The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a critical role in the flexible control of behaviors and has been the focus of increasing research interest. However, there have been a number of controversies around the exact theoretical role of the OFC. One potential source of these issues is the comparison of evidence from different studies, particularly across species, which focus on different specific sub-regions within the OFC. Furthermore, there is emerging evidence that there may be functional diversity across the OFC which may account for these theoretical differences. Therefore, in this review we consider evidence supporting functional heterogeneity within the OFC and how it relates to underlying anatomical heterogeneity. We highlight the importance of anatomical and functional distinctions within the traditionally defined OFC subregions across the medial-lateral axis, which are often not differentiated for practical and historical reasons. We then consider emerging evidence of even finer-grained distinctions within these defined subregions along the anterior-posterior axis. These fine-grained anatomical considerations reveal a pattern of dissociable, but often complementary functions within the OFC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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定义眶额罗盘：前后轴和内外轴的功能和解剖异质性。


眶额皮质（OFC）在行为的灵活控制中发挥着关键作用，一直是人们日益关注的研究热点。然而，围绕 OFC 的确切理论作用存在许多争议。这些问题的一个潜在根源是不同研究的证据比较，特别是跨物种的证据，这些研究重点关注 OFC 内不同的特定子区域。此外，有新的证据表明 OFC 可能存在功能多样性，这可能解释了这些理论上的差异。因此，在这篇综述中，我们考虑支持 OFC 内功能异质性的证据，以及它与潜在的解剖异质性的关系。我们强调传统上定义的 OFC 亚区域在内侧-外侧轴上的解剖学和功能区别的重要性，这些亚区域通常由于实际和历史原因而没有区分。然后，我们考虑沿前后轴这些定义的子区域内出现的更细粒度区别的新证据。这些细粒度的解剖学考虑揭示了 OFC 内可分离但通常互补的功能模式。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。