What Constitutes Risk Taking Behavior? Investigation Using Neuroimaging and Behavioral Studies

Ada Leung, PhD, OT(C)

Introduction:

Risk taking is an important element in daily life as it drives people to take on challenges. However, failure to regulate risk taking behavior could result in socially inappropriate behaviors and develop pathological illness. Understanding the neural and behavioral correlates of risk taking could shed light on remediation strategies during a rehabilitation process.

Methods and Results:

Part 1: Neuroimaging study

Eighteen healthy individuals participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a Risky-Gains task. Using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, the participants were categorized into high impulsiveness (n=9) and low impulsiveness (n=9) group. Neuroimging findings showed significant activations in the insula and orbitofrontal-parietal regions, but not the lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, in the high compared to low impulsiveness group. The results suggest that risk taking behavior appears to be a cognitive-affective reaction as oppose to attention regulation.

Part 2: Behavioral study (still in progress)

Sixteen healthy individuals performed the Risky-Gains task and a series of cognitive tests which measures different cognitive abilities. The tests were: (1) Symbol Digits Modalities Test (SDMT), which measures attention; (2) Arrow-No-Go task, which measures response inhibition; (3) Visual 2-back task, which measures working memory; and (4) Mental imagery questionnaire, which measures the vividness of images during mental imagery. Separate regression models were computed with risky responses as dependent variables and age and performance of the four tests as predictors. A significant model was obtained on high risk responses but not on low risk responses. All predictors except the SDMT which measures attention were significant predictors (ps < 0.005). The results suggest that risk taking behavior is a composite of mixed cognitive abilities especially high level executive function.

Conclusion:

The neural correlates and behavioral composite of risk taking behavior is examined in this study. Implication on cognitive remediation for pathological risk taking behavior is discussed.