Neural Encoding of Value-Based Lunch Choices

New research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has shed light on how the brain makes value-based decisions, such as choosing a restaurant or a slot machine. The study, which involved recording the activity of individual human neurons, found that the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) plays a critical role in decision-making, calculating which option has the best chance of yielding the highest reward. The study's authors hope that understanding how the brain makes these choices could help in the treatment of neurological disorders such as addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.