Mapping Minimax in the Brain

This chapter is concerned with mixed strategies. Using fMRI techniques, it peers inside the brain when experimental subjects play the penalty kick game. As we have noted already, minimax is considered a cornerstone of interactive decision-making analysis. More importantly, the minimax strategies have not been mapped in the brain previously by studying simultaneously the two testable implications of equilibrium. The results show increased activity in various bilateral prefrontal regions during the decision period. Two inferior prefrontal nodes appear to jointly contribute to the ability to optimally play the study's asymmetric zero-sum penalty kick game by ensuring the appropriate equating of payoffs across strategies and the generating of random choices within the game, respectively. This evidence contributes to the neurophysiological literature studying competitive games.