T&C Chen Center for Social and Decision Neuroscience Seminar

Abstract: The neuromodulator dopamine is believed to play multiple roles in decision making, but the neurocomputational basis of dopamine's influence in human behavior remains unclear. Through a combination of fMRI, pharmacology, and smartphone-based experiments in the general population and in Parkinson's disease, we find evidence that dopamine is associated with increased risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Surprising sounds are associated with dopamine release, and we find that surprising sounds increase risk taking in a manner that does not depend on value. Using smartphone-based tasks (https://happinessquest.app), we remotely tested individuals with Parkinson's disease on and off dopamine medication, finding reduced risk taking and again finding support for a role for dopamine in decision making that lies outside of standard economic models of decision making under uncertainty.