Dopamine, religiosity, and utilitarian moral judgment.

Our goal was to examine the relationship between biological and sociocultural factors that predict utilitarian moral judgment. Utilitarian moral judgments occur when a specific action is based on the outcome rather than its consistency with social norms. We predicted that (1) individuals with higher levels of dopamine will make more utilitarian decisions and (2) individuals who express greater religiosity will make less utilitarian judgments.

Neural correlates of cognitive reappraisal of positive and negative affect in older adults.

Objectives: Compromised regulation of negative and positive emotions is a common feature of psychopathology. Healthy aging relates to changes in affective processing, but older adults' regulation of positive affect is less well understood than regulation of negative affect. We examined the cognitive reappraisal of positive and negative affect in healthy younger and older adults, and the neural correlates of reappraisal among older adults.

The Role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Purchase Intent Among Older Adults.

Older adults are frequently the targets of scams and deception, with millions of individuals being affected each year in the United States alone. Previous research has shown that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) may play a role in vulnerability to fraud. The current study examined brain activation patterns in relation to susceptibility to scams and fraud using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Individual differences in the neural signature of subjective value among older adults.

Some healthy older adults show departures from standard decision-making patterns exhibited by younger adults. We asked if such departures are uniform or if heterogeneous aging processes can designate which older adults show differing decision patterns. Thirty-three healthy older adults with varying decision-making patterns on a complex decision task (the Iowa Gambling Task) completed an intertemporal choice task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Functional neuroimaging of the Iowa Gambling Task in older adults.

Objective: The neural systems most susceptible to age-related decline mirror the systems linked to decision making. Yet, the neural processes underlying decision-making disparities among older adults are not well understood. We sought to identify neural response patterns that distinguish 2 groups of older adults who exhibit divergent decision-making patterns.