The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been investigated extensively with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and identified as a neural substrate central to emotion regulation and decision-making, particularly in the context of utilitarian moral dilemmas. However, there are two important limitations to prior work: (1) fMRI imposes strict constraints on the physical environment of the participant and (2) experimental manipulations have yet to consider the role of agency and personal incentive on both brain-based and behavioral correlates. To address the first limitation, we investigated functional near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which showed it was a potential alternative to fMRI for observing the decision-making processes in a less-constrained environment [1]. To address the second, we examined the role of agency in deciding moral and non-moral dilemmas and whether the influences can be further modulated by way of monetary incentives. Our findings show that all three factors exert influences on both behavioral and neural metrics. In particular, emotional value increases, whereas incentive decreases, prefrontal hemodynamic activity. Moreover, agency interacts with both emotional value and incentive, further polarizing the behavioral and neural metrics with regard to human patients.
@article{straitscheutz14bci,
title={Using functional near infrared spectroscopy to measure moral decision-making: effects of agency, emotional value, and monetary incentive},
author={Megan Strait and Matthias Scheutz},
year={2014},
journal={Brain-Computer Interfaces},
volume={1},
issue={1},
pages={1--10}
url={https://hrilab.tufts.edu/publications/straitscheutz14bci.pdf}
doi={10.1080/2326263X.2014.912886}
}