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Poster Session C: Friday, August 15, 2:00 – 5:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

A cognitive map of a subjective value space

Mark A Orloff¹, Seongmin A Park², Jake Blumwald, Philippe Domenech, Erie Boorman; ¹University of California, Davis, ²Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Presenter: Mark A Orloff

Individuals are thought to make choices based on subjective valuations of options that combine multiple attributes into a unified subjective value (SV) signal in the brain. However, it is not yet known how the multiple attributes of choice options are transformed into SV. One possible mechanism is the cognitive mapping system in the entorhinal cortex (EC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which efficiently represents relational, multi-dimensional information. Here, we develop a novel risky decision-making task and use fMRI to show that a two dimensional (2D) SV space of reward probability and amount is represented in the cognitive mapping system as both a grid-like representation of decision vectors and a 2D ‘positional’ code of options. Further preliminary work using the same task in intracranial EEG (iEEG) shows theta coupling between medial temporal lobe (MTL) and PFC and a grid-like representation of decision vectors in mPFC theta power. These findings connect the brain’s cognitive mapping and valuation systems and provide a possible mechanism by which individuals convert an options’ multiple attributes into an SV signal, suggesting a new framework for understanding how the brain constructs and compares values.

Topic Area: Reward, Value & Social Decision Making

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF