Values encoded in orbitofrontal cortex are causally related to economic choices.

ABSTRACT: In the eighteenth century, Daniel Bernoulli, Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham proposed that economic choices rely on the computation and comparison of subjective values¹. This hypothesis continues to inform modern economic theory² and research in behavioural economics³, but behavioural measures are ultimately not sufficient to verify the proposal⁴. Consistent with the hypothesis, when agents make choices, neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) encode the subjective value of offered and chosen goods⁵. Value-encoding cells integrate multiple dimensions^6-9, variability in the activity of each cell group correlates with variability in choices^10,11 and the population dynamics suggests the formation of a decision¹²

SUBMITTER: Ballesta S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7746614 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature