The Role of the Human Amygdala in Coding Economic Risk and Ambiguity

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this research is to identify the neural circuitry involved in value-based decision-making. The experiments to be conducted involve a unique subject group -- participant-patients with intractable epilepsy who have undergone implantation of intracranial electrodes for periods of up to two weeks in attempts to identify the locus of seizures using EEG-like recordings. These implants enable direct recording of neural activity of regions of the brain region - in the present study in the region known as the amygdala. Subjects will respond to decision making tasks designed to test specific hypotheses of decision-making. The project is organized into three major aims: 1) to record the neural coding of primitive economic variables such as reward probability and magnitude, 2) to record the neural coding of risk and ambiguity, and 3) to ascertain the impact of microstimulation of specific locations in the brain on observed preferences. Because of its relatively precise temporal and spatial characteristics, microstimulation is a particularly powerful tool for establishing causal relationships between physiologically characterized neurons and behavioral performance. This project has the potential to fundamentally impact our understanding of how economic decisions are made.