The DOI matches its Crossref record; 89 of the 89 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Does the orbitofrontal cortex signal value?
Open accessAbstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has long been implicated in associative learning. Early work by Mishkin and Rolls showed that the OFC was critical for rapid changes in learned behavior, a role that was reflected in the encoding of associative information by orbitofrontal neurons. Over the years, new data—particularly neurophysiological data—have increasingly emphasized the OFC in signaling actual value. These signals have been reported to vary according to internal preferences and judgments and to even be completely independent of the sensory qualities of predictive cues, the actual rewards, and the responses required to obtain them. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated behavioral studies have shown that the OFC is often unnecessary for simple value‐based behavior and instead seems critical when information about specific outcomes must be used to guide behavior and learning. Here, we review these data and suggest a theory that potentially reconciles these two ideas, value versus specific outcomes, and bodies of work on the OFC.
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“It is also monosynaptically connected with cortical structures associated with sensory hedonics and expectancies for specific rewards [15] (OFC), mentalizing and theory of mind [9] (dmPFC), and goal formation and maintenance (dlPFC and frontopolar cortex).”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Lesions of this system do not result in impairments in responding to cues that are predictive of food rewards, nor do they impair avoidance of a food that has been paired with illness or satiated.”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“However, the system is critical for reinforcer devaluation, a test in which two cues (Pavlovian devaluation) or two actions (instrumental devaluation) are associated with two foods, one of which is subsequently devalued by satiation or pairing with illness.”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“A large literature on appetitive learning also suggests that the MPFC-OFC system is critical for representing the subjective value of the specific outcomes associated with certain cues or actions [15].”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Converging effects in a number of related paradigms has led to the idea that the OFC-vmPFC system represents expectations about specific outcomes [15,20], which perhaps provides clues as to the roots of conceptual, prospective thought.”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Lateral OFC appears to be important for the assignment of value to specific cues [15,44], whereas vmPFC is more important for the action value of those items [45], whether behavioral, 'emotional,' or visceromotor.”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“OFC/MPFC lesions abolish the abrupt decrease in Pavlovian or instrumental responses associated with the now-devalued food typically observed in normal animals.”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“A ‘meaning-centered’ view of vmPFC function is closely aligned with recent views of the orbital-medial prefrontal system as involved in ‘goal-directed’ or ‘model-based’ learning [43], representing expectancies about specific outcomes [15], retrieving fear inhibitory memories [74], or the generation of subjective value and emotion based on conceptual information [19].”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Structural studies also support the role of the vmPFC in representing subjective value/preferences based on current information about contingencies rather than stored preferences (Schoenbaum et al., 2011).”
From Explicit and implicit emotion regulation: a multi-level framework (2017) · cites this paper as Schoenbaum et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“The vmPFC combines information about one’s current context, goals, motivational states and learning history to provide an integrated representation of the expected (subjective, affective) value(s) of actions, stimuli and outcomes (Schoenbaum et al., 2011; Roy et al., 2012; Ochsner and Gross, 2014; Rudebeck and Murray 2014).”
From Explicit and implicit emotion regulation: a multi-level framework (2017) · cites this paper as Schoenbaum et al., 2011
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Metadata
- Authors
- Schoenbaum, G., Takahashi, Y., Liu, T., & McDannald, M. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Schoenbaum, Geoffrey
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 1239
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 87-99
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- PMC
- PMC3530400
- OpenAlex
- W2129586271
- Cited by
- 232
- References
- 89
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 1.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 DA999999)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA015718, ZIADA000587)
- 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 › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- orbitofrontal cortex, associative learning, reward prediction, predictive cues, decision-making
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Brain Mapping, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Learning, Models, Psychological, Neurons, Physiology, Comparative, Reinforcement, Psychology, Reversal Learning, Social Behavior, Social Values
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