Computations and Connectivity Underlying Aversive Counterfactuals.

Mentally simulating counterfactuals (scenarios that have not actually occurred) is a sophisticated human cognitive function underlying creativity, planning, and daydreaming. One example is the "would you rather" game, in which forced choices are made between outlandish negative counterfactuals. We measured behavioral and neural correlates while participants made "would you rather" choices framed as approaching or avoiding aversive counterfactual scenarios (e.