Brain Areas and Risky Decision-Making

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to Lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What role does the amygdala play in decision-making, according to De Martino et al. (2010)?

The amygdala acts as a 'cautionary brake' in decision-making, relating to loss aversion.

How did participants instructed to engage in emotion regulation perform in terms of loss aversion?

They showed reduced loss aversion due to decreased amygdala responses to losses.

What was the primary finding of Studer et al. (2015) regarding patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex?

Patients with damage showed greater risk appetite and poorer risk adjustment compared to healthy controls.

In what way does the ventromedial prefrontal cortex influence decision-making under risk?

<p>It plays a key role in processing risk and facilitating successful decision-making under risk.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What were the implications of Sokol-Hessner et al.'s (2013) findings on emotion regulation and decision-making?

<p>The findings suggest that reducing emotional involvement can decrease loss aversion during financial decision-making.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Amygdala's role in loss aversion

The amygdala acts as a cautionary brake in decision-making, influencing our responses to potential losses.

Emotion regulation and loss aversion

Reducing emotional involvement in decision-making tasks can decrease loss aversion, potentially by decreasing amygdala responses to losses.

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) and risk-taking

Damage to the vmPFC results in elevated risk-taking, particularly when the probability of success is low, impacting both gains and losses.

Studer et al.'s vmPFC study finding

Patients with vmPFC damage demonstrated greater risk appetite (especially when it was disadvantageous) and poorer risk adjustment, leading to poor overall betting performance.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Risk-sensitive decision-making

The ability to accurately assess risk levels and make decisions considering the potential impact on gain or loss, including adjusting behaviors based on probabilities.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Study Notes

Brain Areas and Risky Decision-Making

  • Amygdala damage eliminates loss aversion. This suggests the amygdala acts as a cautionary signal in risky decisions.
  • Emotion regulation reduces loss aversion. This is likely because emotion regulation decreases amygdala responses to losses.
  • Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex leads to elevated risk-taking, especially when the probability of success is low.
  • Studer et al. (2015) found patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage had increased risk appetite (particularly when risky actions were disadvantageous) compared to healthy controls.
  • Patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage showed poor risk adjustment (adjusting bets based on winning probabilities).
  • Poor risk adjustment and risk appetite in patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage led to poor overall decision-making in their betting performance.
  • The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is key for risk processing and successful risk-based decisions.

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Quiz Team

More Like This

Brain Areas and Political Associations
12 questions
Brain Areas and Memory Processes
8 questions
Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser