Neuroscience of Value-Guided Choice

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved. This chapter describes some of the various representations of value that have been found in the brain. It discusses how widespread value representations in the brain can result from distinct mechanisms, and how one might go about generating more mechanistic predictions about signatures of a decision-making system. The chapter also discusses which value representations might constitute signatures of a decision process, and what such a decision mechanism might look like. It highlights that different brain regions come to the fore depending on a number of factors. Particular attention will be given to different frames of reference, such as deciding between stimuli as opposed to deciding between motor actions. The chapter considers behavioral adaptation from a currently preferred default position and strategic decision-making. Despite this apparent diversity in anatomical implementation, it is likely that these different kinds of decisions deploy a conserved computational architecture.