Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
Conscious Cogn. 2012 Dec;21(4):1662-72. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.08.006. Epub 2012 Oct 13.
This study investigated the differences between past and future temporal discounting in terms of neural activity in relation to temporal distance. Results show that brain regions are engaged differently in past and future temporal discounting. This is likely because past temporal discounting requires memory reconstruction, whereas future temporal discounting requires the processing of uncertainty about the future. In past temporal discounting, neural activity differed only when preferences were made between rewards received one hour prior and rewards received further in the past. The peak amplitudes of P2 and P3 varied as the temporal distance increased from 2 weeks to 50 years. In future temporal discounting, neural activity differed only when preferences were evaluated between two delayed rewards. The delay conditions (6 months:5 years) and (6 months:50 years) had a significant influence on P2 and N2. Findings indicate the existence of different decision-making systems operating in past and future temporal discounting.
本研究考察了过去和未来时间折扣在与时间距离相关的神经活动方面的差异。结果表明，大脑区域在过去和未来时间折扣中参与的方式不同。这可能是因为过去的时间折扣需要记忆重构，而未来的时间折扣需要处理对未来的不确定性。在过去的时间折扣中，只有在对一个小时前收到的奖励和更早收到的奖励进行偏好选择时，神经活动才会有所不同。当时间距离从 2 周增加到 50 年时，P2 和 P3 的峰值幅度会有所变化。在未来的时间折扣中，只有在对两个延迟奖励进行评估时，神经活动才会有所不同。延迟条件（6 个月：5 年）和（6 个月：50 年）对 P2 和 N2 有显著影响。研究结果表明，过去和未来的时间折扣中存在不同的决策系统。
