Stress and decision making: neural correlates of the interaction between stress, executive functions, and decision making under risk
Stress and decision making: neural correlates of the interaction between stress, executive functions, and decision making under risk
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DOI：
10.1007/s00221-013-3808-6
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发表时间：
2014-03-01
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Brand, Matthias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gathmann, Bettina;Schulte, Frank P.;Brand, Matthias
由并行工作记忆任务产生的执行系统的压力和额外负荷会损害风险下的决策。然而，压力和并行任务的组合似乎保留了决策性能[例如，由骰子游戏任务（GDT）操作]从减少，可能是从串行到并行处理的切换。问题仍然是大脑如何处理如此苛刻的决策情况。目前的研究使用7特斯拉磁共振成像（MRI）系统，以调查压力（由特里尔社会压力测试引起），风险决策（GDT）和并行执行任务（2-back任务）之间的相互作用的潜在神经相关性，以更好地了解这些行为发现。结果表明，在行为层面上，压力的参与者没有表现出显着差异的任务绩效。有趣的是，当将压力组（SG）与对照组进行比较时，SG在与GDT同时执行2-back任务时，前额叶皮层的神经激活比单独执行每个任务时更大。这个大脑区域与并行处理有关。因此，研究结果可能表明，在紧张的双重任务情况下，当需要并行工作记忆时必须做出决定，与并行处理相关的大脑区域会发生更强的激活。这一发现与压力似乎会在要求高的双重任务情况下触发从串行到并行处理的转换的想法一致。
Stress and additional load on the executive system, produced by a parallel working memory task, impair decision making under risk. However, the combination of stress and a parallel task seems to preserve the decision-making performance [e.g., operationalized by the Game of Dice Task (GDT)] from decreasing, probably by a switch from serial to parallel processing. The question remains how the brain manages such demanding decision-making situations. The current study used a 7-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system in order to investigate the underlying neural correlates of the interaction between stress (induced by the Trier Social Stress Test), risky decision making (GDT), and a parallel executive task (2-back task) to get a better understanding of those behavioral findings. The results show that on a behavioral level, stressed participants did not show significant differences in task performance. Interestingly, when comparing the stress group (SG) with the control group, the SG showed a greater increase in neural activation in the anterior prefrontal cortex when performing the 2-back task simultaneously with the GDT than when performing each task alone. This brain area is associated with parallel processing. Thus, the results may suggest that in stressful dual-tasking situations, where a decision has to be made when in parallel working memory is demanded, a stronger activation of a brain area associated with parallel processing takes place. The findings are in line with the idea that stress seems to trigger a switch from serial to parallel processing in demanding dual-tasking situations.