Intracranial recordings in humans reveal differential contributions of medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex to approach–avoidance decision-making
Approach-avoidance refers to the psychological conflict in which deciding to approach a reward also carries potential punishment. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is proposed to arbitrate approach-avoidance decisions, yet little is known about the real-time computations within OFC during these decisions. We conducted intracranial recordings in humans implanted with stereotactic electroencephalography electrodes in the OFC while they played a gamified approach-avoidance task. Here we identified two anatomically distinct signals within the OFC prior to approach: an increase in activity within the medial compartment and a decrease within the lateral compartment. Prior to decisions, these signals rapidly alternated between discrete pro-approach and pro-avoidant states, thus introducing a new functional architecture within the human OFC during decision-making.
Authors
- Peter Brunner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2588-2754)
- Ming Hsu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7195-3579)
- Kristin K. Sellers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0517-2296)
- Patrick W. Hullett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0894-1767)
- Robert T. Knight (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8686-1685)
- Ethan H. Willbrand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4625-5642)
- Kevin S. Weiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8734-5049)
- A. Moses Lee
- Clara Kwon Starkweather (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7772-5363)
- Edward F. Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2480-4700)
- Jon T. Willie
- Andrew D. Krystal
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Neurological Surgery (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Neuroscience
- Published
- 2026-09-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02444-4
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.20
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke