Cortical area · one in each half of the brain
Lateral orbitofrontal cortex
Also called Lateral OFC
Notices when a choice stops paying off and helps you change course.
The lateral orbitofrontal cortex is the outer part of the underside of the frontal lobe, above the outer half of each eye. It helps you update what you know about which choices lead to which outcomes, and it is especially active when something disappointing or unpleasant happens. That signal helps you drop old habits and try something new when the world changes.
Where it is
On the underside of the frontal lobe, toward the outer side, resting above the outer part of each eye socket.
What it does
Changing course
When a choice that used to pay off stops working, it helps you notice and switch.
Linking choice to outcome
It helps you update what you have learned about which choices bring good or bad results.
Reacting to letdowns
It responds strongly to unpleasant outcomes, like food that has stopped tasting good, that call for a change in behavior.
Judging smells and tastes
It takes part in identifying and comparing smells and tastes.
Think of it as a sharp-eyed accountant: it tracks which choice earned which result and raises a flag when an old strategy stops paying.
Works with
- AmygdalaThe amygdala flags emotional events, and this area uses them to update its predictions.
- Caudate nucleusA loop through the caudate helps turn its updated values into changed behavior.
- InsulaIt receives taste and body-state information from the insula.
- Temporal poleLinks with the temporal pole bring in knowledge about people and objects.
- Medial orbitofrontal cortexIt works alongside its inner neighbor, which leans more toward rewards and pleasure.
When it goes wrong
Getting stuck
Damage here can make people keep repeating choices that no longer work.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
In OCD, this area and its loops through the basal ganglia often show unusually high activity, which may help lock in repetitive thoughts and actions.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- In brain scans, it tends to light up when an experience turns unpleasant, while the inner part lights up more for pleasant rewards.
- Scientists test this region with "reversal" games, where the winning choice secretly switches. People with orbitofrontal damage often keep picking the old winner long after it stopped paying.
Where the name comes from
"Lateral" comes from the Latin "latus", meaning side. "Orbitofrontal" means the part of the frontal lobe over the eye socket, from the Latin "orbita".
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex?
Show the answer
Changing course. When a choice that used to pay off stops working, it helps you notice and switch.
Changing course. When a choice that used to pay off stops working, it helps you notice and switch.
The lateral orbitofrontal cortex is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Orbitofrontal cortex. It belongs to the orbitofrontal cortex.
Orbitofrontal cortex. It belongs to the orbitofrontal cortex.
Which part fits this description? "Like a sharp-eyed accountant: it tracks which choice earned which result and raises a flag when an old strategy stops paying."
Show the answer
Lateral orbitofrontal cortex. It is the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Notices when a choice stops paying off and helps you change course.
Lateral orbitofrontal cortex. It is the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Notices when a choice stops paying off and helps you change course.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Changes in brain activity related to eating chocolate: From pleasure to aversion, Brain (Oxford Academic)
- Ventromedial frontal cortex mediates affective shifting in humans: evidence from a reversal learning paradigm, Brain (Oxford Academic)
- 8.2 The Gustatory System, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Explore the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in 3D
Turn it around, zoom inside and see how it connects to the rest of the brain, then test yourself with quick quizzes.
Open it in 3D