Neuromodulation of risk preferences encoded in human orbitofrontal cortex activity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Computational Psychiatry

Background:

• Human behavior exhibits a wide spectrum of risk preferences, from risk-seeking to risk-averse.
• Aberrant risk-taking is a characteristic feature of various psychiatric conditions, including gambling disorders and addiction.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of individual differences in risk preference is crucial for both basic science and clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural correlates of inter-individual variation in risk preferences.
• To explore the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in economic decision-making and risk assessment.
• To assess the potential of neurostimulation for modulating risk-taking behavior.

Main Methods:

• Invasive electrophysiological recordings from the human OFC in 15 patients.
• Utilized risky decision-making tasks and computational modeling to quantify risk preferences.
• Applied targeted electrical stimulation to the OFC and observed effects on behavior.

Main Results:

• Significant variation in risk preferences was observed across individuals.
• Low-frequency (delta-theta) oscillatory coherence in the OFC strongly correlated with these stable inter-individual risk preferences.
• OFC stimulation led to decreased risk-taking behavior and faster reaction times without compromising overall decision-making accuracy.
• A neurophysiological mechanism involving phase-amplitude coupling between low- and high-frequency oscillations was identified for integrating risk information.

Conclusions:

• Low-frequency oscillatory coherence in the human OFC serves as a neural substrate for stable inter-individual differences in economic decision-making preferences.
• Targeted OFC neurostimulation can effectively reduce excessive risk-taking behavior, offering a potential therapeutic strategy for disorders characterized by heightened risk-seeking.
• These findings pave the way for developing novel neuromodulatory interventions for conditions like addiction and gambling disorders.