How do we feel about decisions when we are unsure of the possible consequences of our actions? A team of neuroscientists lead by Nathalie Camille has been researching this question for some time. Their most recent findings published recently in Science show that a particular region in the brain, the orbitofrontal cortex, has a fundamental role in mediating the experience of regret.

"Facing the consequence of a decision we made can trigger emotions like satisfaction, relief, or regret, which reflect our assessment of what was gained as compared to what would have been gained by making a different decision. These emotions are mediated by a cognitive process known as counterfactual thinking. By manipulating a simple gambling task, we characterized a subject's choices in terms of their anticipated and actual emotional impact. Normal subjects reported emotional responses consistent with counterfactual thinking; they chose to minimize future regret and learned from their emotional experience. Patients with orbitofrontal cortical lesions, however, did not report regret or anticipate negative consequences of their choices. The orbitofrontal cortex has a fundamental role in mediating the experience of regret. (see Science article, sub. required)

As neurotechnology advances and the precise neurobiology of regret emerges, will individuals choose to influence the magnitude of regret they feel? How might this impact personal relationships or how they perceive daily life? What if you could forget regret?