Abstract
The human ability to simulate possible future episodes seems to be supported by the same core network that also supports recollections of the past. This study scrutinized the functions mediated by a specific node of this network, the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We hypothe- sized that this region supports simulations by accessing prior knowledge structures related to the elements of a simulation. Prior to the scanning ses-
sion, participants generated 200 people and locations that they personally know, and indicated the familiarity and pleasantness of each person and location. In the fMRI scanner, they then simulated interacting with a given person at a specific location. Consistent with our hypothesis, mPFC activa- tion was tightly coupled with the degree to which the constituting elements of the episode were familiar. Thus, this region was more strongly engaged when the simulations could be based on richer prior knowledge. Moreover, preliminary analyses indicate that activation in a part of this region also reflects the combined pleasantness of the episode’s elements, suggesting that mPFC processes the anticipated affective quality of the event. Taken together, mPFC may effectively facilitate prior affective knowledge to sim- ulate what it might be like to experience a potential future episode.
