by Nomiki Koutsoumpari, Johannes Algermissen, Siti Nurbaya Yaakub, Hanneke EM den Ouden, Nadege Bault, Elsa Fouragnan Pavlovian biases reflect how evolutionarily hard-wired tendencies—automatic approach toward reward cues and withdrawal from threat cues—can interfere with flexible, goal-directed action. Such biases arise through three mechanisms: (a) anticipated rewards energize action while anticipated punishments suppress it (response bias), (b) agents learn differently from actions than from inactions (learning bias), and (c) reward/punishment cues themselves drive repetitive behavior, independent of outcomes (perseveration bias). The neural origin of these biases is unclear. Past evidence suggests dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (aIns) as part of a “reset network” that rapidly responds to salient information and might contribute to these biases. We used transcranial ultrasonic stimulation (TUS) in 29 healthy participants to interfere with neural activity