Background: From a neuroeconomics perspective, decisions about what to eat are ultimately determined by basic features of how the brain codes and contrasts the values of different rewards and the potential positive or negative consequences of eating the food. Several brain regions play a role in this valuation and comparison process. Among these regions, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which occupies the ventral surface of the frontal lobe, plays a critical integrative role in these processes. An examination of the influences on valuation both within the OFC and in related brain regions reveals several features that are likely to impact food selection. These include coding of rewards relative to other available rewards, general and specific satiety, and temporal discounting. The OFC also processes information about negative valuations (i.e., cost, negative health consequences), which are influenced by factors such as temporal discounting, probability and ambiguity.
Conclusion: An understanding of these influences on positive and negative valuation is critical in designing diets and public health programs aimed at promoting healthy eating.