Work

Risk and Reward Are Processed Differently in Decisions Made Under Stress

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: Years of research show that stress influences cognition. Most of this research has focused on how stress affects memory and the hippocampus. However, stress impacts other regions involved in cognitive and emotional processing, including the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and insula. New research examining how stress affects decision processes reveals two consistent findings. First, acute stress enhances selection of previously rewarding outcomes but impairs selection of previously negative outcomes, possibly due to stress-induced changes in dopamine in reward-processing brain regions. Second, stress amplifies gender differences in strategies during risky decisions, with males taking more risk and females less risk under stress. These gender differences in behavior are associated with differences in activity in the insula and dorsal striatum, brain regions involved in computing risk and preparing to take action.

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/0963721411429452

Authors: Mara Mather, Nichole R. Lighthall

Institution: University of Southern California

Language: English

Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging

Awards: G1368499941, G1583786880, G5116444021, G7467113889, Multidisciplinary Research Training in Gerontology