Abstract
Humans and other animals make decisions under uncertainty. Choosing an option that provides information can improve decision making. However, subjects often choose information that does not increase the chances of obtaining reward. In a procedure that promotes such paradoxical choice, animals choose between two alternatives: The richer option is followed by a cue that is rewarded 50% of the time (No-info) and the leaner option is followed by one of two cues, one always rewarded (100%), and the other never rewarded, 0% (Info). Since decisions involve comparing the subjective value of options after integrating all their features perhaps including information value, preference for information may rely on cortico-amygdalar circuitry. To test this, male and female Long-Evans rats were prepared with bilateral inhibitory DREADDs in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), or null virus infusions as a control. Using a counterbalanced design, we inhibited these regions after stable preference was acquired and during learning of new Info and No-info cues. We found that inhibition of ACC, but not OFC or BLA, selectively destabilized choice preference in female rats without affecting latency to choose or the response rate to cues. A logistic regression fit revealed that the previous choice strongly predicted preference in control animals, but not in female rats following ACC inhibition. BLA inhibition tended to decrease the learning of new cues that signaled the Info option, but had no effect on preference. The results reveal a causal, sex-dependent role for ACC in decisions involving information.
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