Phillip Witkowski

plos.ioIdentity-specific reward expectations in orbitofrontal cortex guide goal-directed choicesHow reward identity representations influence choice remains unclear in neuroeconomic decision-making models. This fMRI study shows that identity-specific expectations in the human lateral orbitofront...

15 July

Excited to share our new paper on reward identity and goal-directed decisions in @plosbiology.org. plos.io/3R9rIxZ Normally, I would write a quick thread 🧵on the results but @joeycharbonneau.bsky.social & @erinlrich.bsky.social already wrote amazing primer! Read it here: bit.ly/4vWIn6W

Phillip Witkowski reposted

Seongmin Park

@seongminpark.bsky.social

10 July 2025

🚨 We’re hiring! The Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Virginia Tech is looking for a postdoc to join our team studying the neural + computational mechanisms of structure learning and flexible cognition: ccnvt.github.io#positions

ccnvt.github.ioCCN Lab

elifesciences.orgNeural mechanisms of credit assignment for delayed outcomes during contingent learningOrbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus reinstate representations of causal choices to associate with delayed outcomes, and the frontal pole supports this credit assignment process by maintaining pending...

I'm excited to share that the VOR for my latest manuscript with Lindsay Rondot, Zeb Kurth-Nelson, @mgarvert.bsky.social , Ray Dolan, @behrenstimb.bsky.social and Erie Boorman, is out in @elife.bsky.social ! Check it out here: elifesciences.org/articles/101... A short thread below 🧵 (1/5):

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(4/5) In a second condition where outcomes were observed only after another choice was made, we show that the frontal pole holds on to the previous choice, and the fidelity of this representation predicts the fidelity of information in OFC and hippocampus when the outcome is finally observed.

(5/5) Together, our results highlight the importance of lateral OFC and hippocampus during learning and support reinstatement as key process for building causal associations. This works makes a novel contribution to understanding the neural mechanisms which underlie causal learning complex tasks.

(2/5) The ability to link specific states or actions to specific outcomes is critical for surviving in complex environments. Our study aimed at discerning how the brain forges these links during learning, and what happens when outcomes don’t directly follow a choice.