Orbitofrontal cortex and the computation of economic value. 2007

Camillo Padoa-Schioppa
Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, U SA. camillo@alum.mit.edu

Economic choice is the behavior observed when individuals select one of many available options solely based on subjective preferences. Behavioral evidence suggests that economic choice entails two mental processes: values are first assigned to the available options, and a decision is subsequently made between these values. Numerous reports show that lesions to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) lead to choice deficits in various domains, and imaging studies indicate that the OFC activates when people make choices. In this chapter, we review evidence from single cell recordings linking the OFC more specifically to valuation. Individual neurons in the OFC encode the value that monkeys assign to different beverages when they choose between them. These neurons encode economic value as a subjective quantity. Most importantly, neurons in the OFC encode economic value per se, not as a modulation of sensory or motor processes. This trait distinguishes the value representation in the OFC from that observed in other brain areas. That OFC neurons encode economic value independently of visuomotor contingencies suggests that economic choice is fundamentally a choice between goods (good-based model) rather than a choice between actions (action-based model).

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008606 Mental Processes Conceptual functions or thinking in all its forms. Information Processing, Human,Human Information Processing
D009415 Nerve Net A meshlike structure composed of interconnecting nerve cells that are separated at the synaptic junction or joined to one another by cytoplasmic processes. In invertebrates, for example, the nerve net allows nerve impulses to spread over a wide area of the net because synapses can pass information in any direction. Neural Networks (Anatomic),Nerve Nets,Net, Nerve,Nets, Nerve,Network, Neural (Anatomic),Networks, Neural (Anatomic),Neural Network (Anatomic)
D009474 Neurons The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM. Nerve Cells,Cell, Nerve,Cells, Nerve,Nerve Cell,Neuron
D002755 Choice Behavior The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation. Approach Behavior,Approach Behaviors,Behavior, Approach,Behavior, Choice,Behaviors, Approach,Behaviors, Choice,Choice Behaviors
D005625 Frontal Lobe The part of the cerebral hemisphere anterior to the central sulcus, and anterior and superior to the lateral sulcus. Brodmann Area 8,Brodmann's Area 8,Frontal Cortex,Frontal Eye Fields,Lobus Frontalis,Supplementary Eye Field,Area 8, Brodmann,Area 8, Brodmann's,Brodmanns Area 8,Cortex, Frontal,Eye Field, Frontal,Eye Field, Supplementary,Eye Fields, Frontal,Frontal Cortices,Frontal Eye Field,Frontal Lobes,Lobe, Frontal,Supplementary Eye Fields
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001628 Beverages Liquids that are suitable for drinking. (From Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed) Beverage

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