NEURAL BASIS OF UTILITY ESTIMATION

The allocation of behavior among competing activities and goal objects depends on the payoffs they provide. Payoff is evaluated among multip le dimensions, including intensity, rate, delay, and kind. Recent find ings suggest that by triggering a stream oi action potentials in myeli nated, medial forebrain bundle axons, rewarding electrical brain stimu lation delivers a meaningful intensity signal to the process that comp utes payoff.