biostudies-literatureUnknownWhite SMNIAAA NIH HHSDetermining how an agent decides between a small, immediate versus a larger, delayed reward has provided insight into the psychological and neural basis of decision-making. The tendency to excessively discount the value of delayed rewards is thought to reflect deficits in brain regions critical for impulse control such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This study tested the hypothesis that dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) is critically involved in flexibly managing neural representations of strategies that limit impulsive choices. Optogenetic silencing of neurons in the rat dmPFC increased impulsive choices at an 8 sec, but not 4 sec, delay. Neural recordings from dmPFC ensembles revealed that, at the 8-sec delay, the encoding landscape transitions to reflect a deliberative-like process rather than the schema-like processes observed at the 4-sec delay. These findings show that changes in the encoding landscape reflect changes in task demands and that dmPFC is uniquely involved in decisions requiring deliberation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2023.06.15.545101https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10312702biostudies-literatureFlexible coding schemes in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex underlie decision-making during delay discounting.PMC10312702R01 AA029409P60 AA007611T32 AA007462Parks MAMorningstar MDMa BLapish CCLinsenbardt DNCzachowski CLFalco EWhite SMfalseFlexible coding schemes in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex underlie decision-making during delay discounting.Determining how an agent decides between a small, immediate versus a larger, delayed reward has provided insight into the psychological and neural basis of decision-making. The tendency to excessively discount the value of delayed rewards is thought to reflect deficits in brain regions critical for impulse control such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This study tested the hypothesis that dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) is critically involved in flexibly managing neural representations of strategies that limit impulsive choices. Optogenetic silencing of neurons in the rat dmPFC increased impulsive choices at an 8 sec, but not 4 sec, delay. Neural recordings from dmPFC ensembles revealed that, at the 8-sec delay, the encoding landscape transitions to reflect a deliberative-like process rather than the schema-like processes observed at the 4-sec delay. These findings show that changes in the encoding landscape reflect changes in task demands and that dmPFC is uniquely involved in decisions requiring deliberation.2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Jun2025-04-04T13:52:50.338Z2025-04-04T13:52:50.338ZS-EPMC103127023739819010.1101/2023.06.15.545101