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Disentangling Uncertainty Signals in Neural Reward Dynamics
Jianbiao Zhao1, Leyou Deng2, Ya Zheng1
1Guangzhou University.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|April 22, 2026
Summary
This study reveals how the brain processes risk versus ambiguity in decision-making. Individual attitudes toward uncertainty significantly influence neural signals, differentiating the processing of subjective value under risk and ambiguity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Decision-making often occurs under uncertainty, categorized as risk (known probabilities) or ambiguity (unknown probabilities).
- Neural mechanisms differentiating risk and ambiguity processing in value-based decisions remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To disentangle neural signals of risk and ambiguity in value-based decision-making.
- To investigate the influence of individual attitudes and subjective value (SV) on these neural signals.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during a wheel-of-fortune task.
- Assessment of individual attitudes toward risk and ambiguity via a lottery task.
- Calculation of trial-level subjective value (SV) based on participant attitudes.
Main Results:
- Risk correlated with a larger cue-P3, while ambiguity showed a larger cue-N2 and stronger valence effects on reward positivity and feedback-P3.
- Subjective value (SV) was encoded by all ERP components under risk, but not under ambiguity.
- Individual attitudes modulated ERP responses, with less risk-averse attitudes linked to reduced valence/probability effects and less ambiguity-averse attitudes to increased ambiguity-level effects.
Conclusions:
- Neural processing of risk and ambiguity is distinct, particularly in how subjective value is represented.
- Individual attitudes play a critical role in shaping neural responses to uncertainty.
- Findings support the importance of considering individual differences when studying neural signals of decision-making under uncertainty.
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