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The oracle and the didact: Orbitofrontal influences on learning and dopaminergic error signaling
Geoffrey Schoenbaum1, Thorsten Kahnt1
1Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Abstract:
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is recognized as being responsible for constructing and representing internal models of the causal structure of the world. Current theories task the OFC with filling gaps in our experiential knowledge of this structure, recognizing hidden causes, making inferences, and even creating so-called belief states. Most accounts emphasize the importance of the functions assigned to the OFC in driving decisions. However, mediating such critical aspects of our internal representation of the world should also be important for learning, as adjusting our knowledge depends in part on our expectations and their violation, and constructing and revising a model of the world involves learning in the first place. Here, we will review data consistent with the proposal that the OFC is critical for performance and learning, focusing on neural correlates and OFC-dependent deficits. We will then discuss other actors comprising this circuit, including, most prominently, midbrain dopamine neurons.
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