Researchers have found a direct window into the brain systems involved in making every day decisions based on preference.
The study, led by a team of neuroscientists at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, and published in Nature Communications, offers crucial insight into the neural mechanisms underlying our decision-making process, opening up new avenues for the investigation of preference-based choices in humans.
The study presented participants with pairs of snacks, like a chocolate bar and a pack of crisps, and asked them to choose their preferred item. To identify the brain areas involved in these decisions, the team used a state-of-the-art multimodal brain imaging procedure. Volunteers wore an EEG cap (to measure their brain electrical activity) whilst being simultaneously scanned in an MRI machine.
An EEG cap records neural activity (tiny electrical signals on the surface of the scalp), providing information about "when" a certain event takes place in the brain and how it unfolds in time, while functional MRI provides information on "where" this activity happens in the brain.