Cited by 56Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesDecision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Neural mechanisms of economic choices in mice

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Kuwabara, Masaru, Kang, Ningdong, Holy, Timothy E, Padoa-Schioppa, Camillo·2020·eLife

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Abstract

Economic choices entail computing and comparing subjective values. Evidence from primates indicates that this behavior relies on the orbitofrontal cortex. Conversely, previous work in rodents provided conflicting results. Here we present a mouse model of economic choice behavior, and we show that the lateral orbital (LO) area is intimately related to the decision process. In the experiments, mice chose between different juices offered in variable amounts. Choice patterns closely resembled those measured in primates. Optogenetic inactivation of LO dramatically disrupted choices by inducing erratic changes of relative value and by increasing choice variability. Neuronal recordings revealed that different groups of cells encoded the values of individual options, the binary choice outcome and the chosen value. These groups match those previously identified in primates, except that the neuronal representation in mice is spatial (in monkeys it is good-based). Our results lay the foundations for a circuit-level analysis of economic decisions.

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  • In the mouse, neurons in LO represent the values of individual options, the binary choice outcome and the chosen value, in the context of spatial responses, not of the value of goods as in primates.

    “Although it is interesting that in the mouse, neurons in LO represent the values of individual options, the binary choice outcome and the chosen value, this is in the context of spatial responses (Kuwabara et al., 2020), not of the value of goods as in primates.”

    From The orbitofrontal cortex: reward, emotion and depression (2020) · cites this paper as Kuwabara et al., 2020

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Authors
Kuwabara, M., Kang, N., Holy, T. E., & Padoa-Schioppa, C.
Affiliations
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • Department of Neuroscience, Washington University, Saint Louis, United States
Venue
eLife
Published
2020-02-25
Volume
9
ISSN
2050-084X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3008583336
Cited by
56
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
FWCI
4.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • eLife (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Commons@Becker (Washington University School of Medicine) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institute on Drug Abuse (R21-DA042882)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
economic choice, subjective value, orbitofrontal cortex, decision-making, value coding, optogenetic inactivation, choice variability, reward valuation, mouse model, neural circuits
MeSH terms
Fruit and Vegetable Juices, Animals, Choice Behavior, Female, Male, Models, Neurological, Odorants, Stereotyped Behavior, Prefrontal Cortex, Mice, Optogenetics

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