Differential neurobiological effects of expert advice on risky choice in adolescents and adults

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jan B. Engelmann, University of Zurich; Sara Moore, Emory University; C Monica Capra, Emory University; Gregory S Berns, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy C - Option D
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author (2012). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: [e-mail]
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/5/557
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
• ISSN: 1749-5016
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 5
• Start Page: 557
• End Page: 567
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by grants from NIDA (grants R01 DA20116 and R01 DA016434 to G.S.B.). J.B.E. gratefully acknowledges support from the Mercator Foundation Switzerland, the NCCR Affective Sciences, the Neurochoice project of SystemsX and the research priority program at the University of Zurich ‘Foundations of Human Social Behavior’.
• Keywords: advice; decision making; vmPFC; risk; adolescence; social context; DLPFC
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

We investigated behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms by which risk-averse advice, provided by an expert, affected risky decisions across three developmental groups [early adolescents (12–14 years), late adolescents (15–17 years), adults (18+ years)]. Using cumulative prospect theory, we modeled choice behavior during a risky-choice task. Results indicate that advice had a significantly greater impact on risky choice in both adolescent groups than in adults. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural correlates of this behavioral effect. Developmental effects on correlations between brain activity and valuation parameters were obtained in regions that can be classified into (i) cognitive control regions, such as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventrolateral PFC; (ii) social cognition regions, such as posterior temporoparietal junction; and (iii) reward-related regions, such as ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) and ventral striatum. Within these regions, differential effects of advice on neural correlates of valuation were observed across development. Specifically, advice increased the correlation strength between brain activity and parameters reflective of safe choice options in adolescent DLPFC and decreased correlation strength between activity and parameters reflective of risky choice options in adult vmPFC. Taken together, results indicate that, across development, distinct brain systems involved in cognitive control and valuation mediate the risk-reducing effect of advice during decision making under risk via specific enhancements and reductions of the correlation strength between brain activity and valuation parameters.