The delay effect on outcome evaluation: results from an event-related potential study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Behavioral studies show timing of rewards/losses influences decisions (temporal discounting).
• Immediate rewards are preferred over delayed ones; immediate losses are preferred over delayed ones.
• The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is a neural signal reflecting outcome evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying temporal discounting and the sign effect in decision-making.
• To examine how the timing of rewards and losses impacts brain activity during outcome evaluation using event-related potentials (ERPs).

Main Methods:

• Utilized event-related potential (ERP) technique.
• Employed a simple gambling task with varying delays for rewards and losses.
• Recorded brain activity from 20 young adult participants.

Main Results:

• A larger feedback-related negativity (FRN) difference between losses and gains was observed for immediate outcomes compared to delayed outcomes.
• The FRN was modulated by delay specifically in gain conditions, with delayed winning showing a more negative FRN than immediate winning.
• These findings suggest temporal discounting and the sign effect are processed early in outcome evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The feedback-related negativity (FRN) plays a role in encoding temporal discounting and the sign effect.
• Neural responses to immediate vs. delayed outcomes differ, particularly for gains.
• Early-stage outcome evaluation in the brain reflects the temporal value of rewards and losses.