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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 25, 2009, 29(8):2569-2574; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5777-08.2009

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Brief Communications
Monkey Orbitofrontal Cortex Encodes Response Choices Near Feedback Time

Satoshi Tsujimoto,^1,2 Aldo Genovesio,^1,3 and Steven P. Wise¹

¹Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health–National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4401, ²Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan, and ³Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Satoshi Tsujimoto, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, 3-11 Tsurukabuto, Nada-Ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.

The primate prefrontal cortex contributes to stimulus-guided behavior, but the functional specializations among its areas remain uncertain. To better understand such specializations, we contrasted neuronal activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFdl) and the orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo). The task required rhesus monkeys to use a visual cue to choose a saccade target. Some cues instructed the monkeys to repeat their most recent response; others instructed them to change it. Responses were followed by feedback: fluid reward if correct, visual feedback if incorrect. Previous studies, using different tasks, have reported that PFo neurons did not encode responses. We found PFo did encode responses in this task, but only near feedback time, after the response had been completed. PFdl differed from PFo in several respects. As reported previously, some PFdl neurons encoded responses from the previous trial and others encoded planned responses. PFo neurons did not have these properties. After feedback, PFdl encoded rewarded responses better than unrewarded ones and thus combined response and outcome information. PFo, in contrast, encoded the responses chosen, rewarded or not. These findings suggest that PFdl and PFo contribute differently to response knowledge, with PFo using an outcome-independent signal to monitor current responses at feedback time.

Key words: decision; feedback; monitoring; evaluation; frontal lobe; prefrontal cortex

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Received Dec. 3, 2008; revised Jan. 12, 2009; accepted Jan. 30, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Satoshi Tsujimoto, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, 3-11 Tsurukabuto, Nada-Ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.

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