Orbitofrontal cortex as a cognitive map of task space

By Robert C. Wilson, Yuji K. Takahashi, Geoffrey Schoenbaum, Yael Niv. Neuron, 2014

790 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Summary Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has long been known to play an important role in decision making. However, the exact nature of that role has remained elusive. Here we propose a new unifying theory of OFC function. We hypothesize that OFC provides an abstraction of currently available information in the form of a labeling of the current task state, which is used for reinforcement learning elsewhere in the brain. This function is especially critical when task states include unobservable information, for instance, from working memory. We use this framework to explain classic findings in reversal learning, delayed alternation, extinction and devaluation, as well as more recent findings showing the effect of OFC lesions on the firing of dopaminergic neurons in ventral tegmental area (VTA) in rodents performing a reinforcement learning task. In addition, we generate a number of testable experimental predictions that can distinguish our theory from other accounts of OFC function.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/951d91e3a3cb2bd71786c95f65fda274f1423bdb

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In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

In Cognitive Neuroscience

Citations in the corpus

Abstract context representations in primate amygdala and prefrontal cortex (2015, background): “Furthermore, it has been proposed that a component of the PFC—orbitofrontal cortex—represents ‘‘cognitive maps’’ of task space, a type of representation that could be important for the implementation of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms and flexible decision making (Wilson et al., 2014).”
Human Orbitofrontal Cortex Represents a Cognitive Map of State Space. (2016, positive): “…in tasks that involve states that are difﬁcult to distinguish based on sensory input alone (called ‘‘partially observable states’’ or ‘‘hidden states’’) (Wilson et al., 2014; Bradﬁeld et al., 2015), we proposed that OFC’s critical contribution to decision-makingistorepresentsuchhiddenstates.”
Simple Plans or Sophisticated Habits? State, Transition and Learning Interactions in the Two-Step Task (2015, background): “These considerations bring to the forefront the question of what state representations are learned and used [53,54], something known to be central to the speed with which agents learn to solve decision problems.”
On the link between conscious function and general intelligence in humans and machines (2022, background): “Higher cognitive regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex may also contribute to the cognitive map (Wilson et al., 2014), which has been proposed to exist at multiple scales of abstraction at diﬀerent regions in the brain (Brunec & Momennejad, 2022).”
The successor representation in human reinforcement learning (2016, background): “Furthermore, it has been suggested that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), may also be involved in ‘cognitive map’-like representations of task spaces 44 and state spaces 45,60 .”
Sequential Replay of Non-spatial Task States in the Human Hippocampus (2018, background): “However, the functionally relevant state representation during online task performance resides in the orbitofrontal cortex (7, 13, 19).”
The Role of Executive Function in Shaping Reinforcement Learning. (2020, background): “, orbitofrontal cortex), further supporting a link between EF and RL [41].”
Discovering latent causes in reinforcement learning (2015, background): “These applications suggest that structure learning may function as a core computational system that is shared across domains, with the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex potentially playing a central role [48,8,10,49,50].”
Ensembles in medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex construct cognitive maps emphasizing different features of the behavioral landscape (2017, methodology): “Discussion We used our previously reported Pavlovian unblocking task data to investigate whether and how different subregions of the OFC construct a cognitive map of behavioral task space (Tolman, 1948; Wilson et al., 2014).”
What Is a Cognitive Map? Organizing Knowledge for Flexible Behavior. (2018, background): “The full learning-set model might consist of many higherspecific learning set. led to a richer understanding (Wilson et al., 2014).”