The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space
Abstract A cognitive map is an internal model of the world’s causal structure, crucial for adaptive behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is central node to decision-making and cognitive map representation. However, it remains unclear how the medial OFC (mOFC) and lateral OFC (lOFC) contribute t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07588-w |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823861765728894976 |
|---|---|
| author | Liwei Tan Yidan Qiu Lixin Qiu Shuting Lin Jinhui Li Jiajun Liao Yuting Zhang Wei Zou Ruiwang Huang |
| author_facet | Liwei Tan Yidan Qiu Lixin Qiu Shuting Lin Jinhui Li Jiajun Liao Yuting Zhang Wei Zou Ruiwang Huang |
| author_sort | Liwei Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A cognitive map is an internal model of the world’s causal structure, crucial for adaptive behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is central node to decision-making and cognitive map representation. However, it remains unclear how the medial OFC (mOFC) and lateral OFC (lOFC) contribute to the formation of cognitive maps in humans. By performing a multi-step sequential task and multivariate analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we found that the mOFC and lOFC play complementary but dissociable roles in this process. Specifically, the mOFC represents all hidden task state components. The lOFC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) encode abstract rules governing structure knowledge across task states. Furthermore, the two orbitofrontal subregions are functionally connected to share state-hidden information for constructing a representation of the task structure. Collectively, these findings provide an account that can increase our understanding of how the brain constructs abstract cognitive maps in a task-relevant space. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4eca6b879144519b2edb2afaf9a6099 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4eca6b879144519b2edb2afaf9a60992025-02-09T12:50:15ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-02-018111110.1038/s42003-025-07588-wThe medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task spaceLiwei Tan0Yidan Qiu1Lixin Qiu2Shuting Lin3Jinhui Li4Jiajun Liao5Yuting Zhang6Wei Zou7Ruiwang Huang8School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversityInstitute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal UniversitySchool of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education; South China Normal UniversityAbstract A cognitive map is an internal model of the world’s causal structure, crucial for adaptive behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is central node to decision-making and cognitive map representation. However, it remains unclear how the medial OFC (mOFC) and lateral OFC (lOFC) contribute to the formation of cognitive maps in humans. By performing a multi-step sequential task and multivariate analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we found that the mOFC and lOFC play complementary but dissociable roles in this process. Specifically, the mOFC represents all hidden task state components. The lOFC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) encode abstract rules governing structure knowledge across task states. Furthermore, the two orbitofrontal subregions are functionally connected to share state-hidden information for constructing a representation of the task structure. Collectively, these findings provide an account that can increase our understanding of how the brain constructs abstract cognitive maps in a task-relevant space.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07588-w |
| spellingShingle | Liwei Tan Yidan Qiu Lixin Qiu Shuting Lin Jinhui Li Jiajun Liao Yuting Zhang Wei Zou Ruiwang Huang The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space Communications Biology |
| title | The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| title_full | The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| title_fullStr | The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| title_full_unstemmed | The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| title_short | The medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| title_sort | medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex jointly represent the cognitive map of task space |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07588-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liweitan themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT yidanqiu themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT lixinqiu themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT shutinglin themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT jinhuili themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT jiajunliao themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT yutingzhang themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT weizou themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT ruiwanghuang themedialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT liweitan medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT yidanqiu medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT lixinqiu medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT shutinglin medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT jinhuili medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT jiajunliao medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT yutingzhang medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT weizou medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace AT ruiwanghuang medialandlateralorbitofrontalcortexjointlyrepresentthecognitivemapoftaskspace |