Relating rapid mental simulation to past experience

The neural computations that enable us to rapidly simulate the outcome of sequential choices with little or no learning, are unclear. Here, I present data highlighting how distributed neocortical regions potentially support prospective choice and how these regions might be influenced by spontaneous activity in neural circuits. Specifically, I focus on human fMRI results isolating rostro-dorsal mPFC and parietal midline regions that signal uncertainty about choices later in a sequence. I then will present findings showing that hippocampal sharp-wave ripples influence spontaneous fluctuations in similar regions. Taken together, these data provide preliminary evidence that replay of past events might allow the brain to explore past experience in order to prepare for novel decisions