Mechanisms of reinforcement learning and decision making in the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Full Abstract

To a first approximation, decision making is a process of optimization in which the decision maker tries to maximize the desirability of the outcomes resulting from chosen actions. Estimates of desirability are referred to as utilities or value functions, and they must be continually revised through experience according to the discrepancies between the predicted and obtained rewards. Reinforcement learning theory prescribes various algorithms for updating value functions and can parsimoniously account for the results of numerous behavioral, neurophysiological, and imaging studies in humans and other primates. In this article, we first discuss relative merits of various decision-making tasks used in neurophysiological studies of decision making in nonhuman primates. We then focus on how reinforcement learning theory can shed new light on the function of the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Similar to the findings from other brain areas, such as cingulate cortex and basal ganglia, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex often signals the value of expected reward and actual outcome. Thus, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is likely to be a part of the broader network involved in adaptive decision making. In addition, reward-related activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is influenced by the animal's choices and other contextual information, and therefore may provide a neural substrate by which the animals can flexibly modify their decision-making strategies according to the demands of specific tasks.

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Author information

Author/s: Lee, Daeyeol (D); Seo, Hyojung (H);

Affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. daeyeol.lee(-atsign-)yale.edu

Grants: MH059216 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH073246 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; NS044270 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; NS048328 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Review

Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Ann N Y Acad Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-May; vol 1104 (issue ) : pp 108-22

Dates: Created 2007/06/27; Completed 2007/07/25; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 17347332, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Learning
Models, Anatomic
Models, Neurological
Neurons - metabolism
Prefrontal Cortex - anatomy & histology; physiology
Primates
Reinforcement (Psychology)
Reward

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