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Neural Correlates of Decision Making on a Gambling Task
Author(s) -
Carlson Stephanie M.,
Zayas Vivian,
Guthormsen Amy
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01318.x
Subject(s) - psychology , negativity effect , anticipation (artificial intelligence) , iowa gambling task , developmental psychology , event related potential , stimulus (psychology) , trait , cognitive psychology , cognition , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , computer science , programming language
Individual differences in affective decision making were examined by recording event‐related potentials (ERPs) while 74 typically developing 8‐year‐olds (38 boys, 36 girls) completed a 4‐choice gambling task (Hungry Donkey Task; E. A. Crone & M. W. van der Molen, 2004). ERP results indicated: (a) a robust P300 component in response to feedback (punishment vs. reward outcomes), (b) anticipation effects (stimulus‐preceding negativity) prior to outcomes presented on frequent (vs. infrequent) punishment choices, (c) anticipation effects prior to selections associated with short and long‐term losses (vs. gains), and (d) individual differences in ERP components were significantly correlated with behavioral performance and verbal ability. These findings suggest that neurophysiological responses may be an index of children’s trait‐based and/or developmental level of decision‐making skills in affective–motivational situations.