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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
12:09
Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
Published on: March 19, 2014
Orbitofrontal cortex encodes willingness to pay in everyday economic transactions
Hilke Plassmann1, John O'Doherty, Antonio Rangel
1California Institute of Technology, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, MC 228-77, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
Summary
Understanding willingness-to-pay (WTP) is key in economics. This study reveals that brain regions, specifically the medial orbitofrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, are crucial for calculating WTP during economic decisions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuroeconomics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Economic transactions fundamentally rely on willingness-to-pay (WTP) calculations.
- The neural mechanisms underlying WTP computation remain largely unexplored.
- Understanding WTP is crucial for economic decision-making models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural basis of willingness-to-pay (WTP) computation.
- To identify brain regions involved in valuing goods for economic exchange.
- To explore the role of specific prefrontal cortex areas in WTP.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan participants' brains.
- Participants were in a hungry state to ensure motivation for food items.
- Real bidding for food items was employed to elicit WTP values.
Main Results:
- Activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) was found to encode WTP.
- Activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) also correlated with WTP.
- These findings suggest distinct roles for mOFC and dlPFC in economic valuation.
Conclusions:
- The medial orbitofrontal cortex plays a significant role in encoding the subjective value of goals.
- The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved in the computation of willingness-to-pay.
- This research provides neural evidence for economic theories of decision-making.
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