Risk-taking bias in human decision-making is encoded via a right–left brain push–pull system

Pierre Sacré; Matthew S.D. Kerr; Sandya Subramanian; Zachary Fitzgerald; Kevin Kahn; Matthew A. Johnson; Ernst Niebur; Uri T. Eden; Jorge A. González-Martínez; John T. Gale; Sridevi V. Sarma

doi:10.1073/pnas.1811259115

Risk-taking bias in human decision-making is encoded via a right–left brain push–pull system

Pierre Sacré, Matthew S.D. Kerr, Sandya Subramanian, Zachary Fitzgerald, Kevin Kahn, Matthew A. Johnson, Ernst Niebur, Uri T. Eden, Jorge A. González-Martínez, John T. Gale, Sridevi V. Sarma

School of Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

A person’s decisions vary even when options stay the same, like when a gambler changes bets despite constant odds of winning. Internal bias (e.g., emotion) contributes to this variability and is shaped by past outcomes, yet its neurobiology during decision-making is not well understood. To map neural circuits encoding bias, we administered a gambling task to 10 participants implanted with intracerebral depth electrodes in cortical and subcortical structures. We predicted the variability in betting behavior within and across patients by individual bias, which is estimated through a dynamical model of choice. Our analysis further revealed that high-frequency activity increased in the right hemisphere when participants were biased toward risky bets, while it increased in the left hemisphere when participants were biased away from risky bets. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence that risk-taking bias is a lateralized push–pull neural system governing counterintuitive and highly variable decision-making in humans.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1404-1413
Number of pages	10
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	116
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811259115
State	Published - Jan 22 2019

Keywords

Human decision-making
Neural encoding
Risk-taking dynamic bias
Stereoelectroencephalography
Stochastic dynamic model

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

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10.1073/pnas.1811259115

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Sacré, P., Kerr, M. S. D., Subramanian, S., Fitzgerald, Z., Kahn, K., Johnson, M. A., Niebur, E., Eden, U. T., González-Martínez, J. A., Gale, J. T., & Sarma, S. V. (2019). Risk-taking bias in human decision-making is encoded via a right–left brain push–pull system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(4), 1404-1413. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811259115

Sacré, P, Kerr, MSD, Subramanian, S, Fitzgerald, Z, Kahn, K, Johnson, MA, Niebur, E, Eden, UT, González-Martínez, JA, Gale, JT & Sarma, SV 2019, 'Risk-taking bias in human decision-making is encoded via a right–left brain push–pull system', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 4, pp. 1404-1413. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811259115

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abstract = "A person{\textquoteright}s decisions vary even when options stay the same, like when a gambler changes bets despite constant odds of winning. Internal bias (e.g., emotion) contributes to this variability and is shaped by past outcomes, yet its neurobiology during decision-making is not well understood. To map neural circuits encoding bias, we administered a gambling task to 10 participants implanted with intracerebral depth electrodes in cortical and subcortical structures. We predicted the variability in betting behavior within and across patients by individual bias, which is estimated through a dynamical model of choice. Our analysis further revealed that high-frequency activity increased in the right hemisphere when participants were biased toward risky bets, while it increased in the left hemisphere when participants were biased away from risky bets. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence that risk-taking bias is a lateralized push–pull neural system governing counterintuitive and highly variable decision-making in humans.",

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author = "Pierre Sacr{\'e} and Kerr, {Matthew S.D.} and Sandya Subramanian and Zachary Fitzgerald and Kevin Kahn and Johnson, {Matthew A.} and Ernst Niebur and Eden, {Uri T.} and Gonz{\'a}lez-Mart{\'i}nez, {Jorge A.} and Gale, {John T.} and Sarma, {Sridevi V.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors thank Juan Bulacio, Jaes Jones, Hyun-Joo Park, and Susan Thompson (Cleveland Clinic) for facilitating experiments; collecting, deidentifying, and transferring data; and providing anatomical labels. We thank Veit Stuphorn for fruitful discussions and feedback on the manuscript. This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant EFRI-MC3 1137237 (to S.V.S., J.A.G.-M., and J.T.G.), and by a Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute postdoctoral fellowship (P.S.). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved.",

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AU - Johnson, Matthew A.

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AU - Eden, Uri T.

AU - González-Martínez, Jorge A.

AU - Gale, John T.

AU - Sarma, Sridevi V.

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PY - 2019/1/22

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N2 - A person’s decisions vary even when options stay the same, like when a gambler changes bets despite constant odds of winning. Internal bias (e.g., emotion) contributes to this variability and is shaped by past outcomes, yet its neurobiology during decision-making is not well understood. To map neural circuits encoding bias, we administered a gambling task to 10 participants implanted with intracerebral depth electrodes in cortical and subcortical structures. We predicted the variability in betting behavior within and across patients by individual bias, which is estimated through a dynamical model of choice. Our analysis further revealed that high-frequency activity increased in the right hemisphere when participants were biased toward risky bets, while it increased in the left hemisphere when participants were biased away from risky bets. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence that risk-taking bias is a lateralized push–pull neural system governing counterintuitive and highly variable decision-making in humans.

AB - A person’s decisions vary even when options stay the same, like when a gambler changes bets despite constant odds of winning. Internal bias (e.g., emotion) contributes to this variability and is shaped by past outcomes, yet its neurobiology during decision-making is not well understood. To map neural circuits encoding bias, we administered a gambling task to 10 participants implanted with intracerebral depth electrodes in cortical and subcortical structures. We predicted the variability in betting behavior within and across patients by individual bias, which is estimated through a dynamical model of choice. Our analysis further revealed that high-frequency activity increased in the right hemisphere when participants were biased toward risky bets, while it increased in the left hemisphere when participants were biased away from risky bets. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence that risk-taking bias is a lateralized push–pull neural system governing counterintuitive and highly variable decision-making in humans.

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Risk-taking bias in human decision-making is encoded via a right–left brain push–pull system

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Keywords

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