title: Choice from non-choice: predicting consumer preferences from blood oxygenation level-dependent signals obtained during passive viewing.
abstract: Decision-making is often viewed as a two-stage process, where subjective values are first assigned to each option and then the option of the highest value is selected. Converging evidence suggests that these subjective values are represented in the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). A separate line of evidence suggests that activation in the same areas represents the values of rewards even when choice is not required, as in classical conditioning tasks. However, it is unclear whether the same neural mechanism is engaged in both cases. To address this question we measured brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging while human subjects passively viewed individual consumer goods. We then sampled activation from predefined regions of interest and used it to predict subsequent choices between the same items made outside of the scanner. Our results show that activation in the striatum and MPFC in the absence of choice predicts subsequent choices, suggesting that these brain areas represent value in a similar manner whether or not choice is required.
authors.affiliation: Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. ifat.levy@yale.edu
authors.forename: Ifat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Stephanie C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lazzaro
authors.forename: Robb B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Rutledge
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Glimcher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012201:Reward; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen