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Regret and its avoidance: a neuroimaging study of choice behavior
Giorgio Coricelli1, Hugo D Critchley, Mateus Joffily
1Neuropsychology Group, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 67 Boulevard Pinel 69675, Bron, France.
Nature Neuroscience
|August 24, 2005
Summary
Anticipating regret influences human decisions by activating specific brain regions like the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This neural activity suggests the brain learns to avoid future regret, impacting choice behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Decision Science
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Human decision-making is influenced by anticipated emotions, particularly regret.
- Anticipation of regret is a significant factor guiding future choices and behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the anticipation of regret during decision-making.
- To examine how the brain processes regret and its influence on subsequent choices.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
- Subjects made choices between gambles, with regret induced by revealing outcomes of unchosen options.
Main Results:
- Increased regret correlated with heightened activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus.
- Subjects exhibited increasing aversion to regret over time, shown by enhanced medial orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala activity.
- Similar neural patterns were observed before choices, indicating shared circuitry for direct regret experience and anticipation.
Conclusions:
- The medial orbitofrontal cortex plays a key role in modulating adaptive emotions like regret.
- This neural modulation provides a basis for how emotions influence complex decision-making processes.