The prefrontal cortex is considered to be at the core of goal-directed behaviors. Notably, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to play an important role in learning action-outcome (A-O) associations, as well as in detecting changes in this contingency. Previous studies have also highlighted a specific engagement of the dopaminergic pathway innervating the mPFC in adapting to changes in action causality. While previous research on goal-directed actions has primarily focused on the mPFC region, recent findings have revealed a distinct and specific role of the ventral and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC). Indeed, vlOFC is not necessary to learn about A-O associations but appears specifically involved when outcome identity is unexpectedly changed. Unlike the mPFC, the vlOFC does not receive a strong dopaminergic innervation. However, it receives a dense noradrenergic innervation which might indicate a crucial role for this neuromodulator. In addition, several lines of evidence highlight a role for noradrenaline in adapting to changes in the environment. We, therefore, propose that the vlOFC's function in action control might be under the strong influence of the noradrenergic system. In the present article, we review anatomical and functional evidence consistent with this proposal and suggest a direction for future studies that aim to shed light on the orbitofrontal mechanisms for flexible action control. Specifically, we suggest that dopaminergic modulation in the mPFC and noradrenergic modulation in the vlOFC may underlie distinct processes related to updating one's actions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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眼眶和内侧前额叶皮层目标导向行为的多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素调节：走向分工？

前额叶皮层被认为是目标导向行为的核心。值得注意的是，众所周知，内侧前额叶皮层 (mPFC) 在学习行动结果 (AO) 关联以及检测这种偶然性的变化方面发挥着重要作用。先前的研究还强调了支配 mPFC 的多巴胺能通路在适应行动因果关系的变化方面的特定参与。虽然以前对目标导向行动的研究主要集中在 mPFC 区域，但最近的研究结果揭示了腹侧和外侧眶额皮层 (vlOFC) 的独特和特定作用。事实上，vlOFC 并不是了解 AO 关联所必需的，但在结果身份意外改变时似乎特别涉及。与 mPFC 不同，vlOFC 没有受到强烈的多巴胺能神经支配。然而，它接受密集的去甲肾上腺素能神经支配，这可能表明该神经调节剂的关键作用。此外，多项证据强调了去甲肾上腺素在适应环境变化方面的作用。因此，我们建议 vlOFC 在动作控制中的功能可能受到去甲肾上腺素能系统的强烈影响。在本文中，我们回顾了与该提议一致的解剖和功能证据，并为未来的研究提出了一个方向，旨在阐明用于灵活动作控制的眶额机制。具体而言，我们建议 mPFC 中的多巴胺能调节和 vlOFC 中的去甲肾上腺素能调节可能是与更新一个人的行为相关的不同过程的基础。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。