Neuroeconomics
Title
Neuroeconomics
Author
Levy, Ifat
Research Area
Cognition and Emotions
Topic
Information Processing
Abstract
In recent years, researchers in economics, psychology, and neuroscience have joined forces in the study of decision‐making processes to form the new discipline of neuroeconomics. Neuroscientists turned to theories in economics and psychology to make sense of the increasing amounts of neurobiological data. At the same time, economists and psychologists turned to neuroscience for mechanistic constraints on their theories. Neuroeconomics studies tackle a host of topics, from financial choices through reinforcement learning to social decision making. Combining behavioral techniques with brain imaging in humans and electrophysiological recordings in animals, as well as complementary techniques, this interdisciplinary research has already generated new insights about the neural architecture of decision making. The neural mechanisms of some of the behavioral decision processes are increasingly understood, but many challenges remain. Extending neuroeconomics research to psychiatric disorders and incorporating new research tools are promising avenues for future studies.