The benefit of computational neuroscience for economic psychology.

Abstract

It appears that neuroeconomics, the no-man’s land between psychology and economics, shall mature undeterred over the next decade. While economists are reluctant to admit it to the realm of their discipline, psychologists seem to be a lot less prejudiced. The latter look determined to use the rapidly evolving technology for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to develop a holistic approach for understanding brain activity. Yet, the ongoing research is of purely correlational nature, with little or no fundamental theory to guide it. This paper argues that computational neuroscience, the offspring of mathematical psychology, could provide fresh theoretical insight to complement the advancement in other areas of psychological research, especially with regard to economic psychology. We present a new experimental approach in which observable behaviour is matched with neuropsychological processes described by differential equations. Our first results show its feasibility and huge potential.