Individual differences in decision-making shape how mesolimbic dopamine regulates choice confidence and change-of-mind.

Nucleus accumbens dopamine signaling is an important neural substrate for decision-making. Dominant theories generally discretize and homogenize decision-making, when it is in fact a continuous process, with evaluation and re-evaluation components that extend beyond simple outcome prediction into consideration of past and future value. Extensive work has examined mesolimbic dopamine in the context of reward prediction error, but major gaps persist in our understanding of how dopamine regulates volitional and self-guided decision-making.

Opposing, multiplexed information in lateral and ventral orbitofrontal cortex guides sequential foraging decisions in rats.

To address the heterogeneity between lateral orbital (LO) and ventral orbital (VO) aspects of the orbitofrontal cortex, neural ensembles were recorded while rats made economic decisions on a sequential foraging task. LO contained representations of reward value, and VO contained opposing representations of the opportunity costs associated with waiting out the delay to reward. The relative balance of these representations tracked decisions to approach or leave a reward during each stage of an encounter (i.

Opposing, multiplexed information in lateral and ventral orbitofrontal cortex guides sequential foraging decisions in rats.

Far medial and lateral aspects of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) serve distinct roles in value-based decision-making, though it remains unclear how more nearby lateral and ventral aspects differ in their information-processing characteristics. The present study leveraged high-density neural recording in the lateral orbital (LO) and ventral orbital (VO) subregions using a neuroeconomic task in rats to clarify how functional heterogeneity between LO and VO participates in sequential cost-benefit foraging. LO and VO contained opposing representations of an encountered reward's subjective benefit and its associated opportunity costs, respectively.

Beyond reward learning deficits: Exploration-exploitation instability reveals computational heterogeneity in value-based decision making in early psychosis.

Psychosis spectrum illnesses are characterized by impaired goal-directed behavior and significant neurophysiological heterogeneity. To investigate the neurocomputational underpinnings of this heterogeneity, 75 participants with Early Psychosis (EP) and 68 controls completed a dynamic decision-making task. Consistent with prior studies, EP exhibited more choice switching, not explained by reward learning deficits, but instead by increased transition to exploration from exploitation.

Dorsal hippocampus represents locations to avoid as well as locations to approach during approach-avoidance conflict.

Worrying about perceived threats is a hallmark of multiple psychological disorders including anxiety. This concern about future events is particularly important when an individual is faced with an approach-avoidance conflict. Potential goals to approach are known to be represented in the dorsal hippocampus during theta cycles.