Decisions in the Brain

We make many decisions every day. Some of them are smart, butothers are less clever and actually result in undesirableconsequences. Everyone trying to live a better lifestyle with morephysical exercise and healthier nutrition knows how lackingself-control and succumbing to the temptation of that yummy pieceof chocolate cake can lead to decisions that are not consistentwith the overall plan of a better health. Why do we make suchdecisions? The newly emerging field of neuroeconomics is aninterdisciplinary domain in which scientists from many differentbackgrounds work in concert to unravel the neurobiologicalprocesses underlying decision making. This book presents anoverview about the psychology, economics and neurobiology of makingchoices. It focuses on two particular aspects - intertemporaldecisions (choices between outcomes that are realised at differenttimes in the future) and action control (regulating one\'s ownbehaviour to exercise, for example, self-control) - and theirrepresentation in the brain of an animal model: the pigeon. Thebook is written in a simple and easy-to-understand way and will beappealing to neuroscientists and interested lay peoplealike.