The neural basis of economic decision-making in the Ultimatum Game

Alan G. Sanfey; James K. Rilling; Jessica A. Aronson; Leigh E. Nystrom; Jonathan D. Cohen

doi:10.1126/science.1082976

The neural basis of economic decision-making in the Ultimatum Game

Alan G. Sanfey, James K. Rilling, Jessica A. Aronson, Leigh E. Nystrom, Jonathan D. Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2429 Scopus citations

Abstract

The nascent field of neuroeconomics seeks to ground economia decision-making in the biological substrate of the brain. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging of Ultimatum Game players to investigate neural substrates of cognitive and emotional processes involved in economic decision-making. In this game, two players split a sum of money; one player proposes a division and the other can accept or reject this. We scanned players as they responded to fair and unfair proposals. Unfair offers elicited activity in brain areas related to both emotion (anterior insula) and cognition (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). Further, significantly heightened activity in anterior insula for rejected unfair offers suggests an important role for emotions in decision-making.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1755-1758
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	300
Issue number	5626
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082976
State	Published - Jun 13 2003

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10.1126/science.1082976

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The neural basis of economic decision-making in the Ultimatum Game

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