Feedback from an avatar facilitates risk-taking by modulating the amygdala response to feedback uncertainty
Fig 2
The avatar condition increased gambling choices compared with the human condition.
Higher gambling rates were observed in the avatar condition in both the behavioral (a) and fMRI (b) experiments. The top panels plot the average gambling rates against the expected value differences between the gamble and safe options for the behavioral (a) and fMRI (b) experiments (red: avatar condition, blue: human condition). The bottom panels show the inter-individual averages of the intra-individual gambling rate differences (avatar–human). Error bars represent the standard error of the means. A t test comparing gambling rates between the avatar and human conditions showed significant differences, with p-values of 0.012 and 7.9 × 10−3, respectively. The most significant p-values for each panel are indicated by asterisks: p = 0.015 (a) and p = 8.7 × 10−³ (b). Yellow shaded boxes highlight additional significant p-values: p = 2.3 × 10−³ (a) and 1.1 × 10−³ (b). Numerical data are provided in S1 Data (a) and S2 Data (a).