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The orbitofrontal cortex: reward, emotion and depression.

Edmund T Rolls1,2,3, Wei Cheng3,4, Jianfeng Feng2,3,5,4

  • 1Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK.

Brain Communications
|December 28, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a crucial role in emotion and reward processing. Depression may involve an overactive lateral OFC (non-reward) and underactive medial OFC (reward).

Keywords:
decision-makingdepressionemotionorbitofrontal cortexreward

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is vital for processing emotions and reward value in primates, distinguishing between rewards and non-rewards.
  • Prior cortical processing focuses on stimulus identity ('what') rather than reward value.
  • The medial OFC handles various rewards, while the lateral OFC processes non-rewards and punishment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in depression.
  • To test the hypothesis that depression is linked to altered OFC responsiveness and connectivity.
  • To explore potential new therapeutic targets for depression based on OFC function.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of large-scale voxel-level studies in patients with depression.
  • Examination of functional connectivity patterns in the OFC.
  • Comparison of brain activity and connectivity in depressed patients versus controls, and after medication treatment.

Main Results:

  • Patients with depression exhibit increased functional connectivity of the lateral OFC with areas like the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex.
  • This increased lateral OFC connectivity reduces with medication, approaching control levels.
  • Depression is associated with decreased functional connectivity between the medial OFC and medial temporal lobe memory areas.

Conclusions:

  • Depression may stem from an overactive lateral OFC (non-reward processing) and an underactive medial OFC (reward processing).
  • Treatments for depression could target OFC activity, potentially by reducing lateral OFC function or enhancing medial OFC function.
  • The OFC's role in emotion and decision-making may be due to its capacity for implementing attractor networks for reward and emotional states.