Work

Nucleus accumbens activation mediates the influence of reward cues on financial risk taking

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: In functional magnetic resonance imaging research, nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation spontaneously increases before financial risk taking. As anticipation of diverse rewards can increase NAcc activation, even incidental reward cues may influence financial risk taking. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we predicted and found that anticipation of viewing rewarding stimuli (erotic pictures for 15 heterosexual men) increased financial risk taking, and that this effect was partially mediated by increases in NAcc activation. These results are consistent with the notion that incidental reward cues influence financial risk taking by altering anticipatory affect, and so identify a neuropsychological mechanism that may underlie effective emotional appeals in financial, marketing, and political domains.

Source: Neuroreport

DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0b013e3282f85c01

Authors: Brian Knutson, G. Elliott Wimmer, Camelia M. Kuhnen, Piotr Winkielman

Institutions: Stanford University, Northwestern University, University of California San Diego

Language: English

Topic: Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Subfield: General Decision Sciences

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Awards: Neuroscience probes of cigarette craving &consumption, G966663516