Sensation Seeking and the Neurophysiology of Risk Processing

The personality trait of sensation seeking is a good predictor of risk-taking behaviors (Zheng and Liu, 2015). The processing of reward was investigated in individuals that were high sensation seekers and low sensation seekers during a two choice simple gambling task with low penalty outcomes and high penalty outcomes, while event-related potentials were recorded. It was found that sensation seeking was a modulating predictor of the effect of risk on the behavioral chosen option, in which participants that were low sensation seekers were more risk-averse than high sensation seekers (Zheng and Liu, 2015). Furthermore, high sensation seekers did not show differences in the high and low risk conditions of the task. 
The SPN ERP component was found in low sensation seekers, but not in high sensation seekers. Concerning the feedback related negativity (FRN) low sensation seekers showed an enhanced amplitude of this ERP component following high risks as compared to low risks. This effect was not found to be evident in high sensation seekers (Zheng and Liu, 2015). The P300 amplitude to gains and losses was found to be diminished in high sensation seekers as compared to low sensation seekers, which might indicate that sensation seeking had an effect on the in-depth processing of both positive and negative rewards. The authors hypothesize that these results might reflect an underarousal in high sensation seekers (Zheng and Liu, 2015).