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Opposing, multiplexed information in lateral and ventral orbitofrontal cortex guides sequential foraging decisions in
Paul J Cunningham1, A David Redish2
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Neuron
|July 22, 2025
Summary
Researchers found distinct brain regions, lateral orbital (LO) and ventral orbital (VO) cortex, encode opposing values and costs to guide economic decisions in rats during foraging tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Decision-making
- Behavioral economics
Background:
- The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a crucial role in decision-making, but its functional heterogeneity remains incompletely understood.
- Specific subregions, such as the lateral orbital (LO) and ventral orbital (VO) cortex, may contribute distinct computations.
- Understanding these regional specializations is key to deciphering the neural basis of complex choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct roles of LO and VO in economic decision-making.
- To explore how these regions represent value and cost during sequential foraging.
- To elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the integration of value and cost information.
Main Methods:
- Neural ensembles were recorded from rat orbitofrontal cortex (LO and VO) during a sequential foraging task.
- Rats made decisions involving choices between immediate rewards and delayed rewards, requiring assessment of opportunity costs.
- Behavioral choices and neural activity were analyzed in relation to task states and internal/external modulations of reward value.
Main Results:
- LO ensembles represented reward value, while VO ensembles represented opportunity costs.
- The balance between LO and VO activity predicted decisions to approach or leave a reward.
- These representations were modulated by reward scarcity and hunger, reflecting changes in subjective value.
- Distinct cell clusters within LO and VO encoded these opposing representations across different task states.
Conclusions:
- LO and VO exhibit opposing yet complementary roles in economic decision-making.
- A shared coding scheme in the OFC multiplexes value and task-state information.
- These findings clarify the functional architecture of the orbitofrontal cortex in guiding foraging decisions.
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