title: Linking cognitive abilities with the propensity for risk-taking: the balloon analogue risk task.
abstract: There is great interest about the individual differences that influence the ability of dealing with risky decisions. In this light, an intriguing question is whether decision-making during risk is related to other cognitive abilities, especially executive functions. To investigate, in healthy subjects, the existence of a possible correlation between risk-taking and cognitive abilities, the balloon analogue risk task (BART) has been exploited to assess risk-taking propensity and the random number generation (RNG), to investigate cognitive functions. The risk-taking propensity is significantly correlated with the Cycling factor, a feature of RNG performance specifically related to the ability of updating and monitoring information. In particular, an excessive activity of monitoring (expressed by lower values of Cycling factor) is related to a more risk-averse behavior. An overlapping between the circuits involved in both RNG and BART, centered on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, could be the possible neurophysiological substrate for this correlation. This study suggests a relevant contribution of executive functions in risk-taking behavior. This could have relevant implications in neuroeconomics and neuropsychiatry of addiction and pathological gambling.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Unit, Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy. f.capone@unicampus.it.|Fondazione Alberto Sordi-ResearchInstitute for Ageing, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy. f.capone@unicampus.it.
authors.forename: Fioravante
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Studies-IUSS, Piazza della Vittoria 15, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.affiliation: Neurology Unit, Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.|Fondazione Alberto Sordi-ResearchInstitute for Ageing, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Pino
authors.affiliation: Neurology Unit, Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.|Fondazione Alberto Sordi-ResearchInstitute for Ageing, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Florio
authors.affiliation: Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oricchio
authors.affiliation: Neurology Unit, Institute of Neurology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.|Fondazione Alberto Sordi-ResearchInstitute for Ageing, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Lazzaro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013223:Statistics as Topic
keywords: Balloon analogue risk task; Cognitive functions; Random number generation; Risk-taking propensity