Valuation and decision-making in frontal cortex: one or many serial or parallel systems?
Abstract
We evaluate the merits of different conceptualizations of frontal cortex function in value-guided decision-making. According to one view each frontal cortical region is concerned with a different aspect of the process of learning about and evaluating choices and then selecting actions. An alternative view, however, sees sets of decision-making circuits working in parallel within the frontal lobes in order to make different types of decisions. While there is a neural circuit for making choices between pairs of simultaneously presented items in the manner that is frequently assessed in the laboratory, there is also evidence that other frontal lobe circuits have evolved to make other types of choices such as those made during the course of foraging.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The OFC projects reward value information to the anterior cingulate cortex, where it is used to provide reward outcomes for action-outcome learning.
“The OFC projects reward value information to the anterior cingulate cortex, where it is used to provide the reward outcomes for action–outcome learning (Rushworth et al., 2012; Rolls, 2019a,c).”
From The orbitofrontal cortex: reward, emotion and depression (2020) · cites this paper as Rushworth et al., 2012
Cites
The Neural Basis of Decision Making
Gold, J. I., & Shadlen, M. N. (2007) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.29.051605.113038 · Cited by 3,764 · see citing works
Model-based influences on humans’ choices and striatal prediction errors
Daw, N. D., Gershman, S. J., Seymour, B., Dayan, P., & Dolan, R. J. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.027 · Cited by 1,779 · see citing works
Visual fixations and the computation and comparison of value in simple choice
Krajbich, I., Armel, C., & Rangel, A. (2010) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2635 · Cited by 1,408 · see citing works
Probabilistic decision making by slow reverberation in cortical circuits
Wang, X.-J. (2002) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(02)01092-9 · Cited by 1,242 · see citing works
Frontal cortex and reward-guided learning and decision-making
Rushworth, M. F. S., Noonan, M. P., Boorman, E. D., Walton, M. E., & Behrens, T. E. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.05.014 · Cited by 1,111 · see citing works
Self-citationMedial prefrontal cortex as an action-outcome predictor
Alexander, W. H., & Brown, J. W. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2921 · Cited by 1,000 · see citing works
The Neurobiology of Decision: Consensus and Controversy
Kable, J. W., & Glimcher, P. W. (2009) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2009.09.003 · Cited by 928 · see citing works
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: beyond segregated cortico-striatal pathways
Milad, M. R., & Rauch, S. L. (2012) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011.11.003 · Cited by 847 · see citing works
Boorman, E. D., Behrens, T. E. J., Woolrich, M. W., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2009) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2009.05.014 · Cited by 665 · see citing works
Self-citationKolling, N., Behrens, T. E. J., Mars, R. B., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1216930 · Cited by 629 · see citing works
Self-citationNeurobiology of economic choice: a good-based model
Padoa-Schioppa, C. (2011) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113648 · Cited by 600 · see citing works
Neuronal basis of sequential foraging decisions in a patchy environment
Hayden, B. Y., Pearson, J. M., & Platt, M. L. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2856 · Cited by 513 · see citing works
Forward frontal fields: phylogeny and fundamental function
Wise, S. P. (2008) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2008.08.008 · Cited by 478 · cited 1× · see citing works
“According to this last view the ACC, which exists albeit in different forms in all mammals, might guide foraging, a key behaviour for all mammals, while vmPFC, a primate specialization [49] might be especially important when decisions are made between simultaneously available options.”
BackgroundMars, R. B., Jbabdi, S., Sallet, J., O’Reilly, J. X., Croxson, P. L., Olivier, E., Noonan, M. P., Bergmann, C., Mitchell, A. S., Baxter, M. G., et al. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5102-10.2011 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
Self-citationHow the brain integrates costs and benefits during decision making
Basten, U., Biele, G., Heekeren, H. R., & Fiebach, C. J. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0908104107 · Cited by 466 · see citing works
An automatic valuation system in the human brain: Evidence from functional neuroimaging
Lebreton, M., Jorge, S., Michel, V., Thirion, B., & Pessiglione, M. (2009) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2009.09.040 · Cited by 455 · see citing works
Mechanisms underlying cortical activity during value-guided choice
Hunt, L. T., Kolling, N., Soltani, A., Woolrich, M. W., Rushworth, M. F. S., & Behrens, T. E. J. (2012) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.3017 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
Self-citationDouble dissociation of value computations in orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate neurons
Kennerley, S. W., Behrens, T. E. J., & Wallis, J. D. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2961 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
The Computation of Social Behavior
Behrens, T. E. J., Hunt, L. T., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1169694 · Cited by 407 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For example, a distinction has been drawn between habitual and goal-based decision-making [34 ,35] and there is evidence for differences between social and non-social decision-making [36].”
BackgroundSelf-citationWalton, M. E., Behrens, T. E. J., Buckley, M. J., Rudebeck, P. H., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2010) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.02.027 · Cited by 397 · see citing works
Self-citationHayden, B. Y., Heilbronner, S. R., Pearson, J. M., & Platt, M. L. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4652-10.2011 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
Transformation of stimulus value signals into motor commands during simple choice
Hare, T. A., Schultz, W., Camerer, C. F., O’Doherty, J. P., & Rangel, A. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1109322108 · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Plassmann, H., O'Doherty, J. P., & Rangel, A. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0788-10.2010 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Frontal cortex subregions play distinct roles in choices between actions and stimuli
Rudebeck, P. H., Behrens, T. E., Kennerley, S. W., Baxter, M. G., Buckley, M. J., Walton, M. E., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2008) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3541-08.2008 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Self-citationSeparate value comparison and learning mechanisms in macaque medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex
Noonan, M. P., Walton, M. E., Behrens, T. E. J., Sallet, J., Buckley, M. J., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1012246107 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Self-citationLim, S.-L., O'Doherty, J. P., & Rangel, A. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1246-11.2011 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Mapping value based planning and extensively trained choice in the human brain
Wunderlich, K., Dayan, P., & Dolan, R. J. (2012) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.3068 · Cited by 310 · see citing works
Distinct Value Signals in Anterior and Posterior Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex
Smith, D. V., Hayden, B. Y., Truong, T.-K., Song, A. W., Platt, M. L., & Huettel, S. A. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3319-09.2010 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
A reservoir of time constants for memory traces in cortical neurons
Bernacchia, A., Seo, H., Lee, D., & Wang, X.-J. (2011) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2752 · Cited by 292 · see citing works
Range-adapting representation of economic value in the orbitofrontal cortex
Padoa-Schioppa, C. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3751-09.2009 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Dissociating valuation and saliency signals during decision-making
Litt, A., Plassmann, H., Shiv, B., & Rangel, A. (2011) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq065 · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Neurons in anterior cingulate cortex multiplex information about reward and action
Hayden, B. Y., & Platt, M. L. (2010) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4874-09.2010 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Fictive Reward Signals in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Hayden, B. Y., Pearson, J. M., & Platt, M. L. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1168488 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Counterfactual Choice and Learning in a Neural Network Centered on Human Lateral Frontopolar Cortex
Boorman, E. D., Behrens, T. E. J., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2011) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001093 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Self-citationAdaptation of Reward Sensitivity in Orbitofrontal Neurons
Kobayashi, S., Carvalho, O. P., & Schultz, W. (2010) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4009-09.2010 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
The convergence of information about rewarding and aversive stimuli in single neurons
Morrison, S. E., & Salzman, C. D. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1815-09.2009 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Neuronal Encoding of Subjective Value in Dorsal and Ventral Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Cai, X., & Padoa‐Schioppa, C. (2012) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3864-11.2012 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Camille, N., Tsuchida, A., & Fellows, L. K. (2011) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3164-11.2011 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Bouret, S., & Richmond, B. J. (2010) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0049-10.2010 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Evaluating self-generated decisions in frontal pole cortex of monkeys
Tsujimoto, S., Genovesio, A., & Wise, S. P. (2010) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.2453 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Rudebeck, P. H., & Murray, E. A. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0091-11.2011 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Re-evaluating the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in reward and reinforcement
Noonan, M. P., Kolling, N., Walton, M. E., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2012) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08023.x · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Self-citationDivided Representation of Concurrent Goals in the Human Frontal Lobes
Charron, S., & Koechlin, É. (2010) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1183614 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Abe, H., & Lee, D. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.026 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Attention for Learning Signals in Anterior Cingulate Cortex
Bryden, D. W., Johnson, E. E., Tobia, S. C., Kashtelyan, V., & Roesch, M. R. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.4715-11.2011 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Distinct Roles of Three Frontal Cortical Areas in Reward-Guided Behavior
Noonan, M. P., Mars, R. B., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.6456-10.2011 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Self-citationA mechanistic account of value computation in the human brain
Philiastides, M. G., Biele, G., & Heekeren, H. R. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1001732107 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Economic choices can be made using only stimulus values
Wunderlich, K., Rangel, A., & O’Doherty, J. P. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1002258107 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Gershman, S. J., Pesaran, B., & Daw, N. D. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2469-09.2009 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Brain Hemispheres Selectively Track the Expected Value of Contralateral Options
Palminteri, S., Boraud, T., Lafargue, G., Dubois, B., & Pessiglione, M. (2009) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1500-09.2009 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Rothé, M., Quilodran, R., Sallet, J., & Procyk, E. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1016-11.2011 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationFreidín, E., & Kacelnik, A. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1209626 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The expected value of control: an integrative theory of anterior cingulate cortex function
Shenhav, A., Botvinick, M. M., & Cohen, J. D. (2013) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2013.07.007 · Cited by 2,321 · see citing works
The cingulate cortex and limbic systems for emotion, action, and memory
Rolls, E. T. (2019) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-019-01945-2 · Cited by 859 · see citing works
Emotion and the prefrontal cortex: an integrative review
Dixon, M. L., Thiruchselvam, R., Todd, R., & Christoff, K. (2017) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000096 · Cited by 745 · see citing works
Neurophysiology of performance monitoring and adaptive behavior
Ullsperger, M., Danielmeier, C., & Jocham, G. (2014) · Physiological Reviews · doi:10.1152/physrev.00041.2012 · Cited by 634 · see citing works
The Anterior Cingulate Gyrus and Social Cognition: Tracking the Motivation of Others
Apps, M. A. J., Rushworth, M. F. S., & Chang, S. W. C. (2016) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2016.04.018 · Cited by 559 · see citing works
“However, it is clear that they play important roles in processing the costs and benefits of acting (Floresco et al., 2008; Kolling et al., 2016; Rushworth et al., 2012; Verguts et al., 2015).”
InfluentialSelf-citationThe orbitofrontal cortex: reward, emotion and depression
Rolls, E. T., Cheng, W., & Feng, J. (2020) · Brain Communications · doi:10.1093/braincomms/fcaa196 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
A non-reward attractor theory of depression
Rolls, E. T. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.007 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Noonan, M. P., Chau, B. K. H., Rushworth, M. F. S., & Fellows, L. K. (2017) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0692-17.2017 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Self-citationFrontal Brain Asymmetry and Willingness to Pay
Ramsøy, T. Z., Skov, M., Christensen, M. K., & Stahlhut, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00138 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Griffiths, K. R., Morris, R. W., & Balleine, B. W. (2014) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2014.00101 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Causal neural network of metamemory for retrospection in primates
Miyamoto, K., Osada, T., Setsuie, R., Takeda, M., Tamura, K., Adachi, Y., & Miyashita, Y. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aal0162 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
How Expert Advice Influences Decision Making
Meshi, D., Biele, G., Korn, C. W., & Heekeren, H. R. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049748 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Evolution of behavioural control from chordates to primates
Cisek, P. (2022) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B · doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0522 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Scholl, J., Kolling, N., Nelissen, N., Wittmann, M. K., Harmer, C. J., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2015) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0396-15.2015 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Self-citationModulation of midbrain neurocircuitry by intranasal insulin
Edwin Thanarajah, S., Iglesias, S., Kuzmanovic, B., Rigoux, L., Stephan, K. E., Brüning, J. C., & Tittgemeyer, M. (2019) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.050 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Assaf, M., Rabany, L., Zertuche, L., Bragdon, L., Tolin, D., Goethe, J., & Diefenbach, G. (2018) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.1015 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Corticostriatal Circuits Encode the Subjective Value of Perceived Control
Wang, K. S., & Delgado, M. R. (2019) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhz045 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Burnatowska, E., Wikarek, A., Oboza, P., Ogarek, N., Glinianowicz, M., Kocelak, P., & Olszanecka-Glinianowicz, M. (2023) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu15020295 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“, learning to obtain goals based on the outcomes, rewards, and punishments received for different actions [13].”
Background
- Authors
- Rushworth, M. F., Kolling, N., Sallet, J., & Mars, R. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Rushworth, Matthew FS
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Neurobiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-12
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 946-955
- ISSN
- 0959-4388 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2015480153
- Cited by
- 309
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Neurobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- MRC
- Wellcome Trust
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Keywords
- frontal cortex, reward valuation, neural circuits, foraging decisions, choice behavior, action selection
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Appetitive Behavior, Choice Behavior, Decision Making, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Models, Psychological, Reward
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
