Knutson, B., &Peterson, R. (2005). Neurally reconstructing expected utility. Games and Economic Behavior, 52(2), 305-315.
While the concept of “expected utility” informs many theories of decision making, little is known about whether and how the human brain might compute this quantity. This article reviews a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) experiments designed to localize brain regions that respond in anticipation of increasing amounts of monetary incentives. These studies collectively suggest that anticipation of increasing monetary gains activates a ...