Orbitofrontal cortex control of striatum leads economic decision-making

This study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying economic decision-making in rats. Using an adapted economic decision-making task, researchers found that neural activity in both the ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) was crucial for accurate decision-making. OFC activity preceded DMS activity, and this temporal relationship correlated with choice accuracy. Inhibition of the OFC projection to the DMS specifically impaired economic decision-making, demonstrating that choice information is relayed from the OFC to the DMS to guide choices.

Felicity Gore, Melissa Hernandez, Charu Ramakrishnan, Ailey K. Crow, Robert C. Malenka, Karl Deisseroth