When we make economic choices, the brain first evaluates available options and then decides whether to choose them. Midbrain dopamine neurons are known to reinforce economic choices through their signal evoked by outcomes after decisions are made. However, although critical internal processing is executed while decisions are being made, little is known about the role of dopamine neurons during this period. We found that dopamine neurons exhibited dynamically changing signals related to the internal processing while rhesus monkeys were making decisions. These neurons encoded the value of an option immediately after it was offered and then gradually changed their activity to represent the animal’s upcoming choice. Similar dynamics were observed in the orbitofrontal cortex, a center for economic decision-making, but the value-to-choice signal transition was completed earlier in dopamine neurons. Our findings suggest that dopamine neurons are a key component of the neural network that makes choices from values during ongoing decision-making processes.

当我们做出经济选择时，大脑首先评估可用的选项，然后决定是否选择它们。众所周知，中脑多巴胺神经元通过决策后的结果引发的信号来加强经济选择。然而，尽管在做出决策时会执行关键的内部处理，但对于多巴胺神经元在此期间的作用知之甚少。我们发现，当恒河猴做出决定时，多巴胺神经元表现出与内部处理相关的动态变化的信号。这些神经元在提供选项后立即对选项的价值进行编码，然后逐渐改变它们的活动以代表动物即将做出的选择。在作为经济决策中心的眶额皮质中也观察到了类似的动态，但在多巴胺神经元中，价值到选择的信号转换较早完成。我们的研究结果表明，多巴胺神经元是神经网络的关键组成部分，它在正在进行的决策过程中从价值观中做出选择。