Evidence for a Common Representation of Decision Values for Dissimilar Goods in Human Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex

Abstract

To make economic choices between goods, the brain needs to compute representations of their values. A great deal of research has been performed to determine the neural correlates of value representations in the human brain. However, it is still unknown whether there exists a region of the brain that commonly encodes decision values for different types of goods, or if, in contrast, the values of different types of goods are represented in distinct brain regions. We addressed this question by scanning subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they made real purchasing decisions among different categories of goods (food, nonfood consumables, and monetary gambles). We found activity in a key brain region previously implicated in encoding goal-values: the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was correlated with the subjects' value for each category of good. Moreover, we found a single area in vmPFC to be correlated with the subjects' valuations for all categories of goods. Our results provide evidence that the brain encodes a "common currency" that allows for a shared valuation for different categories of goods.

A neural predictor of cultural popularity

“…3a). The SEM was based on known anatomical connections between the OFC and NACC and their relationships to subjective likability and purchase decisions (Chib, Rangel, Shimojo, & O'Doherty, 2009;Knutson, et al, 2007;Montague & Berns, 2002;O'Doherty, Kringelbach, Rolls, Hornak, & Andrews, 2001;Plassmann et al, 2007;Rolls, 2000). Consistent with this literature, the average song likability had significant path coefficients to both the OFC and NACC, and because of the direct connection between OFC and NACC, this path was also significant.…”

A mechanistic account of value computation in the human brain

“…Previous studies reported that value signals are represented in higher-level cortical regions, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). Crucially, however, those studies did not answer the question of whether these regions play an active role in computing these signals or whether they merely represent the consequence of the decision.…”

“…Despite previous reports implicating the medial prefrontal cortex in encoding expected value signals (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), it remained unclear whether this region is directly involved in computing value, because these signals are often thought to reflect the consequence of the decision process instead (in the sense that value can only be encoded once a decision has been made). In this work, we provide a mechanistic account that directly implicates the medial prefrontal cortex in value computation.…”

“…The lack of empirical affirmation that such regions exist has made it difficult to provide a mechanistic account of how different sources of probabilistic evidence are combined to compute value. Despite the fact that several studies on valuebased decision making have consistently implicated the medial prefrontal cortex in encoding expected value signals (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), it remains unknown whether it is directly involved in computing the value signal needed to make the decision (by combining different sources of probabilistic evidence) or whether it merely reflects the consequence of the decision process.…”

Decision neuroscience and consumer decision making

“…These findings suggest that the mOFC might comprise a common valuation region that encodes for both appetitive and aversive DVs (Litt et al 2011). These results and related ones using monetary gambles and trinkets (Chib et al 2009), or immediate and delayed rewards Glimcher 2007, 2010) provide evidence that the brain encodes a "common currency" that allows for a shared valuation for different categories of goods (see Kable and Glimcher 2009, for a review).…”