Scientific Research

Distinct Medial Orbitofrontal–Striatal Circuits Support Dissociable Component Processes of Risk/Reward Decision-Making

June 28, 2022

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET

Join this interactive session as Nicole Jenni and Stan Floresco discuss their paper, “Distinct Medial Orbitofrontal–Striatal Circuits Support Dissociable Component Processes of Risk/Reward Decision-Making” with JNeurosci reviewing editor Kate Wassum. Attendees can submit questions at registration and live during the webinar.

Below is the significance statement of the paper published on March 30, 2022, in JNeurosci and authored by Nicole L. Jenni, Griffin Rutledge, and Stan B. Floresco:

The medial orbitofrontal cortex regulates a variety of goal-directed behaviors, yet the functional circuits through which it mediates higher order decision-making functions are unclear. The present study revealed that different mOFC projection pathways facilitate diverse aspects of decision-making involving risks and rewards by engaging separate networks of neurons that interface with distinct ventral and dorsal striatal targets. These findings clarify some of the normal functions of these corticostriatal pathways and may have implications for understanding how dysfunction in these circuits relate to certain psychiatric disorders.

Speakers

Nicole Jenni

Nicole Jenni is a PhD candidate in the psychology department at the University of British Columbia. Jenni’s main research interests lie in investigating the prefrontal-subcortical circuits that support decision-making processes. She received her BSc in psychology from the University of British Columbia and has completed her MA and PhD work in Stan Floresco’s lab in behavioral neuroscience from the University of British Columbia.

Stan Floresco, PhD

Stan Floresco is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of British Columbia. Floresco’s main research interests lie in clarifying how neural circuits incorporating prefrontal, limbic and dopaminergic systems regulate executive functions such as cognitive flexibility and cost/benefit decision making, and how dysfunctions in these circuits may relate to abnormalities in these processes occurring in psychiatric illnesses. He received his undergraduate and doctoral degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh.

Kate Wassum, PhD

Kate Wassum is professor of psychology in the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Wassum’s research focuses on the neural signals and circuits that underlie reward learning, motivation, and decision making to understand and treat the maladaptive motivation and decision making that characterizes substance use disorder and psychiatric diseases. She received her BS in psychology from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her PhD in neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles under the mentorship of Bernard Balleine and Nigel Maidment. Wassum continued at University of California, Los Angeles for her postdoctoral work focusing on the role of dopamine in reward seeking and cue-induced motivation with Nigel Maidment before joining the Psychology faculty.

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Distinct Medial Orbitofrontal–Striatal Circuits Support Dissociable Component Processes of Risk/Reward Decision-Making

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