Abstract
We propose that counterfactual representations for reasoning about the past or predicting the future depend on structured event complexes (SECs) in the human prefrontal cortex (PFC; 'What would happen if X were performed in the past or enacted in the future?'). We identify three major categories of counterfactual thought (concerning action versus inaction, the self versus other and upward versus downward thinking) and propose that each form of inference recruits SEC representations in distinct regions of the medial PFC. We develop a process model of the regulatory functions these representations serve and draw conclusions about the importance of SECs for explaining the past and predicting the future.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1291-1300 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Volume | 364 |
Issue number | 1521 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Counterfactual reasoning
- Event knowledge
- Planning
- Prediction
- Prefrontal cortex
- Structured event complexes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)