Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DY, U.K.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2019 Dec 30;14(12):1255-1261. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa013.
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.
储蓄行为通常需要个体在获得最终奖励之前进行多次连续选择。明显的行为之前是执行适当选择序列的意图。我们研究了储蓄序列，每个参与者都对意图进行数值评分，表示愿意储蓄的程度。每个序列都会产生特定的奖励金额，因此对参与者具有特定的价值，我们使用类似于 Becker-DeGroot-Marschak 拍卖的机制进行评估。使用功能磁共振成像，我们发现人类腹内侧前额叶皮层（vmPFC）中的血氧水平依赖信号与每个选择序列之前参与者的陈述意图相关。vmPFC 的一个相邻区域显示出渐变激活，反映了序列的价值。这些结果表明 vmPFC 参与了在连续经济选择之前的意向过程。
