Nima Khalighinejad

Abstract Planning requires anticipating the environmental contingencies that we will encounter and also our own future behaviour in those scenarios. The evolutionary origins of such prospective decision simulations have, however, been difficult to investigate. Moreover, in humans, these metacognitive processes are associated with a distinctively human brain region in the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex.

Abstract The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is an important source of serotonin to the human forebrain, however there is little consensus about its behavioural function. We build on recent results from animal models to demonstrate that activity in human DRN implements changes in behavioural policy that reflect the distribution of rewards in the environment.

Abstract Prosocial behaviours are essential for solving global challenges. Often, these behaviours have been measured using economic games or tasks where people decide between helping or not. However, in everyday life current behaviours are interrupted with alternative opportunities. Across three independent samples (two preregistered, total n = 510), people watched a movie whilst encountering opportunities that benefitted another person or themselves.