Common and distinct neural correlates of intertemporal and risky decision-making: Meta-analytical evidence for the dual-system theory

Lidan Cui; Meng Ye; Lingyun Sun; Shunmin Zhang; Guibing He

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104851

Common and distinct neural correlates of intertemporal and risky decision-making: Meta-analytical evidence for the dual-system theory

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022 Oct:141:104851. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104851. Epub 2022 Sep 1.

Authors

Lidan Cui¹, Meng Ye², Lingyun Sun³, Shunmin Zhang⁴, Guibing He⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China; College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
² Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China.
³ College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
⁴ Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China. Electronic address: shunmin@zju.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China. Electronic address: gbhe@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 36058404
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104851

Abstract

The relationship between intertemporal and risky decision-making has received considerable attention in decision research. Single-process theories suggest that choices involving delay and risk are simply two manifestations of the same psychological mechanism, which implies similar patterns of neural activation. Conversely, the dual-system theory suggests that delayed and risky choices are two contrasting types of processes, which implies distinct brain networks. How these two types of choices relate to each other remains unclear. The current study addressed this issue by performing a meta-analysis of 28 intertemporal decision-making studies (862 subjects) and 51 risky decision-making studies (1539 subjects). We found no common area activated in the conjunction analysis of the delayed and risky rewards. Based on the contrast analysis, delayed rewards were associated with stronger activation in the left dorsal insula, while risky rewards were associated with activation in the bilateral ventral striatum and the right anterior insula. The results align with the dual-system theory with separate neural networks for delayed and risky rewards.

Keywords: ALE; Dual-system theory; Intertemporal decision-making; Meta-analysis; Risky decision-making.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / physiology
Decision Making* / physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
Neural Networks, Computer
Reward