Neural representation of cost-benefit selections in medial prefrontal cortex of rats

Abstract

Decision making refers to the process that subjects use to choose between competing courses of action based on the expected costs and benefits of their consequences. However, few studies have addressed the neuronal mechanisms behind the processes of how costs and benefits influence decision making. Here we investigated the neuronal representation of costs and benefits towards a goal-directed action under a differential reward schedule by training rats to perform a "Do more, get more" (DM-GM) task utilizing a nosepoke operandum, where longer nosepoke durations resulted in correspondingly larger rewards. Our results showed that the cost a rat pays can be expected from the activity of neurons located in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These findings indicate that mPFC activity is predictive of the subjects' costs and benefits, providing mechanistic insights on this mental calculation.

Keywords: Benefit; Cost; DM-GM; Decision making; Rat; mPFC.