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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Published on: September 19, 2012

Alpha and Theta Oscillations Differentiate Escalating Risk Levels During Reward Anticipation in Sequential Decision

Eszter Tóth-Fáber¹, Andrea Kóbor^1,2

¹Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.

Psychophysiology

|May 29, 2026

Summary

Brain oscillations reveal how risk and uncertainty influence reward anticipation during decision-making. Alpha and theta power changes track escalating risk, offering insights into neural dynamics guiding choices.

Keywords:

Balloon Analogue Risk Task alpha power ambiguous decision making reward anticipation theta power time–frequency analysis

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Decision Science

Background:

Reward anticipation is crucial for sequential decision-making.
Neural mechanisms underlying reward anticipation under varying risk and uncertainty are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how within-trial escalating risk and contextual uncertainty modulate oscillatory brain activity (EEG) during reward anticipation.
To elucidate the neural dynamics of decision-making under risk.

Main Methods:

Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from 44 participants performing a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task.
Time-frequency decomposition (Morlet wavelets) analyzed spectral power, focusing on alpha and theta bands.
Analysis was time-locked to different within-trial risk levels (no-risk, high-risk successful, unsuccessful pumps).

Main Results:

Parieto-occipital alpha power increased after no-risk pumps, indicating reduced deliberation for certain rewards.
Centroparietal alpha suppression and frontocentral theta power decrease occurred after high-risk successful pumps, suggesting increased attention and reduced monitoring.
Theta power reduction was more pronounced with shallower burst probability functions, indicating modulation by contextual uncertainty.

Conclusions:

Both alpha and theta brain oscillations dynamically track escalating within-trial risk during reward anticipation.
Theta activity is further modulated by contextual uncertainty across different task phases.
These findings provide novel insights into the neural oscillatory mechanisms governing reward anticipation in sequential decision-making environments.