Defensive freezing sharpens threat-reward information processing during approach-avoidance decision making

Abstract

People regularly face approach-avoidance dilemmas which require minimization of potential threat whilst maximizing potential reward. Defensive reactions to threat, such as transient states of freezing, influence integration of reward/threat information in the dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC). However, the mechanism of this integration between internal state and external value (state-value integration) remains unknown. Here, we decoded approach-avoidance decisions under threat using high-precision magnetoencephalography (MEG). Threat-induced cardiac deceleration (indicative of defensive freezing) was trial-by-trial associated with more pronounced effects of reward and threat magnitudes on approach-avoidance choices. Time-resolved decoding of threat-reward information from neural signals predicted approach-avoidance choices several seconds before the actual response. Crucially, during freezing, 6-12 Hz coherence between threat-reward information and dACC neural activity increased, suggesting that defensive freezing sharpens threat/reward processing during approach-avoidance decision making. These findings provide a potential neural mechanism by which threat-induced freezing can facilitate information integration, essential for optimal decision making under threat.