Neuro 4454 Neuroeconomics

Assignment 8/22/2016

Instructions: First tell me about yourself take about 10 minutes to do

this. Then discuss questions 1-5 with your group and try to understand
the questions and answers and anything else that comes up (related to
this class.) This assignment, including written answers to all questions,
should be turned in at the end of class. Feel free to write on the back if
you need space.
First, tell me about yourself
a. Name (give the one Ill find on my class list)
Andrew Ray
b. I prefer to be called
Andrew
c. In which semester (give semester and year) do you plan
to graduate?
Spring Semester 2017
d. List your majors and minors (it is fine to have only one
major. Seriously.)
B.S Economics
e. Circle any of the following courses you have taken
Psyc 1004

Econ 2005

Neur 2025

Psyc 3xxx

Econ 3104

Neur 2026

f. Do you have any research experience? If so, what have

you worked on?
I do not currently have any research experience
g. Do you plan to go to graduate school? If so, in what?

No I do not plan on attending graduate school following graduation,

however in the future it is certainly a possibility that I will attempt to
receive my Masters degree in economics.
Neuro 4454 Neuroeconomics
Assignment 8/22/2016

(Please write you name at the top Well rip this from the first page)
1. In How playing an instrument benefits your brain the author
argues that musicians use many parts of their brain simultaneously
to complete tasks.
a. What parts of the brain are involved in playing music?
Illustrate as many as you can on the diagram below.

Visual

Motor

Auditor
y

b. What is the bridge between the two brain hemispheres

called? What is its function?
The bridge between the two brain hemispheres is called the Corpus
Callosum, which allows messages to get across the brain faster and
through more diverse routes.
c. What is executive function? Give an example.

Executive function is a category of interlinked tasks that includes

planning, strategizing and attention to detail, and requires
simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.

d. Just as different parts of your brain work together when

people play music, there are a number of parts of your brain
that work together when people make decisions. These are
the parts of the brain we will focus on in this course. What are
some brain areas you think we will study? Think about areas
smaller than a brain lobe but larger than a neuron.
I think that in this course we will explore the prefrontal cortex due to its
involvement in sophisticated interpersonal thinking and the
competence required for emotional well-being. I also think that the
inferior frontal gyrus is of particular importance in decision-making
considering that inferior frontal gyrus facilitates and stimulates
creative thinking.

2. In the TED talk assigned for today, Professor Rangel talked about a
specific area of the brain that he said encodes value.
a. What does it mean for an area of the brain to encode
value.?
In a summarization, areas of the brain encode values to determine or
assign a value for a specific attribute or facet of the subject matter in
which a decision is to be made.
b. What part of the brain was Rangel primarily talking about?
- Prefrontal cortex
c. When Rangel talks about computation in the brain, is he
talking about doing math problems or something else?
Explain.
He is talking about the way in which the brain assigns values in which
to help drive decision-making.
d. What is fixation and how is it useful in studying the
choices that people make?
Fixation is the amount of attention devoted to an object or choice, and
is imperative to studying the choices that people make because from
numerous study is has been found that the amount of fixation is
directly correlated to the decision-making process.

3. Value
a. Rank your enjoyment of spending an hour on the following
activities

Activity

Rank

Utility Points

Cleaning your
house/apartment/dorm room

Gaming

Having dinner with a friend

Studying for exams

Listening to music

Having coffee at a caf

b. Now assign utility points to each of the activities

c. If you multiply all of the points you assigned in part b by 4
and add 10 does anything really change?

d. If you prefer Gaming to Listening to music (Gaming >

Listening to music) what needs to be true about the way in
which you assign utility points to these two activities?

4. Dopamine
a. What is Dopamine and what are some of the roles in plays?
Dopamine is an organic chemical and has several different roles. For
example, in the brain the function of dopamine is a neurotransmitter
that sends signals to other nerve cells. It also plays an important role
in reward-motivated behavior.

b. Where is Dopamine produced?

Dopamine is produced in several areas of the brain, including the
substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area.

c. What sorts of activities increase dopamine release?

Activities that are associated with pleasure or the sense of feeling good
increase dopamine release.
c. Give an example of a disease that is related to dopamine
and explain how it is related.
Cocaine addiction is related to dopamine as consuming cocaine
increases dopamine for a temporary amount of time. Cocaine is a
highly addictive drug due to the activating effect of the dopaminemediated reward system in the brain.