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Evidence accumulation from experience and observation in the cingulate cortex

Nature volume 650, pages 681–689 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

We use our experiences to form and update beliefs about the hidden states of the world1,2,3. When possible, we also gather evidence by observing others. However, how the brain integrates experiential and observational evidence is not understood. We studied the dynamics of evidence integration in a two-player game with volatile hidden states. Both humans and monkeys successfully updated their beliefs while playing the game and observing their partner, although less effectively when observing. Electrophysiological recordings in animals revealed that the anterior cingulate cortex integrates independent sources of experiential and observational evidence into a coherent neural representation of dynamic belief about the environment’s state. The geometry of population activity revealed the computational architecture of this integration and provided a neural account of the behavioural asymmetry between experiential and observational evidence accumulation. This work lays the groundwork for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying evidence accumulation in social contexts in the primate brain.

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Fig. 1: Multi-agent evidence integration task and performance.
Fig. 2: Behavioural characteristics of experiential and observational learning in monkeys and humans.
Fig. 3: ACC neurons encode and integrate actor and observer outcome.
Fig. 4: Population geometry of multi-agent evidence integration.

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Data availability

The data are available via DANDI at https://dandiarchive.org/dandiset/001435. Source data are provided with this paper.

Code availability

The code for analysis in this paper is available via GitHub at https://github.com/jazlab/RC_SR_NV_SBY_MJ_2025.

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Acknowledgements

R.C. was supported by the Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT and Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research. S.R. was supported by a Mathworks Graduate Fellowship and K. Lisa Yang ICoN Center Fellowship. S.B.M.Y. was supported by the Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT. M.J. was supported by the Simons Foundation and the McGovern Institute. We thank J. Gabel, N. Watters and A. Piccato for their respective help with electrophysiology, modelling and open-sourcing.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Ruidong Chen, Setayesh Radkani

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Ruidong Chen, Setayesh Radkani & Mehrdad Jazayeri

  2. McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Ruidong Chen, Setayesh Radkani, Neelima Valluru & Mehrdad Jazayeri

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea

    Seng Bum Michael Yoo

  4. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Mehrdad Jazayeri

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Contributions

S.R., S.B.M.Y. and M.J. designed the task. S.B.M.Y. trained the animals. R.C. and N.V. performed animal experiments. S.R. performed human experiments. R.C., S.R. and N.V. analysed the data. R.C., S.R. and M.J. wrote the manuscript. M.J. supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Mehrdad Jazayeri.

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Chen, R., Radkani, S., Valluru, N. et al. Evidence accumulation from experience and observation in the cingulate cortex. Nature 650, 681–689 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09885-0

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