Human hippocampus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex infer and update latent causes during social interaction

Abstract

Latent-cause inference is the process of identifying features of the environment that have caused an outcome. It becomes difficult in social settings where individuals may not make equal contributions to the outcomes they achieve together. Here, we designed a novel task in which participants inferred which of two characters was more likely to have been responsible for outcomes achieved by working together. Using computational modeling, univariate and multivariate analysis of human fMRI, and continuous theta-burst stimulation, we identified two brain regions that solved the task. Notably, as each outcome occurred, it was possible to decode the inference of its cause (the responsible character) from hippocampal activity. Activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) updated estimates of association between cause—the responsible character—and the outcome. Disruption of dmPFC activity impaired participants’ ability to update their estimate as a function of inferred responsibility but spared their ability to infer responsibility.