# Impaired context-learning (value signal normalization) in the aging brain

> **NIH NIH R56** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2020 · $811,788

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Aging is associated with increased susceptibility to fraud and impairments in financial decision making. To be
an effective financial decision maker, in addition to learning how to gain reward, one must also learn how to
avoid losses. Powerful brain systems reinforce learning when the outcome is rewarding. However, it is not
clear whether reinforcement-learning brain systems contribute to the problem of learning to avoid losses, as
when learning to avoid losses, a “no-change” outcome may be the best option available but is not in itself
inherently rewarding. Our recent findings indicate that, over time, younger adults learn to adjust based on
context such that in loss contexts, having a no loss outcome activates reward centers in the brain and trigger
reinforcement-learning processes that allow them to learn as effectively about avoiding losses as gaining
rewards. In contrast, our preliminary behavioral findings indicate that older adults show selective impairments
in learning to avoid losses. This age-related impairment could either be due to impairments in the ability to
learn about the decision context or to a more general ‘positivity effect’ in which they attend relatively less to
negative than positive outcomes. In the current proposal, we develop and test computational models to identify
the contribution of different types of learning mechanisms to these age differences. In particular, we will
compare the degree to which impairments in learning about the context versus a bias to attend more to
positive than negative feedback can account for older adults’ learning patterns. We then will examine the
neural correlates of the best fitting models for the young and older participants. In addition, in a representative
sample of Americans, we will examine how individual differences in context learning and positivity bias relate to
their financial decision-making abilities and susceptibility to scams.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10230412
- **Project number:** 1R56AG065350-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Giorgio Coricelli
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $811,788
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10230412

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10230412, Impaired context-learning (value signal normalization) in the aging brain (1R56AG065350-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10230412. Licensed CC0.

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