Disappointment and regret enhance corrugator reactivity in a gambling task

Abstract

This study investigated how the corrugator and zygomaticus respond to decision outcomes, i.e. gains and losses. We used a gambling task in which participants were presented with obtained followed by non-obtained outcomes. Activity at the corrugator site was sensitive to decision outcomes, such that higher obtained losses (disappointment) and higher non-obtained gains (regret) both heightened corrugator reactivity. Activity at the zygomaticus site was not responsive to obtained or non-obtained outcomes, but did show sensitivity to emotional images in the same participants, in the form of a positive linear relationship with self-reported emotional valence. Corrugator activity was negatively related to emotional valence. The findings indicate the sensitivity of corrugator to objective decision outcomes and also counterfactual comparisons, highlighting the utility of facial EMG in research on decision-making and gambling behavior.