Monoamines and assessment of risks

Over the past decade, neuroeconomics studies utilizing neurophysiology methods (fMRI or EEG) have flourished, revealing the neural basis of 'boundedly rational' or 'irrational' decision-making that violates normative theory. The next question is how modulatory neurotransmission is involved in these central processes. Here I focused on recent efforts to understand how central monoamine transmission is related to nonlinear probability weighting and loss aversion, central features of prospect theory, which is a leading alternative to normative theory for decision-making under risk. Circumstantial evidence suggests that dopamine tone might be related to distortion of subjective reward probability and noradrenaline and serotonin tone might influence aversive emotional reaction to potential loss.

► Neurophysiological neuroeconomics studies have investigated the neural basis of 'irrational' decision-making under risk. ► The role of neurotransmitters in 'irrational' decision-making remains poorly understood. ► Dopamine may be related to the distortion of subjective reward probability. ► Noradrenaline and serotonin may influence aversive emotional reaction to financial loss.