The ability to learn from experience is critical for determining when to take risks and when to play it safe. However, we know little about how within-person state changes, such as an individual’s degree of neurophysiological arousal, may impact the ability to learn which risks are most likely to fail vs succeed. To test this, we used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design to pharmacologically manipulate neurophysiological arousal and assess its causal impact on risk-related learning and performance. Eighty-seven adults (45% female, Mage = 20.1 ± 1.46 years) took either propranolol (n = 42), a beta-adrenergic receptor blocker that attenuates sympathetic nervous system–related signaling, or a placebo (n = 45). Participants then completed the Balloon Emotional Learning Task, a risk-taking task wherein experiential learning is necessary for task success. We found that individuals on propranolol, relative to placebo, earned fewer points on the task, suggesting that they were less effective risk-takers. This effect was mediated by the fact that those on propranolol made less optimal decisions in the final phase of the task on trials with the greatest opportunity for advantageous risk-taking. These findings highlight that neurophysiological arousal supports risk-related learning and, in turn, more advantageous decision-making and optimal behavior under conditions of risk.

中文翻译：

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神经生理学对有利冒险的贡献：一项实验性精神药理学研究


从经验中学习的能力对于确定何时冒险、何时谨慎行事至关重要。然而，我们对人体内状态变化（例如个人的神经生理唤醒程度）如何影响了解哪些风险最有可能失败和成功的能力知之甚少。为了测试这一点，我们使用了随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的设计来通过药理学操纵神经生理学唤醒，并评估其对风险相关学习和表现的因果影响。 87 名成年人（45% 为女性，Mage = 20.1 ± 1.46 岁）服用普萘洛尔 (n = 42)（一种可减弱交感神经系统相关信号传导的 β-肾上腺素受体阻滞剂）或安慰剂 (n = 45)。然后，参与者完成了气球情感学习任务，这是一项冒险任务，其中体验式学习对于任务成功是必要的。我们发现，与服用安慰剂的人相比，服用普萘洛尔的人在任务中获得的分数较少，这表明他们的冒险能力较差。这种效应是由以下事实介导的：服用普萘洛尔的受试者在试验任务的最后阶段做出了不太理想的决策，而这些试验具有最大的有利风险承担机会。这些发现强调，神经生理学唤醒支持与风险相关的学习，进而支持风险条件下更有利的决策和最佳行为。