應激對風險和社會決策的影響

應激是有機體在受到真實或者潛在的威脅刺激時所表現出來的全身性非特異性反應，伴隨著緊張和焦慮的心理體驗，交感神經系統的興奮，糖皮質激素分泌的增多以及腦幹−邊緣系統−前額葉神經環路的改變。應激對個體在風險決策行為中的風險尋求和風險回避傾向，社會決策行為中的利己和利他傾向都會產生重要影響。策略使用異常、習慣化和自動化反應增強、反饋學習過程以及獎懲敏感性的改變是應激影響決策行為的認知基礎; 應激激素的分泌, 及杏仁核、前額葉等在決策過程發揮重要作用的腦區活動的改變則為應激作用於決策行為的神經基礎。未來研究應重點關注：應激的個體差異與應激對決策影響效應多樣性的關係；綜合多種指標對應激進行測量；考察應激的時序效應；揭示個體的最佳應激水平；加強對慢性應激影響決策以及應激對決策影響效應可逆性的研究；揭示應激影響決策的神經機制。

Stress refers to systematically nonspecific reactions to actual or potential threats. It is accompanied with psychological experiences of nervousness and anxiety, excitation of the sympathetic nervous system, increment of glucocorticoid, and alternations in the brainstem-limbic-prefrontal neural circuit. Stress significantly influences risk-seeking and risk-aversive behaviors in risky decision making as well as proself and prosocial behaviors in social decision making. The cognitive basis of stress’s influences on decision making are formed by dysfunctional strategies, an increase of habitual and automatic responses, alterations in feedback processing and changes in reward and punishment sensitivity. On the other hand, the neural foundations of stress’s influences on decision making are formed by secretion of stress hormones and brain activation changes in areas that are crucial in decision making, such as prefrontal cortex, amygdala. Future studies should focus on the following topics: 1) revealing the relationship between individual differences in stress and diverse effects of stress on decision making; 2) measuring stress with multiple indexes; 3) investigating the temporal course of stress; 4) uncovering an individual’s optimal stress level; 5) strengthening research about the influence of chronic stress on decision making and the reversible effects; 6) unlocking the neural mechanism of how stress affects decision making. Copyright © 2016 《心理科學進展》編輯部.