Common and Distinct Neural Mechanisms Underlying Risk Seeking and Risk Aversion: Evidence From the Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Risky decision-making, a ubiquitous aspect of human behavior, primarily encompasses two behavioral tendencies: risk seeking and risk aversion. Despite extensive exploration of the neural mechanisms involved in risk decision-making, the specific neural activity patterns underlying risk seeking and risk aversion, along with their dynamic regulatory mechanisms, remain unclear. This study employed a comprehensive meta-analysis approach that includes 43 risk seeking and 22 risk aversion whole-brain experiments to explore the neural basis and functional networks of risk seeking and risk aversion. The results indicated that risk seeking was associated with activations in the right insula and left caudate, whereas risk aversion was related to activations in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Further analyses showed that risk seeking primarily was linked to the reward network, salience network, and cognitive control network, while risk aversion primarily was involved in the cognitive control network and valuation network. These findings lend support to the dual-system theory, wherein risk seeking is predominantly influenced by the emotional system, whereas risk aversion is primarily driven by the cognitive system. Our study offers a novel perspective on the neural mechanisms underpinning risky decision-making and provides a theoretical foundation for interventions aimed at individuals with decision-making impairments.