Temporal dynamics and neural mechanisms of preference reversal

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目研究冲动偏好逆转的认知和神经基础。人类决策者有时会在没有实现长期目标的情况下放弃这些目标。这种倾向标志着冲动，是实现学业成功、退休储蓄和戒除毒瘾等目标的障碍。这项工作的重点是区分需要高度坚持的情况和较少耐心有益的情况。第一个目标是开发一个行为任务来测试一个人调整他或她的坚持水平（向上或向下）以适应情况要求的能力。研究结果将用于建立潜在认知机制的模型。第二个目的是研究这些持续性调整的神经基础。过去的证据表明，腹内侧前额叶皮层参与价值表征、冲动性和时间感知的相关功能。功能性磁共振成像将用于评估参与者在需要高持续性或需要频繁反转的条件下执行相同简单任务时的神经参与情况。此外，患有额叶脑病变的神经心理学患者将进行行为测试；观察到的缺陷模式将提供有关受影响神经区域计算功能的信息。这项研究将提供一个更好的认知和神经机制的理解，通过这些机制，人们建立一个适当的坚持水平，以实现他们的长期目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project examines the cognitive and neural basis of impulsive preference reversal. Human decision-makers sometimes abandon long run outcomes without achieving them. This tendency signals impulsivity, and is an obstacle to the fulfillment of goals involving scholastic success, retirement savings, and recovery from addiction. This work focuses on the distinction between situations where high persistence is warranted and situations where it is beneficial to be less patient. The first aim is to develop a behavioral task to test an individual's ability to adjust his or her level of persistence (upward or downward) to fit the requirements of a situation. Results will be used to inform a model of the underlying cognitive mechanisms. The second aim is to study the neural basis of these adjustments in persistence. Past evidence implicates the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in related functions of value representation, impulsivity, and time perception. Functional magnetic resonance imaging will be used to assess neural engagement while participants perform the same simple task under conditions that either require high persistence or require frequent reversals. In addition, neuropsychological patients with frontal brain lesions will be tested behaviorally; observed patterns of deficit will be informative regarding the computational functions of the affected neural regions. This research will provide a better understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms through which people establish an appropriate level of persistence to achieve their long run goals. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research examines the neural basis of impulsivity and preference reversal. It is relevant to understanding why individuals show impulsivity (versus perseverance) in such contexts as substance abuse, scholastic performance, and economic and health-related decision-making.