scholarly journals Anatomically distinct OFC-PCC circuits relay choice from value space to action space

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Zhe Wang ◽  
Benjamin Y. Hayden ◽  
Sarah R. Heilbronner
Keyword(s):  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Action Space ◽  
Anatomical Connectivity ◽  
Economic Choice ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Concrete Action ◽  
Field Coherence

ABSTRACTEconomic choice necessarily involves the transformation of abstract, object-based representations to concrete, action-based ones. This transformation is both determined and delimited by the neuroanatomical organization of the regions that implement it. In choice, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a key role in both abstract valuation and cognitive mapping. However, determining the neural processes underlying this transformation has proven difficult. We hypothesized that difficulty stems from in part from the fact that the OFC consists of multiple functionally distinct zones that are distinguished by their differing contributions to the abstract-concrete transformation, and that these functions reflect their differing long-range projections. Here we identify two such subregions, defined by stronger or weaker bidirectional anatomical connectivity with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). We call these regions OFCin and OFCout, respectively. We find that OFCin, relative to OFCout, shows enhanced functional connectivity with PCC, as indicated by both spike-field coherence and mutual information. We find converging evidence that the OFCin-PCC circuit, but not the OFCout-PCC circuit, relays choice signals from an abstract value space to a concrete action space. Moreover, the OFCin-PCC circuit shows a putative bidirectional mutually excitatory pattern. Together, these results support the hypothesis that OFC-PCC subareal organization is critical for understanding the implementation of offer-action transformation in economic choice.

scholarly journals Shared neuronal bases of inhibition and economic choice in orbitofrontal cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragathi Priyadharsini Balasubramani ◽  
Benjamin Y. Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Economic Choice ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Theoretical Unification

ABSTRACTEconomic choice and inhibition are two important elements of our cognitive repertoires that may be closely related. We and others have noted that during economic choice, options are typically considered serially; this fact provides important constraints on our understanding of choice. Notably, asynchronous contemplation means that each individual option is subject to an accept-reject decision. We have proposed that these component accept-reject decisions may have some kinship with stopping decisions. One prediction of this idea is that stopping and choice may reflect similar neural processes occurring in overlapping brain circuits. To test the idea, we recorded neuronal activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) Area 13 while macaques performed a stop signal task interleaved with a structurally matched choice task. Using neural network decoders, we find that OFC ensembles have overlapping codes for stopping and choice: the decoder that was only trained to identify accept vs. reject trials performed with higher efficiency even when tested on the stop trials. These results provide tentative support for the idea that mechanisms underlying inhibitory control and choice selection may be subject to theoretical unification.

scholarly journals Overlapping neural processes for stopping and economic choice in orbitofrontal cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragathi Priyadharsini Balasubramani ◽  
Benjamin Y. Hayden
Keyword(s):  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Economic Choice ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Economic Task ◽  
Foraging Models ◽  
Theoretical Unification

ABSTRACTEconomic choice and stopping are not traditionally treated as related phenomena. However, we were motivated by foraging models of economic choice to hypothesize that they may reflect similar neural processes occurring in overlapping brain circuits. We recorded neuronal activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), while macaques performed a stop signal task interleaved with a structurally matched economic choice task. Decoding analyses show that OFC ensembles predict successful versus failed stopping both before the trial and immediately after the stop signal, even after controlling for value predictions. These responses indicate that OFC contributes both proactively and reactively to stopping. Moreover, OFC neurons’ engagement in one task positively predicted their engagement in the other. Finally, firing patterns that distinguished low from high value offers in the economic task distinguished failed and successful trials in the stopping task. These results endorse the idea that economic choice and inhibition may be subject to theoretical unification.

scholarly journals Values Encoded in Orbitofrontal Cortex Are Causally Related to Economic Choices

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Ballesta ◽  
Weikang Shi ◽  
Katherine E. Conen ◽  
Camillo Padoa-Schioppa
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Fundamental Issue ◽  
High Current ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Economic Choices ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIt has long been hypothesized that economic choices rely on the assignment and comparison of subjective values. Indeed, when agents make decisions, neurons in orbitofrontal cortex encode the values of offered and chosen goods. Moreover, neuronal activity in this area suggests the formation of a decision. However, it is unclear whether these neural processes are causally related to choices. More generally, the evidence linking economic choices to value signals in the brain remains correlational. We address this fundamental issue using electrical stimulation in rhesus monkeys. We show that suitable currents bias choices by increasing the value of individual offers. Furthermore, high-current stimulation disrupts both the computation and the comparison of subjective values. These results demonstrate that values encoded in orbitofrontal cortex are causal to economic choices.

scholarly journals Abnormal Anatomical Connectivity between the Amygdala and Orbitofrontal Cortex in Conduct Disorder

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e48789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Passamonti ◽  
Graeme Fairchild ◽  
Alex Fornito ◽  
Ian M. Goodyer ◽  
Ian Nimmo-Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conduct Disorder ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Anatomical Connectivity

Orbitofrontal hyperactivity in social anxiety disorder patients: An fmri study

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 179-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sladky ◽  
C. Kraus ◽  
J. Tröstl ◽  
S. Kasper ◽  
R. Lanzenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Functional Coupling ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Brain Volumes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Image Position

IntroductionSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) refers to persistent fear of social situations in which the person is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Anxiety disorders are associated with dysbalanced inhibition within the limbic system towards threatening stimuli (Phillips 2003). It has been shown SAD patients are particularly sensitive towards faces displaying harsh emotions (Phan 2006).ObjectivesIn this study we used fMRI to investigate activation differences between 14 SAD patients and 15 matched healthy controls. The subjects performed a facial emotion discrimination paradigm including a control condition using shape discrimination (modified version of Hariri 2002).AimsThe aim of this study was to investigate emotion task-specific differences in brain activation of patients and healthy controls.MethodsAfter clinical assessment, 225 whole-brain volumes (TR = 1.8s) were acquired on a Siemens TRIO 3T MR scanner and analyzed using SPM8.ResultsThe paradigm activated the amygdalae, the fusiform gyri, the posterior cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (A). There was a hyperactivation of the OFC in patients compared to healthy controls (B). We found no significant difference in the amygdalae or fusiforme gyrus.ConclusionAlthough not in a social threat situation, SAD patients showed more activity in the orbitofrontal cortex. In contrast to other studies we found no differences in other brain areas indicating an optimized control condition. According to the functional coupling between prefrontal areas and the amygdalae, these data are consistent with an increased effort in down-regulating amygdalar activation by the orbitofrontal cortex.

scholarly journals Real-Time Value Integration during Economic Choice Is Regulated by Orbitofrontal Cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (24) ◽  
pp. 4315-4322.e4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P.H. Gardner ◽  
Jessica C. Conroy ◽  
Davied C. Sanchez ◽  
Jingfeng Zhou ◽  
Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Time Value ◽  
Economic Choice ◽  
Value Integration

scholarly journals Pushing to the Limits: What Processes during Cognitive Control Are Enhanced by Reaction-Time Feedback?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Prochnow ◽  
Moritz Mückschel ◽  
Christian Beste
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Response Speed ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Statistical Effect ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Eeg Data

Abstract To respond as quickly as possible in a given task is a widely used instruction in cognitive neuroscience, however, the neural processes modulated by this common experimental procedure remain largely elusive. We investigated the underlying neurophysiological processes combining EEG signal decomposition (residue iteration decomposition, RIDE) and source localization. We show that trial-based response speed instructions enhance behavioral performance in conflicting trials, but slightly impair performance in non-conflicting trials. The modulation seen in conflicting trials was found at several coding levels in EEG data using RIDE. In the S-cluster N2 time window, this modulation was associated with modulated activation in the posterior cingulate cortex and the superior frontal gyrus. Further, in the C-cluster P3 time window, this modulation was associated with modulated activation in the middle frontal gyrus. Interestingly, in the R-cluster P3 time window this modulation was strongest according to statistical effect sizes, associated with modulated activity in the primary motor cortex. Reaction-time feedback mainly modulates response motor execution processes, while attentional and response selection processes are less affected. The study underlines the importance of being aware of how experimental instructions influence the behavior and neurophysiological processes.

scholarly journals Neural bases of Frustration-Aggression Theory: A multi-domain meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jules R Dugre ◽  
Stephane Potvin
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Aggressive Behaviors ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Meta Analyses

Early evidence suggests that unexpected non-reward may increase the risk for aggressive behaviors. Despite the growing interest in understanding brain functions that may be implicated in aggressive behaviors, the neural processes underlying such frustrative events remain largely unknown. Furthermore, meta-analytic results have produced discrepant results, potentially due to substantial differences in the definition of anger/aggression constructs. Therefore, coordinate-based meta-analyses on unexpected non-reward and retaliatory behaviors in healthy subjects were conducted. Conjunction analyses were further examined to discover overlapping brain activations across these meta-analytical maps. Frustrative non-reward deactivated the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum and posterior cingulate cortex, whereas increased activations were observed in midcingulo-insular regions, as well as dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, thalamus and periaqueductal gray, when using liberal threshold. Retaliation activated of midcingulo-insular regions, the dorsal caudate and the primary somatosensory cortex. Conjunction analyses revealed that both strongly activated midcingulo-insular regions. Our results underscore the role of anterior midcingulate/pre-supplementary motor area and fronto-insular cortex in both frustration and retaliatory behaviors. A neurobiological framework for understanding frustration-based impulsive aggression is provided.

scholarly journals Orbitofrontal cortex neurons code utility changes during natural reward consumption as correlates of relative reward-specific satiety

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Pastor-Bernier ◽  
Arkadiusz Stasiak ◽  
Wolfram Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
Economic Choice ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Differential Reward ◽  
Specific Alteration ◽  
Differential Utility

AbstractNatural, on-going reward consumption can differentially reduce the subjective value (‘utility’) of specific rewards, which indicates relative, reward-specific satiety. Two-dimensional choice indifference curves (IC) represent the utility of choice options with two distinct reward components (‘bundles’) according to Revealed Preference Theory. We estimated two-dimensional ICs from stochastic choices and found that natural on-going consumption of two bundle rewards induced specific IC distortions that indicated differential reduction of reward utility indicative of relative reward-specific satiety. Licking changes confirmed satiety in a mechanism-independent manner. Neuronal signals in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that coded the value of the chosen option followed closely the consumption-induced IC distortions within recording periods of individual neurons. A neuronal classifier predicted well the changed utility inferred from the altered behavioral choices. Neuronal signals for more conventional single-reward choice options showed similar relationships to utility alterations from on-going consumption. These results demonstrate a neuronal substrate for the differential, reward-specific alteration of utility by on-going reward consumption reflecting reward-specific satiety.SignificanceRepeated delivery reduces the subjective value (‘utility’) of rewards to different degrees depending on their individual properties, a phenomenon commonly referred to as sensory-specific satiety. We tested monkeys during economic choice of two-component options. On-going consumption differentially reduced reward utility in a way that suggested relative reward-specific satiety between the two components. Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) changed their responses in close correspondence to the differential utility reduction, thus representing a neuronal correlate of relative reward-specific satiety. Control experiments with conventional single-component choice showed similar satiety-induced differential response reductions. These results are compatible with the notion of OFC neurons coding crucial decision variables robustly across different satiety levels.

scholarly journals Influence of learning strategy on response time during complex value-based learning and choice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Farashahi ◽  
Katherine Rowe ◽  
Zohra Aslami ◽  
M Ida Gobbini ◽  
Alireza Soltani
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Response Time ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Preceding Trial ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
The Difference

AbstractMeasurements of response time (RT) have long been used to infer neural processes underlying various cognitive functions such as working memory, attention, and decision making. However, it is currently unknown if RT is also informative about various stages of value-based choice, particularly how reward values are constructed. To investigate these questions, we analyzed the pattern of RT during a set of multi-dimensional learning and decision-making tasks that can prompt subjects to adopt different learning strategies. In our experiments, subjects could use reward feedback to directly learn reward values associated with possible choice options (object-based learning). Alternatively, they could learn reward values of options’ features (e.g. color, shape) and combine these values to estimate reward values for individual options (feature-based learning). We found that RT was slower when the difference between subjects’ estimates of reward probabilities for the two alternative objects on a given trial was smaller. Moreover, RT was overall faster when the preceding trial was rewarded or when the previously selected object was present. These effects, however, were mediated by an interaction between these factors such that subjects were faster when the previously selected object was present rather than absent but only after unrewarded trials. Finally, RT reflected the learning strategy (i.e. object-based or feature-based approach) adopted by the subject on a trial-by-trial basis, indicating an overall faster construction of reward value and/or value comparison during object-based learning. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the pattern of RT can be informative about how reward values are learned and constructed during complex value-based learning and decision making.

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