Tonic activity level in the right prefrontal cortex predicts individuals' risk taking

Gianotti, L R R; Knoch, D; Faber, P L; Lehmann, D; Pascual-Marqui, R D; Diezi, C; Schoch, C; Eisenegger, C; Fehr, Ernst

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02260.x

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Gianotti, L. R. R., Knoch, D., Faber, P. L., Lehmann, D., Pascual-Marqui, R. D., Diezi, C., Schoch, C., Eisenegger, C., & Fehr, E. (2009). Tonic activity level in the right prefrontal cortex predicts individuals’ risk taking. Psychological Science, 20(1), 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02260.x

Abstract

Human risk taking is characterized by a large amount of individual heterogeneity. In this study, we applied resting-state electroencephalography, which captures stable individual differences in neural activity, before subjects performed a risk-taking task. Using a source localization technique, we found that the baseline cortical activity in the right prefrontal cortex predicts individual risk-taking behavior. Individuals with higher baseline cortical activity in this brain area display more risk aversion than do other individuals. Th