Neurobiological Circuits of Gain and Loss During Risky Decision Making

风险决策过程中得与失的神经生物学回路

基本信息

批准号：
7860516
负责人：
GREGORY S. BERNS
金额：
$ 47.1万
依托单位：
EMORY UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2009
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2009-06-15 至 2012-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Current theories of drug abuse view addiction as a disease, but inevitably, the element of volitional choice will remain one of the key components of the illness. The issue boils down to this: why does an individual choose to use drugs even when they know about the negative consequences? To answer this question, we propose an experimental approach based on techniques and theories that have developed out of the field of neuroeconomics. This approach uses neuroimaging to uncover the relationships of otherwise unobservable variables in the brain that correspond to specific decisions that individuals make. Current evidence supports the theory that the orbitofrontal-striatal circuit encodes variables that relate to the economic idea of expected utility. The vast majority of these neuroeconomic studies, however, have focused on the domain of "gains." Many real-life decisions, such as the choice of whether or not to use drugs, however, also involve the potential for "loss." It is not currently known how the brain integrates decisions that involve both gains and losses. In this proposal, we will test two competing hypotheses: 1) the brain has a signed, one-dimensional system that computes the expected value of outcomes relative to some reference; or 2) the brain uses at least two different systems to compute, separately, gains and losses. To test these hypotheses, we propose 3 aims: 1) Determine the neural circuits involved in decision-making under 3 conditions: a) gains only; b) losses only; and c) gains and losses simultaneously. 2) Determine whether the circuits identified in the first aim are robust with respect to the medium of gain or loss. We will directly compare financial gains and losses with non-financial ones to test the hypothesis that a common neural "currency" is used as a measure of value for decision-making. 3) For the problem of addiction, decisions to use drugs almost always involve costs to other people as well as the individual. Using both a modified dictator game and variant of the prisoner's dilemma, we will determine whether decision-making that affects others' payoffs is also mediated by a common neural-currency hypothesis, or whether payoffs in terms of externalities on others invokes additional neural circuitry. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Why does an individual choose to use drugs even when they know about the negative consequences? To answer this question, we will use brain imaging to measure the brain's responses when an individual makes decisions that involve a variety of negative outcomes.

描述（由申请人提供）：当前的药物滥用理论将成瘾视为一种疾病，但不可避免地，自愿选择的要素将仍然是该疾病的关键组成部分之一。这个问题归结为这样：为什么一个人即使知道负面后果，为什么也选择使用药物？为了回答这个问题，我们提出了一种基于从神经经济学领域发展的技术和理论的实验方法。这种方法使用神经影像来揭示与个人做出的特定决策相对应的大脑中原本不可观察的变量的关系。当前的证据支持以下理论：轨道额叶纹状体电路编码与预期效用的经济思想相关的变量。然而，这些神经经济学的绝大多数研究都集中在“收益”领域。但是，许多现实生活中的决定，例如选择是否使用药物的选择也涉及“损失”的潜力。目前尚不知道大脑如何整合涉及损失和损失的决策。在此提案中，我们将检验两个相互竞争的假设：1）大脑具有一个签名的一维系统，该系统计算相对于某些参考的结果的预期值；或2）大脑至少使用两个不同的系统来分别计算，从而增加和损失。为了检验这些假设，我们提出了3个目标：1）确定在3个条件下决策中涉及的神经回路：a）仅增长； b）仅损失； c）同时获得和损失。 2）确定第一个目标中确定的电路是否相对于收益或损失媒介是可靠的。我们将直接将财务损益与非金融损益进行比较，以检验普通神经“货币”被用作决策价值的衡量假设。 3）对于成瘾问题，使用药物的决定几乎总是涉及其他人以及个人的成本。使用改良的独裁者游戏和囚犯困境的变体，我们将确定影响他人回报的决策是否也是由常见的神经货币假设介导的，或者是否在其他人的外部性方面介绍了其他神经电路。公共卫生相关性：即使个人知道负面后果，为什么个人选择使用药物？为了回答这个问题，当个人做出涉及各种负面结果的决策时，我们将使用大脑成像来测量大脑的反应。