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Subjective value, not a gridlike code, describes neural activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during value-based decision-making.

ABSTRACT: Across many studies, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activity has been found to correlate with subjective value during value-based decision-making. Recently, however, vmPFC has also been shown to reflect a hexagonal gridlike code during navigation through physical and conceptual space, and such gridlike codes have been proposed to enable value-based choices between novel options. Here, we first show that, in theory, a hexagonal gridlike code can in some cases mimic vmPFC activity previously attributed to subjective value, raising the possibility that the subjective value correlates previously observed in vmPFC may have actually been a misconstrued gridlike signal. We then compare the two accounts empirically, using fMRI data from a large number of subjects performing an intertemporal choice task. We find clear and unambiguous evidence that subjective value is a better description of vmPFC activity in this task than a hexagonal gridlike code. In fact, we find no significant evidence at all for a hexagonal gridlike code in vmPFC activity during intertemporal choice. This result limits the generality of gridlike modulation as description of vmPFC activity. We suggest that vmPFC may flexibly switch representational schemes so as to encode the most relevant information for the current task.

SUBMITTER: Lee S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8298105 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and insular cortex are implicated in distributed neural circuitry that supports emotional decision-making. Previous studies of patients with vmPFC lesions have focused primarily on decision-making under uncertainty, when outcome probabilities are ambiguous (e.g. the Iowa Gambling Task). It remains unclear whether vmPFC is also necessary for decision-making under risk, when outcome probabilities are explicit. It is not known whether the effect of insular damage is analogous to the effect of vmPFC damage, or whether these regions contribute differentially to choice behaviour. Four groups of participants were compared on the Cambridge Gamble Task, a well-characterized measure of risky decision-making where outcome probabilities are presented explicitly, thus minimizing additional learning and working memory demands. Patients with focal, stable lesions to the vmPFC (n = 20) and the insular cortex (n = 13) were compared against healthy subjects (n = 41) and a group of lesion controls (n = 12) with damage predominantly affecting the dorsal and lateral frontal cortex. The vmPFC and insular cortex patients showed selective and distinctive disruptions of betting behaviour. VmPFC damage was associated with increased betting regardless of the odds of winning, consistent with a role of vmPFC in biasing healthy individuals towards conservative options under risk. In contrast, patients with insular cortex lesions failed to adjust their bets by the odds of winning, consistent with a role of the insular cortex in signalling the probability of aversive outcomes. The insular group attained a lower point score on the task and experienced more 'bankruptcies'. There were no group differences in probability judgement. These data confirm the necessary role of the vmPFC and insular regions in decision-making under risk. Poor decision-making in clinical populations can arise via multiple routes, with functionally dissociable effects of vmPFC and insular cortex damage.

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Subjective value, not a gridlike code, describes neural activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during value-based decision-making.

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