Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2011;34:333-59. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113648.
Traditionally the object of economic theory and experimental psychology, economic choice recently became a lively research focus in systems neuroscience. Here I summarize the emerging results and propose a unifying model of how economic choice might function at the neural level. Economic choice entails comparing options that vary on multiple dimensions. Hence, while choosing, individuals integrate different determinants into a subjective value; decisions are then made by comparing values. According to the good-based model, the values of different goods are computed independently of one another, which implies transitivity. Values are not learned as such, but rather computed at the time of choice. Most importantly, values are compared within the space of goods, independent of the sensorimotor contingencies of choice. Evidence from neurophysiology, imaging, and lesion studies indicates that abstract representations of value exist in the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. The computation and comparison of values may thus take place within these regions.
传统上，经济理论和实验心理学的研究对象是经济选择，而最近，经济选择也成为系统神经科学中一个活跃的研究焦点。在这里，我总结了新兴的研究结果，并提出了一个统一的模型，说明经济选择在神经水平上是如何运作的。经济选择需要比较在多个维度上变化的选项。因此，在选择的过程中，个体将不同的决定因素整合到一个主观价值中；然后通过比较价值来做出决策。根据基于良好的模型，不同商品的价值是相互独立计算的，这意味着传递性。价值不是作为一种东西被学习，而是在选择时被计算。最重要的是，价值是在商品的空间内进行比较的，与选择的感觉运动相关性无关。来自神经生理学、成像和损伤研究的证据表明，价值的抽象表示存在于眶额和腹内侧前额皮质中。因此，价值的计算和比较可能发生在这些区域内。
