Intracranial recordings in humans reveal differential contributions of medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex to approach-avoidance decision-making.

Intracranial recordings reveal that medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex exhibit opposing activity patterns during approach-avoidance decisions in humans.

• Why it matters: Understanding how the brain resolves conflicts between potential rewards and punishments is crucial for insights into decision-making processes and related disorders.
• What they did: Researchers used stereotactic electroencephalography in humans performing a gamified approach-avoidance task, observing distinct signals in the medial and lateral OFC before decisions.
• The result: They found that medial OFC activity increased while lateral OFC activity decreased prior to approach, with signals rapidly switching between pro-approach and pro-avoidant states, revealing a new functional architecture for decision-making.