?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=On+the+neural+computation+of+utility&rft.creator=Shizgal%2C+Peter&rft.creator=Conover%2C+Kent&rft.subject=Behavioral+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Animal+Behavior&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Behavioral+Biology&rft.subject=Physiological+Psychology&rft.subject=Psychobiology&rft.description=The+rewarding+effect+produced+by+electrical+stimulation+of+the+lateral+hypothalamus+can+compete+and+summate+with+gustatory+rewards.+However%2C+physiological+manipulations%2C+such+as+sodium+depletion+and+the+accumulation+of+an+energy-rich+solution+in+the+gut%2C+can+alter+the+rewarding+impact+of+the+gustatory+stimuli+without+producing+substantial+changes+in+the+rewarding+effect+of+the+electrical+stimulation.+On+the+basis+of+their+competition+and+summation%2C+it+is+argued+that+the+artificial+and+natural+rewards+are+evaluated+in+a+common+currency%2C+represented+in+an+aggregate+firing-rate+code.+Such+a+code+would+make+it+possible+for+the+synchronous%2C+spatially+contiguous+pattern+of+neural+firing+induced+by+the+electrode+to+simulate+a+signal+normally+produced+by+asynchronous%2C+spatially+distributed+activity.+It+is+suggested+that+a+unidimensional+code+of+this+sort+is+employed+to+represent+the+utility+of+a+goal+object.+In+order+for+physiological+feedback+to+alter+the+utility+of+one+natural+reward%2C+such+as+sucrose%2C+without+changing+the+utility+of+a+second+natural+reward%2C+such+as+a+salt+solution%2C+the+physiological+feedback+signals+must+enter+into+the+computation+of+utility+at+a+stage+of+processing+in+which+the+representations+of+the+two+natural+rewards+are+distinct.+However%2C+orderly+choice+between+such+rewards+implies+that+their+utilities+are+expressed+ultimately+in+a+common+neural+currency.+That+physiological+feedback+alters+the+rewarding+effects+of+the+gustatory+stimuli+suggests+that+the+physiological+feedback+signals+modulate+the+value+of+such+natural+stimuli+at+a+stage+of+processing+prior+to+their+translation+into+a+common+currency.+In+contrast%2C+physiological+feedback+would+fail+to+alter+the+rewarding+effect+of+the+electrical+stimulation+if+the+electrically+evoked+signal+is+injected+at+a+later+stage+processing%2C+a+stage+in+which+different+rewards+are+represented+in+a+common+currency.+In+this+view%2C+the+signal+injected+by+the+electrical+stimulation+mimics+the+utility+of+a+natural+stimulus+but+not+its+sensory+quality.&rft.date=1996-04&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F58%2F1%2FCD_V51_eprint.htm&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F58%2F5%2FCD_V51_e-print.pdf&rft.identifier=++Shizgal%2C+Peter+and+Conover%2C+Kent++(1996)+On+the+neural+computation+of+utility.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F58%2F