Abstract
Inter-temporal choice schedules entail choice between rewarding outcomes in which the primary reinforcers differ along two or more dimensions (usually size and delay). This paper summarizes a programme of research on the neurobiology of inter-temporal choice carried out in the authors’ laboratory. A theoretical model of inter-temporal choice (the multiplicative hyperbolic model, MHM) based on the principles of delay discounting and diminishing marginal utility is described. This model provides a basis for designing experiments which enable the influences of delay and size of reinforcers to be separately quantified. Experimental results are reviewed which implicate the orbital prefrontal cortex (OPFC) and the core of the nucleus accumbens (AcbC) in sensitivity to delay of reinforcement (delay discounting) and the OPFC and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in sensitivity to reinforcer size. It is suggested that the OPFC may collate the influences of multiple features of reinforcers, and thereby determine the overall values of reinforcing outcomes. The implications of the results for the concepts of ‘value’ and ‘impulsiveness’ are discussed.
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