TY - JOUR
T1 - Orbitofrontal cortex contributes to the comparison of values underlying economic choices
AU - Ballesta, Sébastien
AU - Shi, Weikang
AU - Padoa-Schioppa, Camillo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Economic choices between goods entail the computation and comparison of subjective values. Previous studies examined neuronal activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of monkeys choosing between different types of juices. Three groups of neurons were identified: offer value cells encoding the value of individual offers, chosen juice cells encoding the identity of the chosen juice, and chosen value cells encoding the value of the chosen offer. The encoded variables capture both the input (offer value) and the output (chosen juice, chosen value) of the decision process, suggesting that values are compared within OFC. Recent work demonstrates that choices are causally linked to the activity of offer value cells. Conversely, the hypothesis that OFC contributes to value comparison has not been confirmed. Here we show that weak electrical stimulation of OFC specifically disrupts value comparison without altering offer values. This result implies that neuronal populations in OFC participate in value comparison.
AB - Economic choices between goods entail the computation and comparison of subjective values. Previous studies examined neuronal activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of monkeys choosing between different types of juices. Three groups of neurons were identified: offer value cells encoding the value of individual offers, chosen juice cells encoding the identity of the chosen juice, and chosen value cells encoding the value of the chosen offer. The encoded variables capture both the input (offer value) and the output (chosen juice, chosen value) of the decision process, suggesting that values are compared within OFC. Recent work demonstrates that choices are causally linked to the activity of offer value cells. Conversely, the hypothesis that OFC contributes to value comparison has not been confirmed. Here we show that weak electrical stimulation of OFC specifically disrupts value comparison without altering offer values. This result implies that neuronal populations in OFC participate in value comparison.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135170533&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-022-32199-y
DO - 10.1038/s41467-022-32199-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 35906242
AN - SCOPUS:85135170533
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 13
JO - Nature communications
JF - Nature communications
IS - 1
M1 - 4405
ER -