Citation

Adam R, Bays PM, Husain M. Cogn. Neurosci. 2012; 3(1): 52-61.

Affiliation

Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London , London , UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17588928.2011.613988

PMID

24168650

Abstract

Impulsivity is often characterized by rapid decisions under risk, but most current tests of decision-making do not impose time pressures on participants' choices. Here we introduce a new traffic lights test which requires people to choose whether to program a risky, early eye movement before a traffic light turns green (earning them high rewards or a penalty) or wait for the green light before responding to obtain a small reward instead. Young participants demonstrated bimodal responses: an early, high-risk and a later, low-risk set of choices. By contrast, elderly people invariably waited for the green light and showed little risk-taking. Performance could be modeled as a race between two rise-to-threshold decision processes, one triggered by the green light and the other initiated before it. The test provides a useful measure of rapid decision-making under risk, with the potential to reveal how this process alters with aging or in patient groups.

Language: en