Neural mechanisms of risk aversion

Trustees Of Indiana University, Bloomington IN

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Substance abuse is a widespread problem, yet some individuals are strongly drug avoidant. What brain mechanisms drive aversion to risky behavior such as illicit drug taking? The long-term goal of this research is to clarify the brain mechanisms that detect the risk associated with certain behaviors, such as illicit drug use, and how these brain mechanisms are activated to avoid risky behavior. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a critical area that predicts and avoids risk. It becomes active in proportion to both the likelihood that an individual will make a mistake and the severity of the potential consequences. Of note, individuals who are more likely to abuse drugs show reduced or absent ACC effects. The specific aims of this project are twofold. First, we will explore whether semantic framing in terms of gains or losses can increase the activity and risk prediction effects of ACC. If so, then it may be possible to trace how messages discouraging drug abuse modulate brain activity and predict the effectiveness of specific messages. To investigate this question, we will use a modified change signal task to manipulate the frequency of errors and the semantic framing of errors across conditions, and we will examine whole brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging. We will also examine the relationship between ACC activity and individual differences in stable dispositional traits using standard personality inventories. Second, using fMRI and a similar task and individual difference measures, we will investigate whether increasing the reward value of a response can improve error likelihood prediction by ACC when no explicit semantic framing is given. If so, then the results may suggest a neural basis for how environmental manipulations may support drug abstinence, and how the effectiveness of such manipulations can be predicted. "Just say no to drugs" sounds catchy, but how well do messages such as this actually increase brain activity associated with drug avoidance? This project will study how the brain avoids risky behavior such as drug abuse. Once we know how certain parts of the brain avoid risky behavior, then we will figure out how to help these parts of the brain to keep people from taking drugs. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]