Orbitofrontal cortex

What is the orbitofrontal cortex?

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal region involved in reward-related processing and flexible adjustment of behavior. It operates within wider decision-making circuits.

How it works

Research links the OFC to representations of outcomes and changes in stimulus-reinforcement associations. Damage can impair some forms of flexible decision-making, but effects vary with the task and lesion.

Applied example

In a reversal-learning experiment, one symbol might first signal a reward, then stop doing so while another symbol becomes rewarding. Researchers measure how behavior adjusts. This helps study OFC-related flexibility, although the effects of damage depend on the task and lesion.

Why it matters

The OFC contributes to using outcome information in behavior. Its role is broader and more context dependent than a single value comparator.

Research: Rolls (2004) reviews sensory reward processing and reversal of learned associations.

Sources and further reading

• Rolls, 2004 – The functions of the orbitofrontal cortex (Brain and Cognition)
• Wallis, 2007 – Orbitofrontal cortex and its contribution to decision-making (Annu Rev Neurosci)