The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a brain region that is privy to a wealth of information from sensory, emotional, and memory-related brain regions and thus likely serves as an important center for integration and evaluation. Recent research is revealing that the OFC could be a major site, or is at the very least an essential participant in a network of sites, where sensory and memory-related information is evaluated and transformed into predictions of the future used to guide decisions and actions.
On March 11–14, 2007, the New York Academy of Sciences hosted a conference dedicated to integrating recent research on the orbitofrontal cortex. The overarching goal of the event was to better define the function of the OFC. The conference included sessions on the effects of OFC damage on behavior, encoding value in the OFC, updating associations in the OFC, OFC anatomy and function, and translating OFC research. The proceedings of this conference were gathered in a volume of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Wilbrecht L. 2007. Linking Affect to Action: Critical Contributions of the Orbitofrontal Cortex. eBriefing on a New York Academy of Science March 2007 conference.