Harvard Medical School researchers have identified certain brain cells or neurons that seem to play a pivotal role in the decision-making process of an individual. For example, the dilemma of choosing just the right colored dress or even choosing the correct stocks to invest can be attributed to these cells.
"We have long known that different neurons in various parts of the brain respond to separate attributes, such as quantity, color and taste. But when we make a choice, for example, between different foods, we combine all these attributes -- we assign a value to each available item," said a statement issued by study author Camillo Padoa-Schioppa. The detailed report of the research, which was conducted on monkeys, is published in the latest edition of Nature.
Padoa-Schioppa and his colleagues examined the choice taken by the monkeys when they were given a variety of juices. It was generally observed that monkeys preferred grapefruit juice, but opted for orange juice if it was present in a large volume.
These "choice-making" cells are located in a region called orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Researchers hope that this discovery can lead to a better understanding of disorders like gambling and compulsive drug abuse. "The neurons we have identified encode the value individuals assign to the available items when they make choices based on subjective preferences, a behavior called 'economic choice,'" Padoa-Schioppa observed.
Earlier research efforts focused on the OFC had revealed that any abnormalities in the region gave rise to eating disorders like bulimia and perverse social behavior. “In various brain scans, when people gamble, we see the OFC light up. Similarly, drug addiction is a type of impulsive behaviour," the researchers note.
