Project Summary

Vincent P. Ferrera, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2006) of Columbia University, notes that risk is an essential component of rational behavior and that schizophrenia and depression may result, in part, from imbalances in neural mechanisms that evaluate risk and reward. Schizophrenia and depression also are associated with dysfunction in prefrontal cortex. However, the neural mechanisms underlying risk and reward are not well understood. In particular, the neural representation of risk in prefrontal cortex remains an open question. The proposed study aims to address the neural correlates of risk and reward by recording neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of monkeys while they perform a gambling task. The goal is to determine how prefrontal neurons represent risk, and whether this representation can be dissociated from the representation of reward value or choice. Establishing whether the response of dorsolateral prefrontal neurons is modulated by risk is essential for understanding the role of this brain region in rational behavior.

Program Area: ADDICTION/SUBSTANCE-RELATED DISORDERS\Gambling

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