From emotion to decision: role played by the prefrontal cortex

The aim of the present work was to investigate role of OFC in startle modulation and emotion processing, and to clarify emotion influence on decision making. Moreover, we were interested in risk anticipation process, that is an important cognitive/emotional component of decision making, and how personality trait influence risky choices and economic decisions. The present studies highlighted that pOFC lesions cause specific deficit on unpleasant stimuli processing. This could be at the basis of participants "myopia" for negative feedback (such as monetary losses), which caused the inability of patients with OFC lesion to adjust their behavior through the retrieval of appropriate emotional events (such as punishments). This inability is typically associated with a tendency to impulsive behavior and inefficient planning. Moreover studies on decision making highlighted the key role of emotion in taking economic and risky decision, both in feedback processing (economic outcomes) and in retrieval processes of stored information. Data about personality trait showed that interindividual differences, in trait anxiety and sensation seeking, are very important in planning and decision of everyday life.