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. 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^13-15 remains correlational¹⁶. Here we show that neuronal activity in the OFC is causal to economic choices. We conducted two experiments using electrical stimulation in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Low-current stimulation increased the subjective value of individual offers and thus predictably biased choices. Conversely, high-current stimulation disrupted both the computation and the comparison of subjective values, and thus increased choice variability. These results demonstrate a causal chain linking subjective values encoded in OFC to valuation and choice.

SUBMITTER: Ballesta S 

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

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature