Functional Brain Connectivity in Intertemporal and Risky Decision-Making Under Ambiguity
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2019-08-26
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en
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Abstract
Many real-life decisions include choosing between options that are ambiguous in the
timing and/or the probability of their consequences. To better understand how ambiguity
influences decision-making, we investigated how functional connectivity between brain areas is
influenced by the presence versus absence of time- and probability-ambiguity. In an fMRI
session, eighty adults performed a decision-making task that presented risky and intertemporal
choices, each with and without ambiguity: During each of 200 trials, participants chose between
a constant fixed option versus a variable option that systematically varied across trials in the
magnitude and either the probability and probability-ambiguity (risky trials) or the delay and
time-ambiguity (intertemporal trials) of the reward. The effects of time-ambiguity and
probability-ambiguity on connectivity patterns between brain areas were investigated using
psychophysiological interaction analyses. The results showed decreased activation in the vmPFC
during probability-ambiguous versus probability-exact trials; however, no functional
connectivity between the vmPFC and other brain areas was observed during probability ambiguous versus probability-exact trials. During time-ambiguous versus time-exact trials, PPC
showed increased activation and increased connectivity to the precuneus and secondary visual
cortices. Our results provide better insight into neural mechanisms of risky and intertemporal
decision making under ambiguity.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen