The role of the lOFC in inferring reference points
A hallmark of value-based decision-making is reference dependence, in which rewards are evaluated relative to an internal reference point that likely reflects expectations. Previous work has often assumed that reference points are retrospective, deriving directly from past experiences. Here, we show that rats can use inference to compute and switch between multiple reference points, and that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) is required for this capacity. I will present results from ongoing behavioural modelling, perturbation experiments, and electrophysiological recordings from lOFC in rats performing a task that provides a behavioural readout of reference-dependent subjective value.
Date: 22 November 2021, 15:00 (Monday, 7th week, Michaelmas 2021)
Venue: Zoom link will be sent out via the Cortex Club mailing list
Speaker: Dr. Christine Constantinople (NYU)
Organising department: University Club
Organiser: Cortex Club (University of Oxford)
Host: Cortex Club (University of Oxford)
Part of: Cortex Club - Oxford Neuroscience Society
Booking required?: Not required
Booking url: https://www.cortexclub.com/events
Audience: Public
Editor: Antara Majumdar