A new perspective on the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in adaptive behaviour

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Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex has a role in flexible behaviour. schoenbaum and colleagues discuss recent data suggesting that it signals expected outcomes and propose that this role also explains how it can mediate flexible behaviour in the face of unexpected outcomes. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is crucial for changing established behaviour in the face of unexpected outcomes. This function has been attributed to the role of the OFC in response inhibition or to the idea that the OFC is a rapidly flexible associative-learning area. However, recent data contradict these accounts, and instead suggest that the OFC is crucial for signalling outcome expectancies. We suggest that this function — signalling of expected outcomes — can also explain the crucial role of the OFC in changing behaviour in the face of unexpected outcomes.