Prioritising the relevant information for learning and decision making within orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Mark E Walton; Bolton K H Chau; Steven W Kennerley

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.10.005

Prioritising the relevant information for learning and decision making within orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2015 Feb 1:1:78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.10.005.

Authors

Mark E Walton¹, Bolton K H Chau¹, Steven W Kennerley²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
² Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK.

Abstract

Our environment and internal states are frequently complex, ambiguous and dynamic, meaning we need to have selection mechanisms to ensure we are basing our decisions on currently relevant information. Here, we review evidence that orbitofrontal (OFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) play conserved, critical but distinct roles in this process. While OFC may use specific sensory associations to enhance task-relevant information, particularly in the context of learning, VMPFC plays a role in ensuring irrelevant information does not impinge on the decision in hand.

Abstract

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