ERP correlates of human decision making in a confidence-based gambling task /by Pablo Morales.

A large body of literature has examined human risky decision making behavior. Previous research has shown that equivalent decision making situations differing only in how they are framed (gain or loss) can influence how someone will make a decision. EEG research has found several reliably elicited event- related potentials (ERPs) in response to various features of a decision making task. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an ERP that has been shown to be elicited in response to feedback stimuli associated with loss. The P300 is another ERP that has been demonstrated to be sensitive to the magnitude of rewards. Decision making tasks that have been employed in the past have neglected factors that influence real-world decision making, such as confidence. The current work investigated how measures of confidence in a decision making task modulate the amplitude of the (FRN), and also how reward magnitude modulated the amplitude of the P300. Thirteen participants completed a confidence-based perception task with the objective of maximizing earned points. A larger FRN was found in response to incorrect, but not correct feedback. Levels of confidence did not significantly affect FRN amplitude, and reward magnitude did not significantly affect P300 amplitude. This study is part of a larger project, and the behavioral and ERP results obtained here will be compared to an equivalent loss-framed task to further examine human decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty