Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 23, 2026
13:04
Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
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Neural mechanisms underlying context-dependent shifts in risk preferences
Annabel B Losecaat Vermeer1, Maarten A S Boksem2, Alan G Sanfey3
1Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Neuroimage
|October 5, 2014
Summary
Following a financial loss, people take more risks, while gains lead to safer choices. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex integrates these context-dependent risk preferences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Decision Science
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Human decision-making exhibits context-dependent risk preferences.
- Financial gains typically promote risk aversion, whereas losses encourage risk-seeking behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying context-dependent risk preferences.
- To examine how the brain evaluates gains and losses to influence subsequent choices.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity.
- Participants engaged in a task involving financial gains and losses.
- Decisions regarding risky gambles were recorded immediately after experiencing gains or losses.
Main Results:
- A shift in risk-taking behavior was observed, with participants preferring riskier gambles after losses.
- Increased blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response was detected in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC).
- vmPFC activity correlated with gambling in loss contexts and choosing safety in gain contexts.
Conclusions:
- The vmPFC plays a crucial role in integrating contextual information from gains and losses.
- These integrated signals influence subsequent behavioral patterns in risk-taking.
- Neural responses in the vmPFC mediate the shift between risk-seeking and risk-averse behaviors based on financial outcomes.
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