Economic decisions are characterized by their uncertainty and the lack of explicit feedback that indicates the correctness of decisions at the time they are made. Nevertheless, very little is known about the neural mechanisms involved in this process. Our study sought to identify the neurophysiological correlates of purchase decision-making in situations where the optimal purchase time is not known. EEG was recorded in 24 healthy subjects while they were performing a new experimental paradigm that simulates real economic decisions. At the time of price presentation, we found an increase in the P3 Event-Related Potential and induced theta and alpha oscillatory activity when participants chose to buy compared to when they decided to wait for a better price. These results reflect the engagement of attention and executive function in purchase decision-making and might help in the understanding of brain mechanisms underlying economic decisions in uncertain scenarios.

经济决策的特点是不确定性和缺乏明确的反馈，这些反馈表明做出决策时的正确性。然而，关于该过程涉及的神经机制知之甚少。我们的研究试图确定在最佳购买时间未知的情况下购买决策的神经生理相关性。脑电图记录了24位健康受试者在执行模拟真实经济决策的新实验范式时的情况。在提供价格时，与参与者决定等待更好的价格相比，与参与者决定的价格相比，我们发现P3事件相关的电位有所增加，并导致theta和alpha振荡活动。