Theories of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) function have evolved substantially over the last few decades. There is now a general consensus that the OFC is important for predicting aspects of future events and for using these predictions to guide behavior. Yet the precise content of these predictions and the degree to which OFC contributes to agency contingent upon them has become contentious, with several plausible theories advocating different answers to these questions. In this review we will focus on three of these ideas - the economic value, credit assignment, and cognitive map hypotheses – describing both their successes and failures. We will propose that these failures hint at a more nuanced role for the OFC in supporting the proposed functions when an underlying model or map of the causal structures in the environment must be constructed or updated.
