Victims' time discounting 2.5 years after the Wenchuan earthquake: an ERP study.
BACKGROUND
Time discounting refers to the fact that the subjective value of a reward decreases as the delay until its occurrence increases. The present study investigated how time discounting has been affected in survivors of the magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake that occurred in China in 2008.


METHODS
Nineteen earthquake survivors and 22 controls, all school teachers, participated in the study. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) for time discounting tasks involving gains and losses were acquired in both the victims and controls.


RESULTS
The behavioral data replicated our previous findings that delayed gains were discounted more steeply after a disaster. ERP results revealed that the P200 and P300 amplitudes were increased in earthquake survivors. There was a significant group (earthquake vs. non-earthquake) × task (gain vs. loss) interaction for the N300 amplitude, with a marginally significantly reduced N300 for gain tasks in the experimental group, which may suggest a deficiency in inhibitory control for gains among victims.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that post-disaster decisions might involve more emotional (System 1) and less rational thinking (System 2) in terms of a dual-process model of decision making. The implications for post-disaster intervention and management are also discussed.
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Jin-Zhen
JZ
Li
Dan-Yang
DY
Gui
Chun-Liang
CL
Feng
Wen-Zhong
WZ
Wang
Bo-Qi
BQ
Du
Tian
T
Gan
Yue-Jia
YJ
Luo
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D012424:Rural Population; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors