# Functions of Target-Defined Orbitofrontal Neuron Types in Decision Making

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $625,816

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Our long-term objective is to understand how neural circuits in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
support adaptive choice behavior and produce choice biases, particularly those pertinent to
drug abuse disorders. Our central hypothesis is that distinct OFC output neuron types encode
unique decision variables and contribute to specific choice biases. This project has two main
goals: to map the OFC neurons projecting to subcortical areas and then to study their role in
decision-making by monitoring and manipulating their activity. In Aim 1, we will examine
whether functional clusters of OFC neurons correspond to specific decision-making
processes and whether their representations are stable over time and across different tasks.
In Aim 2, we will comprehensively map OFC subcortical projections, and test if neurons
projecting different regions are anatomically and molecularly distinct. Then we will focus on
OFC projection neurons to the ventral striatum and the ventral tegmental area and use
projection-targeted miniscope imaging to identify their roles in decision-making algorithms. In
Aim 3, we will manipulate these projections to test whether they mediate specific choice
biases based on past outcomes and reward size, respectively. Upon completing these aims,
we expect to provide a blueprint for how decision variables are computed within the OFC and
transmitted to its subcortical targets in a projection-specific manner and drive different choice
biases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10946474
- **Project number:** 1R01DA062387-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam Kepecs
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $625,816
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10946474

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10946474, Functions of Target-Defined Orbitofrontal Neuron Types in Decision Making (1R01DA062387-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10946474. Licensed CC0.

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