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Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

The Functional and Structural Neural Basis of Individual Differences in Loss Aversion

Nicola Canessa, Chiara Crespi, Matteo Motterlini, Gabriel Baud-Bovy, Gabriele Chierchia, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Marco Tettamanti and Stefano F. Cappa
Journal of Neuroscience 4 September 2013, 33 (36) 14307-14317; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0497-13.2013
Nicola Canessa
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
3Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy,
4CERMAC, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy,
5CRESA, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Chiara Crespi
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Matteo Motterlini
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
5CRESA, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Gabriel Baud-Bovy
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
6Robotics, Brain, and Cognitive Sciences Department, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16163 Genoa, Italy, and
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Gabriele Chierchia
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Giuseppe Pantaleo
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Marco Tettamanti
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
7Nuclear Medicine Department, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy
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Stefano F. Cappa
1Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
2Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
3Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy,
4CERMAC, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy,
5CRESA, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy,
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Abstract

Decision making under risk entails the anticipation of prospective outcomes, typically leading to the greater sensitivity to losses than gains known as loss aversion. Previous studies on the neural bases of choice-outcome anticipation and loss aversion provided inconsistent results, showing either bidirectional mesolimbic responses of activation for gains and deactivation for losses, or a specific amygdala involvement in processing losses. Here we focused on loss aversion with the aim to address interindividual differences in the neural bases of choice-outcome anticipation. Fifty-six healthy human participants accepted or rejected 104 mixed gambles offering equal (50%) chances of gaining or losing different amounts of money while their brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We report both bidirectional and gain/loss-specific responses while evaluating risky gambles, with amygdala and posterior insula specifically tracking the magnitude of potential losses. At the individual level, loss aversion was reflected both in limbic fMRI responses and in gray matter volume in a structural amygdala–thalamus–striatum network, in which the volume of the “output” centromedial amygdala nuclei mediating avoidance behavior was negatively correlated with monetary performance. We conclude that outcome anticipation and ensuing loss aversion involve multiple neural systems, showing functional and structural individual variability directly related to the actual financial outcomes of choices. By supporting the simultaneous involvement of both appetitive and aversive processing in economic decision making, these results contribute to the interpretation of existing inconsistencies on the neural bases of anticipating choice outcomes.

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The Journal of Neuroscience: 33 (36)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 33, Issue 36
4 Sep 2013
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The Functional and Structural Neural Basis of Individual Differences in Loss Aversion
Nicola Canessa, Chiara Crespi, Matteo Motterlini, Gabriel Baud-Bovy, Gabriele Chierchia, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Marco Tettamanti, Stefano F. Cappa
Journal of Neuroscience 4 September 2013, 33 (36) 14307-14317; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0497-13.2013

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The Functional and Structural Neural Basis of Individual Differences in Loss Aversion
Nicola Canessa, Chiara Crespi, Matteo Motterlini, Gabriel Baud-Bovy, Gabriele Chierchia, Giuseppe Pantaleo, Marco Tettamanti, Stefano F. Cappa
Journal of Neuroscience 4 September 2013, 33 (36) 14307-14317; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0497-13.2013
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