title: A dynamic, embodied paradigm to investigate the role of serotonin in decision-making.
abstract: Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator that has been attributed to cost assessment and harm aversion. In this review, we look at the role 5-HT plays in making decisions when subjects are faced with potential harmful or costly outcomes. We review approaches for examining the serotonergic system in decision-making. We introduce our group's paradigm used to investigate how 5-HT affects decision-making. In particular, our paradigm combines techniques from computational neuroscience, socioeconomic game theory, human-robot interaction, and Bayesian statistics. We will highlight key findings from our previous studies utilizing this paradigm, which helped expand our understanding of 5-HT's effect on decision-making in relation to cost assessment. Lastly, we propose a cyclic multidisciplinary approach that may aid in addressing the complexity of exploring 5-HT and decision-making by iteratively updating our assumptions and models of the serotonergic system through exhaustive experimentation.
authors: Cognitive Anteater Robotics Lab, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California Irvine, CA, USA.
authors: Derrik E
authors: DE
authors: Asher
authors: Alexis B
authors: AB
authors: Craig
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Zaldivar
authors: Alyssa A
authors: AA
authors: Brewer
authors: Jeffrey L
authors: JL
authors: Krichmar
keywords: acute tryptophan depletion; adaptive agents; cognitive modeling; cost assessment; embodiment; game theory; human–robot interaction; serotonin