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Poster Session A: Tuesday, August 12, 1:30 – 4:30 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

A joint model of risk-taking and learning related to risks based on behavioral and prefrontal oxygenation measures

Hatice Gonca Bulur1, Alaz Aydın1, Barbaros Yet, Murat Perit Çakır; 1Middle East Technical University

Presenter: Murat Perit Cakir

This study examines the neural and cognitive mechanisms of risk-taking by integrating behavioral and fNIRS data through a joint modeling approach. Participants completed a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) under conditions varying in uncertainty, while a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device was used to monitor their prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. A censored Bayesian model estimated individual risk-taking propensity, which was linked to HbO levels across PFC subregions with a joint model. Traditional analyses revealed condition-specific effects, whereas the joint model identified individual-level correlations between risk propensity and PFC activity. Notably, stronger correlations emerged in the left dorsolateral PFC under structured uncertainty and in the right dorsolateral PFC under random uncertainty— patterns not accounted by classical methods. These findings highlight the value of joint modeling in revealing latent brain–behavior relationships. Keywords: decision making under risk and uncertainty; BART; joint modeling; fNIRS

Topic Area: Reward, Value & Social Decision Making

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF