Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

DECISION-MAKING

Same lesson, varied choices by frontal cortex

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Neuroscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

In an unfamiliar situation, animals display variable choice behavior. Based on computational modeling and empirical data, a new study suggests that the variability in decision-making across individuals is driven by differences in internal neural dynamics in the medial frontal cortex.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Internal neural dynamics in the medial frontal cortex as a determinant of choice behavior.

References

  1. Prinz, A. A., Bucher, D. & Marder, E. Nat. Neurosci. 7, 1345–1352 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kurikawa, T., Haga, T., Handa, T., Harukuni, R. & Fukai, T. Nat. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0263-5 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Sul, J. H., Jo, S., Lee, D. & Jung, M. W. Nat. Neurosci. 14, 1202–1208 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Siniscalchi, M. J., Phoumthipphavong, V., Ali, F., Lozano, M. & Kwan, A. C. Nat. Neurosci. 19, 1234–1242 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kiani, R., Cueva, C. J., Reppas, J. B. & Newsome, W. T. Curr. Biol. 24, 1542–1547 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Durstewitz, D., Vittoz, N. M., Floresco, S. B. & Seamans, J. K. Neuron 66, 438–448 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Wang, X. J. Neuron 60, 215–234 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Enel, P., Procyk, E., Quilodran, R. & Dominey, P. F. PLoS Comput. Biol. 12, e1004967 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Mardinly, A. R. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 21, 881–893 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Sadtler, P. T. et al. Nature 512, 423–426 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Morcos, A. S. & Harvey, C. D. Nat. Neurosci. 19, 1672–1681 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Churchland, M. M., Yu, B. M., Ryu, S. I., Santhanam, G. & Shenoy, K. V. J. Neurosci. 26, 3697–3712 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Barthas, F. & Kwan, A. C. Trends Neurosci. 40, 181–193 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Murakami, M., Shteingart, H., Loewenstein, Y. & Mainen, Z. F. Neuron 94, 908–919.e7 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hamm, J. P., Peterka, D. S., Gogos, J. A. & Yuste, R. Neuron 94, 153–167.e8 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH112750 and R21 MH118596) and by a Kavli Institute for Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Huriye Atilgan & Alex C. Kwan

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Alex C. Kwan

Authors
  1. Huriye Atilgan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alex C. Kwan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alex C. Kwan.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Atilgan, H., Kwan, A.C. Same lesson, varied choices by frontal cortex. Nat Neurosci 21, 1648–1650 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0282-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-018-0282-2

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

Search

Navigation