[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Causal Inference Gates Corticostriatal Learning

## Details

**Authors** Dorfman et al.

**Year** 2021

**Publisher** The Journal of Neuroscience

**Discipline** Neuroscience

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2796-20.2021) 
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2796-20.2021

## In authors' words

### Abstract

Attributing outcomes to your own actions or to external causes is essential for appropriately learning which actions lead to reward and which actions do not. Our previous work showed that this type of credit assignment is best explained by a Bayesian reinforcement learning model which posits that beliefs about the causal structure of the environment modulate reward prediction errors (RPEs) during action value updating. In this study, we investigated the brain networks underlying reinforcement learning that are influenced by causal beliefs using functional magnetic resonance imaging while human participants (<i>n</i> = 31; 13 males, 18 females) completed a behavioral task that manipulated beliefs about causal structure. We found evidence that RPEs modulated by causal beliefs are represented in dorsal striatum, while standard (unmodulated) RPEs are represented in ventral striatum. Further analyses revealed that beliefs about causal structure are represented in anterior insula and inferior frontal gyrus. Finally, structural equation modeling revealed effective connectivity from anterior insula to dorsal striatum. Together, these results are consistent with a possible neural architecture in which causal beliefs in anterior insula are integrated with prediction error signals in dorsal striatum to update action values. <b>SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT</b> Learning which actions lead to reward—a process known as reinforcement learning—is essential for survival. Inferring the causes of observed outcomes—a process known as causal inference—is crucial for appropriately assigning credit to one9s own actions and restricting learning to effective action–outcome contingencies. Previous studies have linked reinforcement learning to the striatum, and causal inference to prefrontal regions, yet how these neural processes interact to guide adaptive behavior remains poorly understood. Here, we found evidence that causal beliefs represented in the prefrontal cortex modulate action value updating in posterior striatum, separately from the unmodulated action value update in ventral striatum posited by standard reinforcement learning models.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To test whether the brain gates reinforcement learning by inferred causal structure (action vs external cause) rather than raw contingency.

### What they found (results)

Causal beliefs about whether outcomes were self- or externally-caused (anterior insula/IFG) modulated reward-prediction-error signals in dorsal striatum, integrating causal attribution with prediction error to update action values.

## Commentary

### In short

Learning depends on relating an outcome to whether it was the reaction to one's own action.

### In more detail

Learning requires relating an outcome back to its cause: whether a reward is a reaction to one's own action versus an external cause changes how the action-outcome link is updated. Purpose: To test whether the brain gates reinforcement learning by inferred causal structure (action vs external cause) rather than raw contingency. Finding: Causal beliefs about whether outcomes were self- or externally-caused (anterior insula/IFG) modulated reward-prediction-error signals in dorsal striatum, integrating causal attribution with prediction error to update action values. [Added 2026-07-30 as new evidence beyond the original 109. DSRP structural basis: R (Action–Reaction Dyad): relating an outcome to one's own action as its cause drives learning.]

**Patterns it shows** R

**Added** 2026-07-30

**How to cite this** Dorfman et al. (2021). Causal Inference Gates Corticostriatal Learning. The Journal of Neuroscience.