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Ventromedial prefrontal cortex has been linked to choice evaluation and decision-making in humans but understanding the role it plays is complicated by the fact that little is known about the corresponding area of the macaque brain. We recorded activity in macaques using functional magnetic resonance imaging during two very different value-guided decision-making tasks. In both cases ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity reflected subjective choice values during decision-making just as in humans but the relationship between the blood oxygen level-dependent signal and both decision-making and choice value was inverted and opposite to the relationship seen in humans. In order to test whether the ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity related to choice values is important for decision-making we conducted an additional lesion experiment; lesions that included the same ventromedial prefrontal cortex region disrupted normal subjective evaluation of choices during decision-making.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/s41467-017-01833-5

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nat Commun

Publication Date

01/12/2017

Volume

8

Keywords

Animals, Choice Behavior, Decision Making, Female, Macaca, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Prefrontal Cortex