The Role of Orbitofrontal Cortex in Decision Making: A Component Process Account

2007 ◽  
Vol 1121 (1) ◽  
pp. 421-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. K. FELLOWS
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Component Process

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

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.

Neural Mechanisms of the Testosterone–Aggression Relation: The Role of Orbitofrontal Cortex

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 2357-2368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pranjal H. Mehta ◽  
Jennifer Beer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Impulse Control ◽  
Ultimatum Game ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Reduced Activity

Testosterone plays a role in aggressive behavior, but the mechanisms remain unclear. The present study tested the hypothesis that testosterone influences aggression through the OFC, a region implicated in self-regulation and impulse control. In a decision-making paradigm in which people chose between aggression and monetary reward (the ultimatum game), testosterone was associated with increased aggression following social provocation (rejecting unfair offers). The effect of testosterone on aggression was explained by reduced activity in the medial OFC. The findings suggest that testosterone increases the propensity toward aggression because of reduced activation of the neural circuitry of impulse control and self-regulation.

scholarly journals The Orbitofrontal Cortex Represents Advantageous Choice in the Iowa Gambling Task

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rujing Zha ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
Nan Li ◽  
Meijun Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Binary Choice ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision

Abstract A good-based model proposes that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) represents binary choice outcome, i.e., the chosen good. Previous studies have found that the OFC represents the binary choice outcome in decision-making tasks involving commodity type, cost, risk, and delay. Real-life decisions are often complex and involve uncertainty, rewards, and penalties; however, whether the OFC represents binary choice outcomes in a such decision-making situation, e.g., Iowa gambling task (IGT), remains unclear. Here, we propose that the OFC represents binary choice outcome, i.e., advantageous choice versus disadvantageous choice, in the IGT. We propose two hypotheses: first, the activity pattern in the human OFC represents an advantageous choice; and second, choice induces an OFC-related functional network. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and advanced machine learning tools, we found that the OFC represented an advantageous choice in the IGT. The OFC representation of advantageous choice was related to decision-making performance. Choice modulated the functional connectivity between the OFC and the superior medial gyrus. In conclusion, the OFC represents an advantageous choice during the IGT. In the framework of a good-based model, the results extend the role of the OFC to complex decision-making when making a binary choice.

scholarly journals Neural systems underlying approach and avoidance in anxiety disorders

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-531 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Cognition And Emotion ◽  
Avoidance Behaviors ◽  
Approach Avoidance

Approach-avoidance conflict is an important psychological concept that has been used extensively to better understand cognition and emotion. This review focuses on neural systems involved in approach, avoidance, and conflict decision making, and how these systems overlap with implicated neural substrates of anxiety disorders. In particular, the role of amygdala, insula, ventral striatal, and prefrontal regions are discussed with respect to approach and avoidance behaviors. Three specific hypotheses underlying the dysfunction in anxiety disorders are proposed, including: (i) over-representation of avoidance valuation related to limbic overactivation; (ii) under- or over-representation of approach valuation related to attenuated or exaggerated striatal activation respectively; and (iii) insufficient integration and arbitration of approach and avoidance valuations related to attenuated orbitofrontal cortex activation. These dysfunctions can be examined experimentally using versions of existing decision-making paradigms, but may also require new translational and innovative approaches to probe approach-avoidance conflict and related neural systems in anxiety disorders.

scholarly journals Modulating OFC Activity With tDCS Alters Regret About Human Decision-Making

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Yu ◽  
Xinbo Lu ◽  
Yuyou Chen ◽  
Hang Ye ◽  
Lulu Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Emotional Intensity ◽  
Making Choices ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Cathodal Stimulation ◽  
Over Time

Regret is a common emotion in daily life. Humans always regret their decision-making choices if the chosen outcome is bad. Neuroscientific studies suggest that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) influences feelings of regret. We used a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device to study the role of regret in participants’ decision-making by modulating the activity of the OFC. The two-wheel-of-fortune gamble task was used in our experimental design, and we asked the participants to rate their feelings of regret after the computer presented the obtained and unobtained outcomes. The experimental results revealed that the effect of stimulation type was significant, which indicated that the influence of the OFC in regret was modulated by tDCS. Furthermore, based on post hoc analyses (Bonferroni), regret was lower in those who received left anodal/right cathodal stimulation than in those who received sham stimulation, which revealed that modulating the activity of the OFC reduced the emotional intensity of regret. In addition, an inverted U-shaped curve characterized the mean ratings of regret over time.

scholarly journals Orbitofrontal cortex and learning predictions of state transitions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie C.Y. Chan ◽  
Nicolas W. Schuck ◽  
Nina Lopatina ◽  
Geoffrey Schoenbaum ◽  
Yael Niv
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Transition Structure ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Environment Model ◽  
State Prediction ◽  
Trial Basis

AbstractLearning the transition structure of the environment – the probabilities of transitioning from one environmental state to another – is a key prerequisite for goal-directed planning and model-based decision making. To investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in goal-directed planning and decision making, we used fMRI to assess univariate and multivariate activity in the OFC while humans experienced state transitions that varied in degree of surprise. In convergence with recent evidence, we found that OFC activity was related to greater learning about transition structure, both across subjects and on a trial-by-trial basis. However, this relationship was inconsistent with a straightforward interpretation of OFC activity as representing a state prediction error that would facilitate learning of transitions via error-correcting mechanisms. The state prediction error hypothesis predicts that OFC activity at the time of observing an outcome should increase expectation of that observed outcome on subsequent trials. Instead, our results showed that OFC activity was associated with increased expectation of the more probable outcome; that is, with more optimal predictions. Our findings add to the evidence of OFC involvement in learning state-to-state transition structure, while providing new constraints for algorithmic hypotheses regarding how these transitions are learned.Significance StatementThe orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been implicated in model-based decision making—the kind of decisions that result from planning using an “environment model” of how current actions affect our future states. However, the widely suggested role of the OFC in representing expected values of future states is not sufficient to explain why the OFC would be critical for planning in particular. A new line of evidence implicates the OFC in learning about transition structure of the environment – a key component of the “environment model” used for planning. We investigate this function, adding to the growing literature on the role of the OFC in learning and decision making, while unveiling new questions about the algorithmic role of OFC in goal-directed planning.

Controlling the Integration of Emotion and Cognition

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 448-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Beer ◽  
Robert T. Knight ◽  
Mark D'Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Emotional Information

Emotion has been both lauded and vilified for its role in decision making. How are people able to ensure that helpful emotions guide decision making and irrelevant emotions are kept out of decision making? The orbitofrontal cortex has been identified as a neural area involved in incorporating emotion into decision making. Is this area's function specific to the integration of emotion and cognition, or does it more broadly govern whether emotional information should be integrated into cognition? The present research examined the role of orbitofrontal cortex when it was appropriate to control (i.e., prevent) the influence of emotion in decision making (Experiment 1) and to incorporate the influence of emotion in decision making (Experiment 2). Together, the two studies suggest that activity in lateral orbitofrontal cortex is associated with evaluating the contextual relevance of emotional information for decision making.

scholarly journals Substance use disorders and the orbitofrontal cortex

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Dom ◽  
B. Sabbe ◽  
W. Hulstijn ◽  
W. van Den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Relapse Prevention ◽  
Cue Reactivity ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Consistent Finding ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

BackgroundOrbitofrontal cortex dysfunctions have been frequently documented in people with substance use disorders. The exact role of this cortical region, however, remains unspecified.AimsTo assess the functionality of the orbitofrontal cortex in people with substance use disorders.MethodReports of studies using behavioural decision-making tasks and/or neuroimaging techniques to investigate orbitofrontal cortex functioning in cases of substance misuse were reviewed. Studies focusing exclusively on tobacco-smoking and gambling were excluded.ResultsFifty-two research articles were evaluated. Most studies showed significant deficits in decision-making in people with substance use disorders. A consistent finding in the neuroimaging studies was hypoactivity of the orbitofrontal cortex after detoxification. The association between hyperactivity of this region and craving or cue reactivity was not consistent across studies.ConclusionsThe orbitofrontal cortex has an important role in addictive behaviours. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying neuronal substrates of cue reactivity, craving and decision-making, and the implications for treatment and relapse prevention.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

The Role of Shared Decision-Making in Audiologic Rehabilitation

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Pryce ◽  
Amanda Hall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Treatment Information ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Audiologic Rehabilitation

Shared decision-making (SDM), a component of patient-centered care, is the process in which the clinician and patient both participate in decision-making about treatment; information is shared between the parties and both agree with the decision. Shared decision-making is appropriate for health care conditions in which there is more than one evidence-based treatment or management option that have different benefits and risks. The patient's involvement ensures that the decisions regarding treatment are sensitive to the patient's values and preferences. Audiologic rehabilitation requires substantial behavior changes on the part of patients and includes benefits to their communication as well as compromises and potential risks. This article identifies the importance of shared decision-making in audiologic rehabilitation and the changes required to implement it effectively.

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