Neural activity in human ventromedial prefrontal cortex reflecting the intention to save reward

Abstract

Saving behavior usually requires individuals to perform several consecutive choices before collecting the final reward. The overt behavior is preceded by an intention to perform an appropriate choice sequence. We studied saving sequences for which each participant rated the intention numerically as willingness to save. Each sequence resulted in a specific reward amount and thus had a particular value for the participant, which we assessed with a Becker-DeGroot-Marschak auction-like mechanism. Using functional MRI, we found that blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals in human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) correlated with the participant’s stated intention before each choice sequence. An adjacent vmPFC region showed graded activation that reflected the value of the sequence. These results demonstrate an involvement of vmPFC in intentional processes preceding sequential economic choices.

The Neurosciences of Health Communication: An fNIRS Analysis of Prefrontal Cortex and Porn Consumption in Young Women for the Development of Prevention Health Programs

“…This study tested whether the prefrontal cortex of participants high (vs. low) in porn consumption showed more activation when exposed to pornographic content relative to a no-treatment condition. In line with previous research ( Kühn and Gallinat, 2014 ; Zangemeister et al, 2019 ) we expected participants high (vs. low) in porn consumption to increase their activity (cue reactivity) in the prefrontal cortex area when being exposed to footage with pornographic content (cue exposure). We analyzed the activity of the prefrontal cortex using the fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy) technique, which has been shown to be effective in this type of study ( Leong et al, 2019 ; Karthikeyan et al, 2020 ).…”

A framework for application of consumer neuroscience in pro-environmental behavior change interventions

“…For example, eating meat is dissonant with liking animals and in order to reduce the discomfort of this discrepancy, the meat-eater might: (1) dichotomize: “It seems wrong that people in some cultures eat dogs and cats”, (2) deny: “Meat is processed so that animal pain and discomfort is minimized and avoided”, (3) dissociate: “I do not like to think about where the meat I eat comes from”, or (4) justify: “We need the protein we can only get in meat for healthy development” (Rothgerber, 2013 ). This explains why intentions cannot be evaluated in retrospect once the behavior is completed, however, measurements of cognitive dissonance (if exist) could function as a signal as to whether the subject experienced the action to be in line with their intentions (Harmon-Jones et al, 2015 ; Zangemeister et al, 2019 ).…”