The Neuropsychology of Decision Making Course

Lesson 1 • Neurotransmitter Systems in Choice

Covers dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and their roles in valuation and action selection. Links chemical signaling to observable decision patterns.

Lesson 2 • Historical Models of Decision Making

Traces rational-choice theory through prospect theory to dual-process models. Shows how neuroscience reshaped classical economic assumptions.

Lesson 3 • Brain Anatomy Relevant to Choice

Maps prefrontal cortex, limbic structures, and basal ganglia to decision functions. Provides the anatomical vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Defining Decision Making Neuropsychologically

Distinguishes neuropsychological from purely behavioral definitions of choice. Anchors the course framework in brain-behavior relationships.

Lesson 1 • Probability and Risk Valuation

Analyzes how the brain weights uncertain outcomes and encodes probability. Links risk sensitivity to anterior insula and anterior cingulate activity.

Lesson 2 • Temporal Discounting and Delay

Covers hyperbolic discounting, impulsivity, and the neural basis of preferring immediate rewards. Explains why short-term bias undermines long-term goals.

Lesson 3 • The Mesolimbic Reward Pathway

Details the ventral tegmental area-to-nucleus accumbens circuit and its role in motivation. Grounds subsequent valuation concepts in specific anatomy.

Lesson 4 • Subjective Value and Utility Encoding

Explains how orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex encode subjective value. Connects neural valuation to preference and willingness to choose.

Lesson 1 • Mood States and Framing Effects

Shows how positive and negative affect alter sensitivity to gain-loss framing. Links mood-congruent processing to systematic choice biases.

Lesson 2 • Emotional Regulation Strategies

Covers reappraisal, suppression, and mindfulness as tools to modulate emotional influence on decisions. Provides practical techniques grounded in neural evidence.

Lesson 3 • The Somatic Marker Hypothesis

Presents Damasio's framework linking bodily emotional signals to decision guidance. Explains why vmPFC damage produces poor real-world choices despite intact logic.

Lesson 4 • Amygdala Contributions to Choice

Details amygdala roles in threat detection, emotional memory, and value modulation. Connects fear conditioning to avoidance decisions.

Lesson 1 • Planning and Prospective Thinking

Analyzes frontoparietal networks supporting multi-step planning and mental simulation of futures. Links prospection quality to long-term decision outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Cognitive Flexibility and Set Shifting

Covers anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal roles in switching strategies when feedback changes. Explains perseveration as a flexibility failure.

Lesson 3 • Working Memory and Decision Quality

Links dorsolateral prefrontal working memory capacity to option comparison and planning. Shows how memory load degrades choice accuracy.

Lesson 4 • Inhibitory Control and Impulse Suppression

Examines right inferior frontal cortex and subthalamic nucleus roles in stopping prepotent responses. Connects inhibition failures to impulsive decisions.

Lesson 1 • Dual-Process Theory in Depth

Contrasts fast intuitive System 1 with slow deliberative System 2 processing. Maps each system to distinct neural substrates and decision contexts.

Lesson 2 • Anchoring, Framing, and Priming

Demonstrates how initial reference points and context cues systematically shift valuations. Connects these effects to prefrontal-striatal value encoding.

Lesson 3 • Confirmation Bias and Motivated Reasoning

Analyzes how prior beliefs filter evidence search and interpretation. Links motivated reasoning to reward circuitry reinforcing existing views.

Lesson 4 • Availability and Representativeness Heuristics

Explains how ease of recall and prototype matching distort probability judgments. Links these heuristics to amygdala salience and pattern-matching circuits.

Lesson 1 • Empathy and Perspective Taking

Covers mirror neuron systems and affective empathy circuits in shaping prosocial choices. Distinguishes cognitive from affective empathy in decision contexts.

Lesson 2 • Group Dynamics and Conformity Pressure

Examines how social comparison and conformity alter individual valuations via striatal signals. Explains groupthink through a neuropsychological lens.

Lesson 3 • Fairness, Inequity, and Rejection

Uses Ultimatum Game data to show how anterior insula drives rejection of unfair offers. Explains why emotional fairness responses override economic self-interest.

Lesson 4 • Moral Reasoning and Neural Conflict

Analyzes trolley-problem research to show vmPFC-amygdala tension in utilitarian vs. deontological choices. Maps moral judgment to specific neural circuits.

Lesson 1 • Developmental Changes Across the Lifespan

Traces prefrontal maturation through adolescence and age-related changes in reward sensitivity. Explains why risk-taking peaks in adolescence and caution rises with age.

Lesson 2 • Psychiatric Conditions and Choice Deficits

Covers depression, anxiety, ADHD, and psychopathy as models of distinct decision impairments. Provides a diagnostic framework for recognizing choice deficits clinically.

Lesson 3 • Genetic and Neurobiological Variability

Covers COMT, DRD4, and serotonin transporter polymorphisms affecting prefrontal and reward function. Explains gene-environment interactions in decision phenotypes.

Lesson 4 • Personality Traits and Decision Style

Links Big Five dimensions and sensation-seeking to neural risk and reward sensitivity. Shows how trait profiles predict systematic choice patterns.

Lesson 1 • Designing Decision Environments

Applies choice architecture and nudge theory to reduce bias at the point of decision. Connects environmental design to default-mode and attention neural systems.

Lesson 2 • Structured Analytical Techniques

Introduces pre-mortem analysis, decision matrices, and red-teaming to counteract cognitive biases. Grounds each technique in the specific bias it targets.

Lesson 3 • Organizational Decision Frameworks

Scales individual neuropsychological insights to team and organizational decision processes. Addresses groupthink, authority bias, and information cascade at the system level.

Lesson 4 • Feedback Systems and Learning Loops

Designs outcome-tracking systems that accelerate reinforcement learning and reduce overconfidence. Links deliberate feedback to corticostriatal updating.