This study investigates the neural basis of willingness-to-pay (WTP) in economic transactions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers scanned the brains of hungry subjects while they placed bids for the right to eat different foods. They found that activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) encoded subjects' WTP for the items. Specifically, the mOFC showed increased activation during free-bid trials, where subjects had to decide how much to bid, but not during forced-bid trials, where they were told what to bid. This suggests that the mOFC plays a crucial role in encoding economic value and decision-making. The findings support the hypothesis that the mOFC encodes the value of goals in decision-making processes.This study investigates the neural basis of willingness-to-pay (WTP) in economic transactions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers scanned the brains of hungry subjects while they placed bids for the right to eat different foods. They found that activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) encoded subjects' WTP for the items. Specifically, the mOFC showed increased activation during free-bid trials, where subjects had to decide how much to bid, but not during forced-bid trials, where they were told what to bid. This suggests that the mOFC plays a crucial role in encoding economic value and decision-making. The findings support the hypothesis that the mOFC encodes the value of goals in decision-making processes.