Should I stay or should I go?
Researchers at the University of Zurich studied 160 people to measure the effect of certain chemicals on the fundamental cholinergic and noradrenergic systems in certain parts of their brains—and ultimately on their ability to make stay-or-go decisions. People in modern society are often inclined to maintain their status quo even when it’s illogical to do so. We stay in awful jobs, persist in toxic social environments, and endure abusive relationships—even when more rewarding alternatives are freely available. The Swiss researchers uncovered the neurochemical basis of this “suboptimal foraging” behavior. Behavioral flexibility and decision optimality, they write, could help identify better therapeutic approaches for psychiatric disorders where stay-or-leave decision-making is impaired, “such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, gambling, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, as well as ADHD.”
#neuroeconomics #ADHD #OCD #anxiety #neuroscience
👏 to the researchers:
Nick Sidorenko, Hui-Kuan Chung, Marcus Grüschow, Boris B. Quednow, Helen Hayward-Koennecke, Dr.med., Alexander Jetter, Philippe Tobler
Operational Excellence Leader | Employee Development | Lifelong Learner | Inclusion Advocate
2moYou go mama! Cristina Rothfuss 💙💛