with choices.

Importantly, this change followed a structured pattern: risk-taking attitude 🤑 increased early on (ATC<3), peaked around ATC=3, and decreased 😬 near jackpot (ATC≥3). This inverse-u profile clearly outlines that choices are guided by a shifting internal reference point tied to progress toward reward.

Accumulating tokens also reshapes risk preferences. Subjects are more risk-seeking when far from the jackpot, but became increasingly risk-averse as they approached it, especially when decisions were easier. This reveals a dynamic shift in strategy as ATC increases ↗️ and the goal becomes attainable.

Looking more closely, a clear pattern emerges: errors (i.e.,best choice misses) decrease as ATC increases, particularly when choices were not so trivial 🎰 (A). This improvement was most prominent at intermediate difficulty, indicating improved ability to discriminate between competing options 🧐 (B).

We adopted a task where risky decisions don’t pay off immediately, but deliver virtual tokens 🪙 to collect across trials. Hitting accumulated tokens count (ATC) = 6 leads to a jackpot reward delivery 💰, and ATC reset. Leading question: do decision strategies depend on such dynamic ATC reference?

This work led by @d-ferro.bsky.social with @benhayden.bsky.social shows how current wealth modulates behavior and value encoding. Kudos @d-ferro.bsky.social

Demetrio Ferro@d-ferro.bsky.social · 2w ago

Excited to share our latest publication, out now in @natcomms.nature.com !🧠🔍 Accumulating virtual rewards enhances both decision-making accuracy and neural value encoding in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex by dynamically shifting a goal-dependent internal reference point. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Excited to share our latest publication, out now in @natcomms.nature.com !🧠🔍 Accumulating virtual rewards enhances both decision-making accuracy and neural value encoding in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex by dynamically shifting a goal-dependent internal reference point. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

I’m excited to collaborate with Núria Sebastián, @damianblasi.bsky.social, Luca Bonatti, Gustavo Deco, @morenobote.bsky.social, Salvador Soto, @summerfieldlab.bsky.social, and Juan Manuel Toro at @cbc-upf.bsky.social, and to connect with the broader @barccsyn.bsky.social community. 2/4

🚨 Big news 🚨 After 10 years at Harvard, my lab is moving to Barcelona in Spring 2027 to join @cbc-upf.bsky.social and the Department of Engineering at @upf.edu. 1/4

🚨 Big news 🚨 @jdrugowitsch.bsky.social is moving to Barcelona in Spring 2027 to join us the Center for Brain and Cognition @cbc-upf.bsky.social and the Dept of Eng at @upf.edu, Barcelona, Spain. We keep building a research group focused on theoretical and computational neuroscience.

In case you are in Barcelona The Science of Motivation: Drive, Curiosity and Your Brain Wednesday 13th May - 7.30pm PAU Coworking and Creative Hub Tickets: luma.com/ojiwgc14?utm...

The Science of Motivation: Drive, Curiosity and Your Brain · Luma

Why do some goals light you up while others die the moment you write them down? Why does a robot programmed to "want" things behave nothing like a human who…

luma.com

Preprint on how conscious experience might arise from the mental-simulation vs environment-coupling axis osf.io/preprints/ps... I am sure we made mistakes, but it was really fun to think with Pedro Maldonado about this in front of the Death Valley

I am happy to share this new review on Intrinsically Motivated Intelligence academic.oup.com/edited-volum...

The Graviational Reward Function. I have been working on this side project for a while, and I am now happy to share this preprint. The reward function and acceleration cost for gravitation and Coulomb classical forces are uncovered. arxiv.org/abs/2603.25444

The Reward Function and the Least Cost Principle for Gravitation and other Laws of Physics

If the universe follows a specific design, then a central question is which cost function is optimized by the observed forces. This is the problem of inverse optimal control, or inverse reinforcement ...

arxiv.org

New preprint. A review on Intrinsic Motivation Theories arxiv.org/abs/2601.10276 In collaboration with an amazing team

How Intrinsic Motivation Underlies Embodied Open-Ended Behavior

Although most theories posit that natural behavior can be explained as maximizing some form of extrinsic reward, often called utility, some behaviors appear to be reward independent. For instance, spo...

arxiv.org

Postdoc & PhD positions How intrinsic motivation underlies intelligent, open-ended and embodied behavior in natural and artificial agents Apply if interested sites.google.com/view/morenob...

1/2 Brain and Cognition Master at @UPFBarcelona Why to enroll here? Nuria Sebastian-Galles (language, Premio Nacional) Gustavo Deco (comp neuro) Chris Summerfield (cognition & AI) Salva Soto-Faraco (attention) Rubén Moreno-Bote (comp neuro & AI)

📷PhD Position in Computational Neuroscience and AI, Moreno-Bote Lab, Barcelona. 1 fully funded PhD position is available. Deadline November 2025. See post below.

www.upf.edu/web/phd-engi... Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship at UPF, for Female Researchers of African nationality only. If you hold a degree in Physics, Computer Science or Mathematics, please, apply to my comp neuro theory lab. Send me your CV and transcript of grades to my email.

Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship - PhD in Information and Communication Technologies - UPF

upf.edu

Do you "look at nothing" when making a decision? Here we provide further evidence about the connection betwee gaze into nothing and decision confidence, revealing more on the sequential hidden dynamics of decisions journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

The relationship between confidence and gaze-at-nothing oculomotor dynamics during decision-making

How does confidence relate to oculomotor dynamics during decision-making? Do oculomotor dynamics reflect deliberation and the buildup of confidence in the absence of visual stimuli? Here we examine th...

journals.plos.org

Great work with @d-ferro.bsky.social‬ and Ben Hayden

Demetrio Ferro@d-ferro.bsky.social · last yr.

Just posted a @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social preprint! 📝 Accumulating tokens towards a jackpot enhances decision speed and accuracy, as well as value encoding in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex 🧠. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Thanks to @morenobote.bsky.social, @benhayden.bsky.social, and @upf.edu

New open PhD position in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience in my lab. We want to discover the basis of natural intelligence. Please, spread the word, and apply if interested. See more details below.

Our Barcelona-based summer school, BAMB! (bambschool.org) just opened applications! Come join us: 15-24th July, to learn how to model behavioral data using RL, Bayesian, latent variable models, RNNs, DDMs & more! #BAMB2025

BAMB!

Course philosophy Our goal is​ to teach advanced techniques in model-based analysis of behavior (humans and other animals) to cognitive and computational neuroscientists at PhD and early career levels...

bambschool.org

Open PhD position in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience in my lab. We want to discover the basis of natural intelligence. Please, spread the word, and apply if interested. See more details below.

Would be great to be added. Thanks! Credentials: scholar.google.com/citations?us...

Sure! Eg, here is my latest with Brent Doiron and others using linear response theory in circuits with multiple inhibitory subtypes: elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...