An Integrative Theory of the Noradrenaline System: Meta-Control through Expected Information Gain
Abstract
Living organisms constantly balance exploration and exploitation to adapt to changing environments. While the neuromodulator noradrenaline (NA) is known to regulate arousal, attention, and information seeking, its precise computational function remains elusive. Here, we propose an integrative theory of the noradrenergic system, suggesting that it encodes expected information gain (EIG), a measure of how informative the environment is over time, and that it uses this quantity for the meta-control of adaptive behavior. We illustrate this theory using a hierarchical active inference model in which the NA system acts as a higher-level meta-controller that dynamically adjusts a set of parameters (η) of a lower-level behavioral controller, modulating exploration rate, the balance between deliberative and habitual control, perceptual precision, learning rate, and cognitive flexibility. Simulations demonstrate that NA-based EIG estimation and meta-control enhance performance in volatile environments by promoting directed exploration, facilitating rapid shifts away from maladaptive habits, sharpening sensory evidence, and accelerating learning following context changes. These results unify multiple facets of noradrenergic function under a single computational objective, providing a novel perspective to explain tonic and phasic NA activity in estimating EIG and meta-controlling behavior. Summing up, this framework provides a principled link between neuromodulation, exploration, and adaptive behavior, suggesting that the noradrenergic system implements a fundamental mechanism for inferring and exploiting the informational richness of the environment.
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BibTeX
@misc{proietti2026integrative,
title = {{An Integrative Theory of the Noradrenaline System: Meta-Control through Expected Information Gain}},
author = {Riccardo Proietti and Giovanni Pezzulo},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/du3e2_v3},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/du3e2_v3/},
note = {CC0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - An Integrative Theory of the Noradrenaline System: Meta-Control through Expected Information Gain
AU - Riccardo Proietti
AU - Giovanni Pezzulo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/du3e2_v3
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/du3e2_v3/
AB - Living organisms constantly balance exploration and exploitation to adapt to changing environments. While the neuromodulator noradrenaline (NA) is known to regulate arousal, attention, and information seeking, its precise computational function remains elusive. Here, we propose an integrative theory of the noradrenergic system, suggesting that it encodes expected information gain (EIG), a measure of how informative the environment is over time, and that it uses this quantity for the meta-control of adaptive behavior. We illustrate this theory using a hierarchical active inference model in which the NA system acts as a higher-level meta-controller that dynamically adjusts a set of parameters (η) of a lower-level behavioral controller, modulating exploration rate, the balance between deliberative and habitual control, perceptual precision, learning rate, and cognitive flexibility. Simulations demonstrate that NA-based EIG estimation and meta-control enhance performance in volatile environments by promoting directed exploration, facilitating rapid shifts away from maladaptive habits, sharpening sensory evidence, and accelerating learning following context changes. These results unify multiple facets of noradrenergic function under a single computational objective, providing a novel perspective to explain tonic and phasic NA activity in estimating EIG and meta-controlling behavior. Summing up, this framework provides a principled link between neuromodulation, exploration, and adaptive behavior, suggesting that the noradrenergic system implements a fundamental mechanism for inferring and exploiting the informational richness of the environment.
ER -