A Decision Architecture for Safety Computations

Accurately estimating safety is critical to pursuing nondefensive survival behaviors. However, little attention has been paid to how the human brain computes safety. We conceptualize a model that consists of two components: (i) threat-oriented evaluations that focus on threat value, imminence, and predictability; and (ii) self-oriented evaluations that focus on the agent's experience, strategies, and ability to control the situation. Our model points to the dynamic interaction between these two components as a mechanism of safety estimation. Based on a growing body of human literature, we hypothesize that distinct regions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) respond to threat and safety to facilitate survival decisions. We suggest safety is not an inverse of danger, but reflects independent computations that mediate defensive circuits and behaviors.

Automated summary

The model presented in the article suggests that the human brain computes safety through threat-oriented and self-oriented evaluations, with dynamic interaction between these two components serving as the mechanism of safety estimation. Research indicates that distinct regions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex respond to threat and safety to facilitate survival decisions. Safety is not simply the inverse of danger, but rather reflects independent computations that mediate defensive circuits and behaviors.