Mrinalini Srivastava ^1* S Senthil Kumaran ² Achal Kumar Srivastava ² Sanjay Singh ³

• ¹ Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
• ² All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
• ³ Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, United States

The elucidation of neural mechanisms underlying decision-making has significant implications for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for psychopathology.Furthermore, neuroeconomics has the potential to reveal new insights into the biological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders ultimately contributing to the development of more effective treatments (Hasler, 2012). Over the past decade, neuroeconomics research has predominantly concentrated on investigating decision-making processes in healthy population.However, a burgeoning interest in extrapolating neuroeconomic methodologies to psychiatric populations has the potential to explain the complex interplay between reward processing and decision-making in psychiatric disorders. Neuroeconomics relies on embedded psychopathological components for emotional processing and valuation. Economic utility framework offers an approach for understanding probabilistic sequential reinforcement in social context. Jorge et al. (2022) used an economic trust game for a plausible explanation of decision-making under uncertainty in Diabetes Type 1. Furthermore, neural substrates of decision-making subsequent to Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is conferred to limbic and reward related dopaminergic release (Jorge et al., 2024). Therefore, endophenotypes of behavioural and neuroimaging origin shall provide a direct implication in addressing the impulsivity in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (Jorge, Duarte, Paiva, et al., 2022). Neuroeconomics approach can distinguish biobehavioural endophenotypes to explore the underlying neural mechanisms of decision-making under uncertain and ambiguous conditions (Jorge, Duarte, Correia, et al., 2022). This special issue seeks to demonstrate the utility and efficacy of neuroeconomics approach in the neural mechanisms underlying reward-related decision-making in psychopathological disorders. It includes three original articles and one mini review contributing from neuroeconomics perspective for decision-making in Attention Deficit hyperactive disorder, delay discounting, temporal discounting and burgeoning stroke cases due to high sodium intake and policymaking.Neuroeconomics holds a considerable potential to be used as the translational approach by bridging the gap between economic decision-making and psychopathological disorders.However, several methodological constraints currently impede progress. The insufficiency of current research instruments for clinical translation is a significant drawback highlighting the need for more advanced and adaptable assessment tools that can be successfully used for diverse patient population. Neuroeconomics may overcome this constraint and progress the discipline by offering a thorough and integrative framework for studying decision-making processes. For instance, neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, EEG , etc) are used in behavioural economic experiments to capture associated brain activity and parameterise components of reward-related decision-making (Sharp et al., 2009). Therefore, application of neuroeconomic approaches to psychiatric disorders has the potential to provide promising candidate endophenotypes that may help to classify the basis of high heritability associated with psychiatric disorders. By examining psychopathology as a deviation from optimal behavior, neuroeconomics game theory approach can provide a more nuanced understanding of the complex interactions between brain behavior and decision-making (Robson et al., 2020).Patients with psychopathological disorders such as substance abuse often exhibit impulsive decision-making under uncertain conditions. However, the extent to which these individuals are averse to ambiguous or uncertain situations still remains poorly understood. Recent research suggests that ambiguity is mediated by distinct neuropsychological processes that differ from those involved in decision-making under probabilistic uncertainty (Inukai & Takahashi, 2006). The integration of economic decision theory with neuroscience has the potential to study and characterize important aspects of psychiatric disorders. Economic decision theory provides a framework for examining the complex interactions between social, psychological, and biological factors that underlie psychopathology. The current collection of the articles has contributed significantly in acknowledging neuroeconomics as a transdiagnostic approach for elucidating psychopathology of disproportionate reward processing into components such as subjective valuation, temporal discounting, delay discounting, hedonics, and reinforcement learning.Chachar & Shaikh (2024) examines the importance of interdisciplinary research integrating neuroscience, psychology, and economics to develop effective interventions and support strategies for individuals with ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) significantly affects decision-making processes leading to substantial economic consequences.Neuroeconomic studies suggest that ADHD influences economic decision-making with particular components in impulsivity, risk-taking, and reward processing. Individuals with ADHD may exhibit suboptimal decision-making by selecting options that do not maximize expected value and may be related to specific brain regions prefrontal cortex, striatum, and Ultimately, a decision-theoretic perspective for characterization of reward-specific stimuli that increase the risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders is needed to optimal decisionmaking. Neuroeconomics approach offers new avenues psychopathological studies for the development of novel diagnostics and interventions.