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Science 4 August 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5787, pp. 684 - 687
DOI: 10.1126/science.1128356
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Reports

Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision-Making in the Human Brain

Benedetto De Martino,* Dharshan Kumaran, Ben Seymour, Raymond J. Dolan

Human choices are remarkably susceptible to the manner in which options are presented. This so-called "framing effect" represents a striking violation of standard economic accounts of human rationality, although its underlying neurobiology is not understood. We found that the framing effect was specifically associated with amygdala activity, suggesting a key role for an emotional system in mediating decision biases. Moreover, across individuals, orbital and medial prefrontal cortex activity predicted a reduced susceptibility to the framing effect. This finding highlights the importance of incorporating emotional processes within models of human choice and suggests how the brain may modulate the effect of these biasing influences to approximate rationality.

Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1 3AR, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: b.martino{at}fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk

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