The Cognitive And Neural Mechanism Of Trait Anxiety On Risk Decision-making

Risk decision-making is an important part of decision-making under uncertainty, it refers to the situation that if an individual could estimate or predict the probability of future events’ occurence, he will select the alternative with the best anticipated outcomes. This type of decision-making is an adaptive behavior ubiquitous in our daily life, it is not only related to the harmony of one’s physical and mental, and the management of an enterprise, but also have a far-reaching impact on the country’s planning. Therefore, the further explorations about the cognitive and neural mechanism of risk decision-making have profound significance both in the theory and practice. Previously, a lot of researches have shown the relationship between the immediate situational emotion and the risk decision-making, but poorly studied from the prospective of trait level’s emotion, we still don’t know how trait anxiety influences risk decision-making, as well as the neural mechanism underlines this relationship. Hence, we used behavioral test and resting-state fMRI, under the Paradigm of ’"Acceptance or Rejection" decision-making, to study two matters as followings:(1) the cognitive mechanism of trait anxiety on risk decision-making (Study Ⅰ);(2) the neural mechanism of trait anxiety on risk decision-making (Study Ⅱ).In study Ⅰ, with a task of "Acceptance or Rejection" decision-making, we explored the how trait anxiety influences risk decision-making, and the cognitive mechanism underlines this relationship. The results showed that:(1) trait anxiety have an effect on both the reaction time and risk propensity of risk decision-making: the higher the level of one’s trait anxiety, the longer the time they needed to make a choice, the more inclined to risk aversion; on the contrary, the lower the level of one’s trait anxiety, the shorter the time they needed to make a choice, the more inclined to risk seeking;(2) Mediation analysis revealed that, as a mediating variable, self-efficacy plays a partially mediated effect in trait anxiety on risk decision-making. The results above confirm that trait anxiety has a significant impact on risk decision-making, and self-efficacy serves as a mediating variable.In study Ⅱ, we used Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRl) to investigate neural mechanism underlines trait anxiety on risk decision-making. The results revealed that:(1) the functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex has a significant correlation with trait anxiety;(2) the functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex, right insular and left posterior cingulate cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and inferior frontal gyrus have a significant correlation with risk decision-making;(3) the functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex plays a partially mediated effect in trait anxiety on risk decision-making. These results indicate that the functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex may serves as the basis of trait anxiety on risk decision-making,In conclusion, trait anxiety is an important factor that influences risk decision-making: individuals with high levels of trait anxiety are more inclined to risk aversion, while those with low levels of trait anxiety are more likely to risk seeking; besides, self-efficacy has an effect on the relationship between trait anxiety and risk decision-making. Via the functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex, trait anxiety has an indirect effect on risk decision-making. The functional connectivity between inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex may serves as the basis of trait anxiety on risk decision-making. From the perspective of cognitive processing and neural mechanism, we have explored the impact of trait anxiety on risk decision-making. This research has emboldening our understanding about the cognitive mechanism and neural basis of risk decision-making from the perspective of trait level. Thus, studies in this field have profound scientific importance; moreover, it provides guidance for clinical practice.