O'Carroll R E, Papps B P
School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, UK.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Mar;74(3):376-8. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.74.3.376.
Damasio has proposed an influential model of human decision making-the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH), where he argues that somatic feedback to the brain influences decision making in humans. It is proposed that when choosing between options that differ in relative risk, a somatic marker (for example, a "gut feeling") feeds back to the brain and influences cognitive appraisal. This study tested the hypothesis that the noradrenergic system may play a part in this afferent feedback process.
Thirty healthy young adults were randomly allocated to receive placebo, 4 mg, or 8 mg reboxetine (a new selective noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor that acts to increase central noradrenergic activity). It is hypothesised that enhancement of central noradrenergic activity may amplify the effect of afferent feedback, and lead to altered decision making. All subjects completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a computerised card playing game where the player is instructed to try and win as much money as possible over 100 selections from one of four decks.
There were no significant differences between the three groups in gambling task performance.
This result suggests that central noradrenergic activity may not be critically involved in the afferent feedback mechanism that is central to the somatic marker hypothesis.
达马西奥提出了一个有影响力的人类决策模型——躯体标记假说（SMH），他认为躯体向大脑的反馈会影响人类的决策。有人提出，在相对风险不同的选项之间进行选择时，躯体标记（例如“直觉”）会反馈到大脑并影响认知评估。本研究检验了去甲肾上腺素能系统可能参与这一传入反馈过程的假说。
30名健康的年轻成年人被随机分配接受安慰剂、4毫克或8毫克瑞波西汀（一种新型选择性去甲肾上腺素再摄取抑制剂，作用是增加中枢去甲肾上腺素能活性）。据推测，增强中枢去甲肾上腺素能活性可能会放大传入反馈的作用，并导致决策改变。所有受试者都完成了爱荷华赌博任务（IGT），这是一种电脑纸牌游戏，玩家被要求从四副牌中的一副中进行100次选择，尽量赢取尽可能多的钱。
三组在赌博任务表现上没有显著差异。
这一结果表明，中枢去甲肾上腺素能活性可能并非躯体标记假说核心的传入反馈机制的关键组成部分。
