The neural underpinnings of the interaction between the cognitive control of emotions and value-based decision-making

我们日常生活中的许多事情都是由回报的前景驱动的，因此，需要不断地做出决定来实现回报。奖励估值与情绪密切相关，例如，一个决定的结果可能会导致积极/消极的情绪，如喜悦/愤怒。此外，我们的日常情绪、压力水平以及当前的感受也可能会影响我们做出的决定。情绪和决策之间的关系已经在理论和行为层面上进行了研究；然而，其背后的神经机制大多仍不清楚。基于价值的决策可以被定义为根据一个人赋予它们的主观价值，从至少两个备选方案中做出选择的过程。这种选择行为可能会受到预期和/或即时情绪的影响。预期情绪包括对决策结果的情绪后果的认知预测。即时情绪是在决策时体验到的真实情绪。我们假设内部情绪状态可以被认知调节，从而影响其他涉及基于价值的决策的过程。因此，情绪的调节(例如，重新评价)可以作为一种手段来研究情绪对基于价值的决策的影响。本研究旨在系统考察1)即刻情绪对基于价值的决策的影响；2)对即刻情绪的重新评价对决策的调节作用；3)重新评价目标，如情绪的上调和下调对决策过程的影响。因此，我们计划在健康参与者身上进行一系列三个独立的行为和功能磁共振成像(FMRI)实验。在实验1中，我们将研究情绪调节如何影响时间贴现(期权的估值)。在实验2中，我们将考察情绪调节对风险决策(动作选择)的影响。在实验3中，我们感兴趣的是情绪调节对次级结果(预期结果和结果评价)加工的遗留效应。所有三个实验都将涉及一种多方法方法，将决策行为的计算建模与标准单变量分析和功能磁共振数据的多变量模式分类分析相结合。这种基于模型的决策分析有助于发现选择行为的相对细微变化，无论是在个人之间还是在个人内部。总之，所提出的实验旨在系统地、机械地表征情绪调节对不同类型决策和重新评估目标的决策的影响。

Much of our daily life is driven by the prospect of rewards and thus, involves constant decision-making to achieve rewards. Reward valuation is tightly linked to emotions, e.g. the outcome of a decision could result in positive/negative emotions such as joy/anger. Moreover, our daily mood, stress level as well as current feelings may also affect the decisions we make. The relationship between emotion and decision-making has been investigated on a theoretical and behavioural level; the neural mechanisms underlying it, however, remain mostly unclear. Value-based decision-making can be defined as the process of making a choice from at least two alternatives on the basis of a subjective value that one places on them. This choice behaviour can be influenced either by expected and/or immediate emotions. Expected emotions include cognitive predictions about the emotional consequences of decision outcomes. Immediate emotions are real emotions experienced at the time of decision-making. We hypothesize that internal emotional states can be cognitively modulated and thereby affect other processes involved in value-based decision-making. Thus, the regulation of emotions (e.g., reappraisal) could be used as a means to investigate the influence of emotions on value-based decision-making. The proposed program is set out to systematically investigate 1) the effect of immediate emotions on value-based decision-making; 2) the modulatory effect of reappraisal of immediate emotions on decision-making; and 3) the impact of reappraisal goals such as up- and down-regulation of emotions on the process of decision-making. Therefore, we planned a series of three separate behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments in healthy participants. In experiment 1 we will investigate how emotion regulation affects temporal discounting (valuation of options). In experiment 2 we will examine the effect of emotion regulation on decision-making under risk (action selection). In experiment 3 we are interested in carry-over effects of emotion regulation on the processing of secondary outcomes (expected consequences and outcome evaluation). All three experiments will involve a multi-methodological approach combing computational modelling of decision-making behaviour with standard univariate analyses and multivariate pattern classification analyses of fMRI data. Such model-based analyses of decision-making facilitate the detection of even relatively subtle changes in choice behaviour, both between and within individuals. Together, the proposed experiments aim at a systematic, mechanistic characterization of emotion regulation effects on decision-making across different types of decisions and reappraisal goals.