Individual differences in during decision making under uncertainty: Loss aversion covaries with insular grey matter volume

Abstract

In decision situations that impose risk or uncertainty, individuals do not necessarily make rational, i.e. mathematically prudent, choices. For example, individuals tend to weight potential losses stronger than potential gains whilst ignoring the expected values of different options. This behavior has been labeled loss aversion (LA). First attempts to explain individual differences in LA have focussed on the responsiveness of brain regions involved in the processing of reward, punishment and risk. Here, we extend these findings by applying voxel based morphometry to structural MRI data. Before MR image acquisition, LA had been assessed by a behavioral protocol that required decisions for or against gambles in which potential gains and losses were systematically varied. We found robust negative correlations between LA and grey matter volume of the bilateral insula, a region most prominently known for its involvement in the processing of risk and behavioral salience.