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Humans generally exhibit a pervasive future bias in favour of optimism. We overestimate the likelihood of success in work, relationships and fi nancial investments. Similarly, we underestimate the probability of experiencing negative events such as, serious illness or fi nancial ruin. The optimism bias is widely considered as one of the most reproducible, prevalent and robust cognitive biases observed in psychology and behavioural economics. The catastrophic impact of the recent economic collapse has laid this cognitive bias bare. In this introductory overview, current understanding of the neural basis of the optimism bias is explored. Topics considered include: converse negative biases in depressive illnesses, the role of dopamine in optimism bias generation and modulation and evidence from functional neuroimaging studies. Research on the optimism bias has afforded us a unique window into decision-making, reward-processing and the potential for systematic irrationality in the human mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision-making has traditionally been viewed as detached from the neural systems of sensory perception and motor function. Consequently, motor areas have played a relatively minor role in discussions surrounding the control processes and neural origins of decision-making. Empiric evidence, catalysed by technological advances in the past two decades, has proven that motor areas have an integral role in decision-making. They are involved in the generation, modulation, maintenance and execution of decisions and actions. They also take part in a complex hierarchical assessment of multi-modal inputs to ensure that the most appropriate action is generated given the context presented. Clinical conditions such as, alien hand syndrome and utilisation behaviour exemplify the importance of these regulatory controls. This review charts the trajectory of our understanding of the hidden role of motor areas in decision-making and reflects upon the implications of our deepened understanding. The convergence of evidence from multiple modalities underpinning our current knowledge is discussed and the potential applications thereof considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]