Decision Making Flashcards
Learn about what part of the brain is involved in decision making and other general information about the phenomenon.
What happens to satisfaction when there are more choices?
MORE choices leads to LESS satisfaction. 6 choices led to more purchases(less % interested) versus 24 choices (more % interested, less purchases).
What is decision making?
How do the many factors of our lives affect the decisions we make? EG. Environment, Finance, Psychology, etc.
What is involved in decision making?
Between two choices/options there is the external (quantity, commodity, delay, risk, ambiguity, cost), and the internal (motivation, patience/interest, risk attitude, ambiguity attitude) which leads to the integration and comparison of the options and ultimately the choice.
What is homo economicus?
Economic human: rational and follows Utility Function.
What is homo sapiens?
Irrational and does not follow utility function.
What is utility maximization?
Choose option with greatest expected value. How the question is framed can affect decision making.
What is the expected value formula?
Expected value = (probability of a particular outcome) x (utility of the outcome)
What are some clinical applications of decision making?
Adolescence, Schizophrenia, Addiction, Dementia, Psychopathology
What are the brain structures involved in Decision making?
Prefrontal Cortex, Orbitofrontal Prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, ventral medial cortex, DA reward system, nulceus accumbens, Substantia Nigra, Amygdala, Limbic System, Striatum
What makes us different?
Prefrontal cortex connects to almost all cortical and subcortical areas.
- Humans have increased white matter.
- Cognitive abilities due to brain connections.
What does the prefrontal cortex do?
Responsible for the executive functions of the brain. EG. Focus attention, planning, weighing consequences.
Describe the anatomy of the Orbitofrontal cortex.
Ventral region of frontal lobe. Susceptible to brain damage. Connects to nucleus accumbens, limbic system, and ans.
What are the functions of the OFC?
Sensory integration, expectations, decision making, and adaptive learning.
What happens when the OFC is damaged?
Cognitive abilities still intact(memory, reading/writing), but other drastic life changes take place.
What is stimulus reward learning?
Unique to OFC, looks at ability to swtich stimulus-reward associations.
What is the somatic marker hypothesis?
The somatic marker is the change in body’s state in response to an action. Iowa Gambling Task.
Where’s the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex?
Superior, lateral region of the frontal cortex. Last area of the brain to undergo myelination. Connects to the cortico-cortical connections and limbic. The SPOCK gene. Responsible for logic
What does the DLPFC do?
Working memory (encoding and retrieving info)
- matching an appropriate response to an input
- problem solving
- analysis of costs and benefits
- planning
- decisions (risky/impersonal)
What happens when the DLPFC dysfunctions?
Caused by neurodegenerative diseases or trauma. Impairments in strategy development, inhibition, adapting to new problem solving situations, and working memory.
What is the stroop test?
Tests for delayed reaction and decrease of correct responses.
What is the Ultimatum game?
Cost/benefit analysis. Fairly consistent activity between when offer is fair or not. Maintenance of cognitive goals.
Describe the anatomy of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
Frontal part of the cingulate cortex; medial portion of PFC. Subdivided by function (rostral-ventral and caudal-dorsal), plus the limbic system.
In the ACC, what does the rostral-ventral do?
Affective region: error detection, determines values, motor control
In the ACC, what does the caudal-dorsal do?
Cognitive region: emotional response, conflict monitor, behavior
What is the function of the ACC?
Important for sorting among conflicting options and outcome processing.
The Error Detection Hypothesis
Tests for speed and uses distractors for test.
Describe the anatomy of the Ventral Medial Cortex VMPFC.
Ventral area of frontal lobe. Dense connections to limbic system, Amygdala, and ANS. Neural networks rapidly developing during adolescence.
What are the functions of the VMPFC?
Combines reward based learning and social learning to make a decision. Regulates emotions.
What does damage to the VMPFC do?
Poor judgement, socially inappropriate behavior, impulsive, no care for long term consequences, can study VMPFC with fMRI, Iowa Gambling Test, Cambridge Gambling Task.
What is Frontotemporal Dementia?
Second most common form of dementia, onset around 45-65. Frontal and anterior temporal lobe atrophy.
What does FTD cause?
Change in personality, socially inappropriate, impulsive, emotionally indifferent, compulsive, speech difficulty.
Why do Adolescence make bad decisions?
Brain is not fully developed. Surge in neuronal growth in preadolescence rewiring occurs by dendritic pruning and myelination.
What initiates brain development in Adolescence?
Sex hormones. Neurotransmitters such as DA, serotonin, GABA (under developed in adolescence).
