Neurons in rat orbitofrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex exhibit distinct responses in reward and strategy-update in a risk-based decision-making task

The ability to flexibly use knowledge is one cardinal feature of goal-directed behaviors. We recently showed that thalamocortical and corticothalamic pathways connecting the medial prefrontal cortex and the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) contribute to adaptive decision-making (Alcaraz et al., 2018). In this study, we examined the impact of disconnecting the MD from its other main cortical target, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in a task assessing outcome devaluation after initial instrumental training and after reversal of action-outcome contingencies. Crossed MD and OFC lesions did not impair instrumental performance. Using the same approach, we found however that disconnecting the OFC from its other main thalamic afferent, the submedius nucleus, produced a specific impairment in adaptive responding following action-outcome reversal. Altogether, this suggests that multiple thalamocortical circuits may act synergistically to achieve behaviorally relevant functions.

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Hunger or thirst state uncertainty is resolved by outcome evaluation in medial prefrontal cortex to guide decision-making

Nature Neuroscience ◽

10.1038/s41593-021-00850-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anne-Kathrin Eiselt ◽

Susu Chen ◽

Jim Chen ◽

Jon Arnold ◽

Tahnbee Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Outcome Evaluation ◽

State Uncertainty

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Interacting roles of lateral and medial Orbitofrontal cortex in decision-making and learning : A system-level computational model

10.1101/867515 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bhargav Teja Nallapu ◽

Frédéric Alexandre

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Computational Model ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

System Level ◽

Interacting Networks ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

Experimental Findings

AbstractIn the context of flexible and adaptive animal behavior, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is found to be one of the crucial regions in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) influencing the downstream processes of decision-making and learning in the sub-cortical regions. Although OFC has been implicated to be important in a variety of related behavioral processes, the exact mechanisms are unclear, through which the OFC encodes or processes information related to decision-making and learning. Here, we propose a systems-level view of the OFC, positioning it at the nexus of sub-cortical systems and other prefrontal regions. Particularly we focus on one of the most recent implications of neuroscientific evidences regarding the OFC - possible functional dissociation between two of its sub-regions : lateral and medial. We present a system-level computational model of decision-making and learning involving the two sub-regions taking into account their individual roles as commonly implicated in neuroscientific studies. We emphasize on the role of the interactions between the sub-regions within the OFC as well as the role of other sub-cortical structures which form a network with them. We leverage well-known computational architecture of thalamo-cortical basal ganglia loops, accounting for recent experimental findings on monkeys with lateral and medial OFC lesions, performing a 3-arm bandit task. First we replicate the seemingly dissociate effects of lesions to lateral and medial OFC during decision-making as a function of value-difference of the presented options. Further we demonstrate and argue that such an effect is not necessarily due to the dissociate roles of both the subregions, but rather a result of complex temporal dynamics between the interacting networks in which they are involved.Author summaryWe first highlight the role of the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) in value-based decision making and goal-directed behavior in primates. We establish the position of OFC at the intersection of cortical mechanisms and thalamo-basal ganglial circuits. In order to understand possible mechanisms through which the OFC exerts emotional control over behavior, among several other possibilities, we consider the case of dissociate roles of two of its topographical subregions - lateral and medial parts of OFC. We gather predominant roles of each of these sub-regions as suggested by numerous experimental evidences in the form of a system-level computational model that is based on existing neuronal architectures. We argue that besides possible dissociation, there could be possible interaction of these sub-regions within themselves and through other sub-cortical structures, in distinct mechanisms of choice and learning. The computational framework described accounts for experimental data and can be extended to more comprehensive detail of representations required to understand the processes of decision-making, learning and the role of OFC and subsequently the regions of prefrontal cortex in general.

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Autocorrelation structure at rest predicts value correlates of single neurons during reward-guided choice

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.18937 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Sean E Cavanagh ◽

Joni D Wallis ◽

Steven W Kennerley ◽

Laurence T Hunt

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Receptive Fields ◽

Neural Mechanism ◽

Spike Rate ◽

Accumulation Process ◽

Single Neurons ◽

Evidence Accumulation ◽

Autocorrelation Structure

Correlates of value are routinely observed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during reward-guided decision making. In previous work (Hunt et al., 2015), we argued that PFC correlates of chosen value are a consequence of varying rates of a dynamical evidence accumulation process. Yet within PFC, there is substantial variability in chosen value correlates across individual neurons. Here we show that this variability is explained by neurons having different temporal receptive fields of integration, indexed by examining neuronal spike rate autocorrelation structure whilst at rest. We find that neurons with protracted resting temporal receptive fields exhibit stronger chosen value correlates during choice. Within orbitofrontal cortex, these neurons also sustain coding of chosen value from choice through the delivery of reward, providing a potential neural mechanism for maintaining predictions and updating stored values during learning. These findings reveal that within PFC, variability in temporal specialisation across neurons predicts involvement in specific decision-making computations.

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Novel Inferences in a Multidimensional Social Network Use a Grid-like Code

10.1101/2020.05.29.124651 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Seongmin A. Park ◽

Douglas S. Miller ◽

Erie D. Boorman

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Entorhinal Cortex ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Cognitive Map ◽

General Mechanism ◽

Temporoparietal Junction ◽

Flexible Behavior ◽

Discrete Problems

ABSTRACTGeneralizing experiences to guide decision making in novel situations is a hallmark of flexible behavior. It has been hypothesized such flexibility depends on a cognitive map of an environment or task, but directly linking the two has proven elusive. Here, we find that discretely sampled abstract relationships between entities in an unseen two-dimensional (2-D) social hierarchy are reconstructed into a unitary 2-D cognitive map in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. We further show that humans utilize a grid-like code in several brain regions, including entorhinal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, for inferred direct trajectories between entities in the reconstructed abstract space during discrete decisions. Moreover, these neural grid-like codes in the entorhinal cortex predict neural decision value computations in the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction area during choice. Collectively, these findings show that grid-like codes are used by the human brain to infer novel solutions, even in abstract and discrete problems, and suggest a general mechanism underpinning flexible decision making and generalization.

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Representation of actions and outcomes in medial prefrontal cortex during delayed conditional decision-making: Population analyses of single neuron activity

Brain and Neuroscience Advances ◽

10.1177/2398212818773865 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 239821281877386 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miranda J. Francoeur ◽

Robert G. Mair

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Single Neuron ◽

Neuron Activity ◽

Related Activity ◽

Response Options ◽

Single Neuron Activity ◽

Temporal Organisation ◽

Matching To Position

Background: To respond adaptively in a dynamic environment, it is important for organisms to utilise information about recent events to decide between response options. Methods: To examine the role of medial prefrontal cortex in adaptive decision-making, we recorded single neuron activity in rats performing a dynamic delayed non-matching to position task. Results: We recorded activity from 1335 isolated neurons, 458 (34%) with criterion event-related activity, of which 431 (94%) exhibited 1 of 10 distinct excitatory response types: five at different times relative to delivery (or lack) of reinforcement following sample and choice responses and five correlated with movements or lever press actions that occurred multiple times in each trial. Normalised population averages revealed a precisely timed cascade of population responses representing the temporal organisation behavioural events that constitute delayed non-matching to position trials. Firing field analyses identified a subset of neurons with restricted spatial fields: responding to the conjunction of a behavioural event with a specific location. Anatomical analyses showed considerable overlap in the distribution of different response types in medial prefrontal cortex with a significant trend for dorsal areas to contain more neurons with action-related activity and ventral areas more responses related to action outcomes. Conclusion: These results indicate that medial prefrontal cortex contains discrete populations of neurons that represent the temporal organisation of actions and outcomes during delayed non-matching to position trials. They support the hypothesis that medial prefrontal cortex promotes flexible control of complex behaviours by action–outcome contingencies.

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Decision making and the medial prefrontal cortex function in social context

Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology ◽

10.5674/jjppp.28.45 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 45-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Takashi NAKAO ◽

Hideki OHIRA ◽

Georg NORTHOFF

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Social Context ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex

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The Abused Inhalant Toluene Impairs Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Risk/Reward Decision-Making during a Probabilistic Discounting Task

Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1523/jneurosci.1674-19.2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (46) ◽

pp. 9207-9220 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kevin M. Braunscheidel ◽

Michael P. Okas ◽

Michaela Hoffman ◽

Patrick J. Mulholland ◽

Stan B. Floresco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex

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History of Suicide Attempt Is Associated with Reduced Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity during Emotional Decision-Making among Men with Schizophrenia: An Exploratory fMRI Study

Schizophrenia Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2018/9898654 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stéphane Potvin ◽

Andràs Tikàsz ◽

Stéphane Richard-Devantoy ◽

Ovidiu Lungu ◽

Alexandre Dumais

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Suicide Attempt ◽

Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Suicidal Attempt ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Fmri Study ◽

History Of ◽

Brain Reward ◽

Suicidal Ideas

Despite the high prevalence of suicidal ideas/attempts in schizophrenia, only a handful of neuroimaging studies have examined the neurobiological differences associated with suicide risk in this population. The main objective of the current exploratory study is to examine the neurofunctional correlates associated with a history of suicide attempt in schizophrenia, using a risky decision-making task, in order to show alterations in brain reward regions in this population. Thirty-two male outpatients with schizophrenia were recruited: 13 patients with (SCZ + S) and 19 without a history of suicidal attempt (SCZ − S). Twenty-one healthy men with no history of mental disorders or suicidal attempt/idea were also recruited. Participants were scanned using fMRI while performing the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. A rapid event-related fMRI paradigm was used, separating decision and outcome events, and the explosion probabilities were included as parametric modulators. The most important finding of this study is that SCZ + S patients had reduced activations of the medial prefrontal cortex during the success outcome event (with parametric modulation), relative to both SCZ − S patients and controls, as illustrated by a spatial conjunction analysis. These exploratory results suggest that a history of suicidal attempt in schizophrenia is associated with blunted brain reward activity during emotional decision-making.

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