Imagining the future self through thought experiments |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratory for Imagination and Executive Functions, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan;2. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;3. Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;4. Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK;5. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK |
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| Abstract: | The ability of the mind to conceptualize what is not present is essential. It allows us to reason counterfactually about what might have happened had events unfolded differently or had another course of action been taken. It allows us to think about what might happen – to perform 'Gedankenexperimente' (thought experiments) – before we act. However, the cognitive and neural mechanisms mediating this ability are poorly understood. We suggest that the frontopolar cortex (FPC) keeps track of and evaluates alternative choices (what we might have done), whereas the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex (alPFC) compares simulations of possible future scenarios (what we might do) and evaluates their reward values. Together, these brain regions support the construction of suppositional scenarios. |
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