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Mallio CA, Buoso A, Stiffi M, Cea L, Vertulli D, Bernetti C, Di Gennaro G, van den Heuvel MP, Beomonte Zobel B. Mapping the Neural Basis of Neuroeconomics with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Narrative Literature Review. Brain Sci 2024; 14:511. [PMID: 38790489 PMCID: PMC11120557 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14050511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuroeconomics merges neuroscience, economics, and psychology to investigate the neural basis of decision making. Decision making involves assessing outcomes with subjective value, shaped by emotions and experiences, which are crucial in economic decisions. Functional MRI (fMRI) reveals key areas of the brain, including the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex, that are involved in subjective value representation. Collaborative interdisciplinary efforts are essential for advancing the field of neuroeconomics, with implications for clinical interventions and policy design. This review explores subjective value in neuroeconomics, highlighting brain regions identified through fMRI studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo A. Mallio
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Buoso
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Massimo Stiffi
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Cea
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Daniele Vertulli
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Caterina Bernetti
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Gianfranco Di Gennaro
- Department of Health Sciences, Medical Statistics, University of Catanzaro “Magna Græcia”, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy;
| | - Martijn P. van den Heuvel
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, 1081 Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bruno Beomonte Zobel
- Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00100 Rome, Italy; (A.B.); (M.S.); (L.C.); (D.V.); (C.B.); (B.B.Z.)
- Research Unit of Radiology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00100 Rome, Italy
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Kraemer PM, Gluth S. Episodic Memory Retrieval Affects the Onset and Dynamics of Evidence Accumulation during Value-based Decisions. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:692-714. [PMID: 36724395 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
In neuroeconomics, there is much interest in understanding simple value-based choices where agents choose between visually presented goods, comparable to a shopping scenario in a supermarket. However, many everyday decisions are made in the physical absence of the considered goods, requiring agents to recall information about the goods from memory. Here, we asked whether and how this reliance on an internal memory representation affects the temporal dynamics of decision making on a cognitive and neural level. Participants performed a remember-and-decide task in which they made simple purchasing decisions between money offers and snack items while undergoing EEG. Snack identity was presented either visually (value trials) or had to be recalled from memory (memory trials). Behavioral data indicated comparable choice consistency across both trial types, but considerably longer RTs in memory trials. Drift-diffusion modeling suggested that this RT difference was because of longer nondecision time of decision processes as well as altered evidence accumulation dynamics (lower accumulation rate and higher decision threshold). The nondecision time effect was supported by a delayed onset of the lateralized readiness potential. These results show that both decision and nondecision processes are prolonged when participants need to resort to internal memory representations during value-based decisions.
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Uccula A, Mercante B, Barone L, Enrico P. Adult Avoidant Attachment, Attention Bias, and Emotional Regulation Patterns: An Eye-Tracking Study. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 13:bs13010011. [PMID: 36661583 PMCID: PMC9855192 DOI: 10.3390/bs13010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Proximity-seeking in distress situations is one of attachment theory's primary strategies; insecure individuals often also develop secondary strategies. The mechanisms implied in attachment deactivation constitute a key issue in the current debate related to their role in support-seeking. The main aim of this study is to investigate the attachment deactivation strategy and the processes of proximity/support-seeking under distress conditions by analyzing the attentional processes (i.e., an essential emotion-regulation strategy), using eye-tracking techniques. Seventy-two participants (45 female; Mage 23.9 ± 3.97) responded to the ECR-R questionnaire in order to identify their attachment style. They participated in an experimental situation in which they had to choose between pictures of care or pictures of food, following the presentation of threatening or neutral prime conditions (via the pictures' stimuli). Results showed that a care-consistency response pattern was the most frequent pattern of response, particularly under a threatening condition; on the contrary, only avoidant individuals showed a lower care-consistency response pattern by choosing food pictures. The overall findings demonstrate that avoidant individuals used the deactivation strategy to process comfort-related attachment pictures, suggesting that they considered these stimuli to be threatening. The implications for attachment theory and particularly for avoidant strategies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arcangelo Uccula
- Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Beniamina Mercante
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Lavinia Barone
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Paolo Enrico
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
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Li X, Bainbridge WA, Bakkour A. Item memorability has no influence on value-based decisions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22056. [PMID: 36543818 PMCID: PMC9772201 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26333-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
While making decisions, we often rely on past experiences to guide our choices. However, not all experiences are remembered equally well, and some elements of an experience are more memorable than others. Thus, the intrinsic memorability of past experiences may bias our decisions. Here, we hypothesized that individuals would tend to choose more memorable options than less memorable ones. We investigated the effect of item memorability on choice in two experiments. First, using food images, we found that the same items were consistently remembered, and others consistently forgotten, across participants. However, contrary to our hypothesis, we found that participants did not prefer or choose the more memorable over the less memorable items when choice options were matched for the individuals' valuation of the items. Second, we replicated these findings in an alternate stimulus domain, using words that described the same food items. These findings suggest that stimulus memorability does not play a significant role in determining choice based on subjective value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Li
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 S University Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Wilma A. Bainbridge
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 S University Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
| | - Akram Bakkour
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 S University Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA ,grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
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