Opposing, multiplexed information in lateral and ventral orbitofrontal cortex guides sequential foraging decisions in rats.

ABSTRACT: Far medial and lateral aspects of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) serve distinct roles in value-based decision-making, though it remains unclear how more nearby lateral and ventral aspects differ in their information-processing characteristics. The present study leveraged high-density neural recording in the lateral orbital (LO) and ventral orbital (VO) subregions using a neuroeconomic task in rats to clarify how functional heterogeneity between LO and VO participates in sequential cost-benefit foraging. LO and VO contained opposing representations of an encountered reward's subjective benefit and its associated opportunity costs, respectively. The relative balance of these representations tracked decisions to approach or leave a reward during each stage of an encounter. Opposing representa

SUBMITTER: Cunningham PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12248009 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature