Neural synchronization between the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices during effort-based decision making

•There is neural synchronization between ACC and OFC during decision making.•Theta/low beta frequencies in ACC increase during preference of high reward/high effort.•Absence of increased activity of theta and low-beta in ACC led to preference of low reward/low effort. Optimal decision making reflects the ability to choose the most advantageous option for various alternatives so that the anterior cingulate cortex is an important area involved in effort-based decision making. The current study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity between the ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during effort-based decision-making. A T-maze decision-making task with different rewards (large vs. small reward) and costs (high vs. low effort) was used, and simultaneously, local field potentials (LFP) from the ACC and OFC were also recorded in male Wistar rats. During the effort-based decision making, when the animals preferred the higher over, the lower reward, neural synchronization was observed in theta/low beta (4–20 Hz) frequency bands between both of the areas. Also, neural synchronization was not significant when the animals chose a lower reward. High gamma (80–100 Hz) synchrony between the areas was also observed; however, it was not dependent on the animal's decision. In this regard, the present findings revealed that neural synchronization and functional connectivity between the ACC and OFC in the low-frequency range (theta/low beta) is essential during the effort-based decision making.