The neural code of reward anticipation in human orbitofrontal cortex
Open accessAbstract
An optimal choice among alternative behavioral options requires precise anticipatory representations of their possible outcomes. A fundamental question is how such anticipated outcomes are represented in the brain. Reward coding at the level of single cells in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) follows a more heterogeneous coding scheme than suggested by studies using functional MRI (fMRI) in humans. Using a combination of multivariate pattern classification and fMRI we show that the reward value of sensory cues can be decoded from distributed fMRI patterns in the OFC. This distributed representation is compatible with previous reports from animal electrophysiology that show that reward is encoded by different neural populations with opposing coding schemes. Importantly, the fMRI patterns representing specific values during anticipation are similar to those that emerge during the receipt of reward. Furthermore, we show that the degree of this coding similarity is related to subjects' ability to use value information to guide behavior. These findings narrow the gap between reward coding in humans and animals and corroborate the notion that value representations in OFC are independent of whether reward is anticipated or actually received.
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The OFC is involved in monitoring which recent actions were rewarded, and predicting which future actions are most likely to be rewarded.
“It is suggested that the OFC is involved in monitoring which recent actions were rewarded, and predicting which future actions are most likely to be rewarded (Kahnt et al., 2010).”
From Functional neuroimaging of visuospatial working memory tasks enables accurate detection of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Kahnt et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Kahnt, T., Heinzle, J., Park, S. Q., & Haynes, J.-D.
- Affiliations
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin (DE)
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2010-03-15
- Volume
- 107
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 6010-6015
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC2851854
- OpenAlex
- W1965347027
- Cited by
- 274
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 10.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- reward anticipation, orbitofrontal cortex, distributed neural representation, sensory cues, single-cell electrophysiology
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Decision Making, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Models, Neurological, Models, Psychological, Photic Stimulation, Psychophysiology, Reaction Time, Reward, Task Performance and Analysis, Young Adult
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