PROJECTS

Our group’s research agenda evolves around understanding the

neuropsychology of value-based decision-making and how it can

be altered by public policy and marketing actions. Within in this

context we currently work on the following related research projects.

· The Neural Basis of Goal Values:

Consumer’s choices are guided by different subjective value or utility signals. Recently, interdisciplinary research in the nascent field of decision neuroscience has explored the neurobiology underlying value-based decision-making. During this stream of research we investigate the neural signatures of value signals at the time of choice and how manipulating these neural signals results in behavioral changes using different neuroscientific (e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)) and traditional methods.

· The Role of Emotion in Value-Based Decision-Making:

In real world situations humans are often exposed to various reward cues while making value-based decisions. In this project we investigate how incidental emotions affect decision-making signals at time of choice and during outcome evaluation.

· Cognitive Regulation of Value Signals:

The assignment of value during decision-making constitutes one of the fundamental computations supporting adaptive behavior. However, the presence of addiction, gambling disorders, and obesity suggest that this process may sometimes be more sensitive to immediate hedonic concerns than to long-term goals and outcomes. When this happens, strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and cognitive regulation may be required to modulate the computations of the value system. The neural correlates and consequences of this process are not well understood. In the present stream of research we are addressing these questions.

· How Expectations Bias the Consumption Experience:

Despite the pervasiveness of marketing actions such as branding or pricing, little is known about the neural mechanisms through which they affect consumption experiences. In this research stream we propose that branding, pricing or other marketing-based cues that trigger an expectation about how good an experience is predicted to be, can affect the neural computations associated with experienced utility. We investigate these questions using different neuroscientific (e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), pharmacological interventions) and traditional methods.

· How Health Claims Influence Taste Perception and Food Intake:

In the present project we aim at understanding how different health claims (healthy, organic) can alter taste pleasantness and expected taste intensity and what the underlying neuropsychological mechanisms are.

· “Satiation” for Primary and Secondary Rewards:

One difference between monetary and primary reinforcers like food is that for food the brain has different neural systems in place to control our food intake and signal satiety. Recent work has shown that the value signal of food in mOFC can be devalued after subjects have been fed to satiety on one food but not on another. For money, however, the existence of such a neural system to control reward intake has not been investigated to date. Against this background this research has the objective to investigate the neural systems underlying the devaluation for or satiety of money and how they relate to brain systems underlying food devaluation and satiety.