“Primate anterior insular cortex represents economic decision variables postulated by Prospect theory”

Host: Monosov lab (WashU Dept. of Neuroscience)

Professor Stuphorn is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and member of the Zanvyl Krieger Mind Brain Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his PhD in neuroscience from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany and then completed his post-doctoral training in the Vision Research Center at Vanderbilt University. Since joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 2004, Professor Stuphorn has led numerous studies of the computation of value and the deployment of attention in non-human primates which have helped our field develop crucial insights into the conceptual underpinnings of complex behavioral phenomena and the roles of key cortical areas, including medial frontal, orbitofrontal, and anterior cingulate cortices.

This talk, Primate anterior insular cortex represents economic decision variables postulated by Prospect theory, will focus on new findings in the anterior insular cortex that the Stuphorn lab has just recently released. Studies of value-based decision-making in the context of uncertain rewards have been strongly influenced by the economic framework of Prospect Theory. A key assumption in this framework is that decision-makers represent values asymmetrically as gain or loss relative to a reference point. These new results suggest that neurons in the anterior insular cortex may encode this reference point, providing new insight into how the computations predicted by Prospect theory may be implemented in the brain (see full abstract and preprint here). 

The Systems Journal Club has spirited discussions of recent systems neuroscience papers, covering sensory, motor and cognitive issues. We will meet virtually via Zoom until further notice. For inquiries or to be added to the journal club list, contact Camillo Padoa-Schioppa or Larry Snyder (WashU Dept. of Neuroscience).

Full schedule and archives, Systems Journal Club