Gregory Russell Samanez-Larkin

Gregory Russell Samanez-Larkin
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Research in our lab examines how individual and age differences in motivation and cognition influence decision making across the life span. Our research is at the intersection of a number of subfields within psychology, neuroscience, and economics including human development, affective science, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics, and finance. We use a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques ranging from detailed measurement of functional brain activity (fMRI) and neuroreceptors (PET) in the laboratory to experience sampling in everyday life.

Office Hours

W 11am-12pm LSRC B248

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2017
Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences 2017
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers 2017

Contact Information

Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708
g.samanezlarkin@duke.edu (919) 681-5575

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Stanford University 2010
- M.A., Stanford University 2008
Duke Appointment History
- Scholar In Residence of Psychology and Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016 - 2017
Academic Positions Outside Duke
- Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Miami School of Business Administration. 2016 - 2017
- Assistant Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience, Yale University. 2013 - 2017
Recognition
In the News
- OCT 10, 2017
  
  Gregory Samanez-Larkin: How the Aging Brain Tackles Tough Choices
- JUN 6, 2017 Duke Today
  
  From Beaches to a Balloon Fest, Employees Share #DukeTimeOff Pics
- FEB 2, 2016 World Economic Forum
  
  Once a risk-taker, always a risk-taker?
- DEC 11, 2015 Yale News
  
  Junior faculty honored for interdisciplinary teaching
- OCT 1, 2015 International Business Times
  
  The Science Of Bad Money Decisions - And How To Avoid The Most Common Pitfalls
- JUL 23, 2015 Forbes
  
  Your Broker as Elder Abuse Backstop
- DEC 15, 2014 NPR
  
  Researchers Say More Needs to Be Done Analyzing Effectiveness of Brain Games
- MAR 26, 2014 Yale Alumni Magazine
  
  Best Foot Upward
- JAN 6, 2014 Boston Globe
  
  Scammers take aim at aging population
- APR 30, 2013 Observer
  
  Financial Decision Making and the Aging Brain
- APR 29, 2013 Forbes
  
  Why Older Minds Make Better Decisions
- MAR 8, 2011 The New York Times
  
  Why It Takes So Long To Decide
Awards & Honors
- Poorvu Family Award for Interdisciplinary Teaching. Yale University. 2015
Expertise
Subject Headings
- Aging
- Decision Making
- Dopamine
- Exercise
- Learning
- Motivation
- Neuroimaging
- Reward
Global Scholarship
- Research
  - Germany (Country)
  - Switzerland (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Effects of Aging on Episodic Memory-Dependent Decision Making awarded by National Institutes of Health 2018 - 2023
- Short Courses in Neuroeconomics and Social Neuroscience awarded by National Institutes of Health 2017 - 2021
- Forming Science-Industry Partnerships to Link Everyday Behaviors to Well-Being awarded by Stanford University 2017 - 2021
- Research Network on Decision Neuroscience and Aging awarded by National Institutes of Health 2016 - 2021
- Dopaminergic Neuromodulation of Decision Making in Young and Middle-Aged Adults awarded by Vanderbilt University 2017 - 2019
- NEUROMODULATION OF MOTIVATED COGNITION AND DECISION MAKING ACROSS ADULTHOOD awarded by National Institutes of Health 2012 - 2018
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Castrellon, JJ, Seaman, KL, Crawford, JL, Young, JS, Smith, CT, Dang, LC, Hsu, M, Cowan, RL, Zald, DH, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2018, November 16). Individual differences in dopamine are associated with reward discounting in clinical groups but not in healthy adults. The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience ,. Full Text
  - Smith, CT, Dang, LC, Burgess, LL, Perkins, SF, San Juan, MD, Smith, DK, Cowan, RL, Le, NT, Kessler, RM, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Zald, DH. (2018, October 22). Lack of consistent sex differences in D-amphetamine-induced dopamine release measured with [18F]fallypride PET. Psychopharmacology ,. Full Text
  - Karrer, T, McLaughlin, C, Guaglianone, C, & Samanez-Larkin, G. (2018, September 27). Reduced serotonin receptors and transporters in normal aging adults: a meta-analysis of PET and SPECT imaging studies. . Full Text
  - Leong, JK, MacNiven, KH, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Knutson, B. (2018, September). Distinct neural circuits support incentivized inhibition. Neuroimage , 178 , 435-444. Full Text
  - Löckenhoff, CE, Rutt, JL, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Gallagher, C, O'Donoghue, T, & Reyna, VF. (2018, August 10). Age Effects in Sequence-Construction for a Continuous Cognitive Task: Similar Sequence-Trends but Fewer Switch-Points. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences ,. Full Text
  - Castrellon, J, Seaman, K, Crawford, J, Young, J, Smith, C, Dang, L, Hsu, M, Cowan, R, Zald, D, & Samanez-Larkin, G. (2018, August 2). Individual differences in dopamine are associated with reward discounting in clinical groups but not in healthy adults. . Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Cowan, RL, & Zald, DH. (2018, August). Individual differences in dopamine D2 receptor availability correlate with reward valuation. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience , 18 (4), 739-747. Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Smith, CT, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Cowan, RL, Claassen, DO, & Zald, DH. (2018, August). FTO affects food cravings and interacts with age to influence age-related decline in food cravings. Physiology & Behavior , 192 , 188-193. Full Text
  - von Helversen, B, Mata, R, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Wilke, A. (2018, July). Foraging, exploration, or search? On the (lack of) convergent validity between three behavioral paradigms. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences , 12 (3), 152-162. Full Text
  - Seaman, KL, Green, MA, Shu, S, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2018, June). Individual differences in loss aversion and preferences for skewed risks across adulthood. Psychology and Aging , 33 (4), 654-659. Full Text
  - Seaman, KL, Brooks, N, Karrer, TM, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Dang, LC, Hsu, M, Zald, DH, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2018, May). Subjective value representations during effort, probability and time discounting across adulthood. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience , 13 (5), 449-459. Full Text
  - Holland, CAC, Ebner, NC, Lin, T, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2018, March 29). Emotion identification across adulthood using the Dynamic FACES database of emotional expressions in younger, middle aged, and older adults. Cognition & Emotion ,, 1-13. Full Text
  - Kircanski, K, Notthoff, N, DeLiema, M, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Shadel, D, Mottola, G, Carstensen, LL, & Gotlib, IH. (2018, March). Emotional arousal may increase susceptibility to fraud in older and younger adults. Psychology and Aging , 33 (2), 325-337. Full Text
  - Seaman, KL, Leong, JK, Wu, CC, Knutson, B, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2017, December). Individual differences in skewed financial risk-taking across the adult life span. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience , 17 (6), 1232-1241. Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Cowan, RL, Newhouse, PA, & Zald, DH. (2017, September 18). Spontaneous Eye Blink Rate (EBR) Is Uncorrelated with Dopamine D2 Receptor Availability and Unmodulated by Dopamine Agonism in Healthy Adults. Eneuro , 4 (5). Full Text
  - Karrer, TM, Josef, AK, Mata, R, Morris, ED, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2017, September). Reduced dopamine receptors and transporters but not synthesis capacity in normal aging adults: a meta-analysis. Neurobiology of Aging , 57 , 36-46. Full Text
  - Löckenhoff, CE, Rutt, JL, Samanez-Larkin, GR, O'Donoghue, T, & Reyna, VF. (2017, July 8). Preferences for Temporal Sequences of Real Outcomes Differ Across Domains but do not Vary by Age. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences . Full Text
  - Hosking, JG, Kastman, EK, Dorfman, HM, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Baskin-Sommers, A, Kiehl, KA, Newman, JP, & Buckholtz, JW. (2017, July). Disrupted Prefrontal Regulation of Striatal Subjective Value Signals in Psychopathy. Neuron , 95 (1), 221-231.e4. Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Le, NT, Cowan, RL, Zald, DH, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2017, March). Reduced effects of age on dopamine D2 receptor levels in physically active adults. Neuroimage , 148 , 123-129. Full Text
  - Smith, CT, Crawford, JL, Dang, LC, Seaman, KL, San Juan, MD, Vijay, A, Katz, DT, Matuskey, D, Cowan, RL, Morris, ED, Zald, DH, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2017, January). Partial-volume correction increases estimated dopamine D2-like receptor binding potential and reduces adult age differences. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism : Official Journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism ,, 271678X17737693-null. Full Text
  - Löckenhoff, CE, Rutt, JL, Samanez-Larkin, GR, O'Donoghue, T, Reyna, VF, & Ganzel, B. (2016, December). Dread sensitivity in decisions about real and imagined electrical shocks does not vary by age. Psychology and aging , 31 (8), 890-901. Full Text
  - Seaman, KL, Gorlick, MA, Vekaria, KM, Hsu, M, Zald, DH, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2016, November). Adult age differences in decision making across domains: Increased discounting of social and health-related rewards. Psychology and aging , 31 (7), 737-746. Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Castrellon, JJ, Perkins, SF, Cowan, RL, & Zald, DH. (2016, September). Associations between dopamine D2 receptor availability and BMI depend on age. Neuroimage , 138 , 176-183. Full Text
  - Josef, AK, Richter, D, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Wagner, GG, Hertwig, R, & Mata, R. (2016, September). Stability and change in risk-taking propensity across the adult life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 111 (3), 430-450. Full Text
  - Dang, LC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Young, JS, Cowan, RL, Kessler, RM, & Zald, DH. (2016, January). Caudate asymmetry is related to attentional impulsivity and an objective measure of ADHD-like attentional problems in healthy adults. Brain Structure & Function , 221 (1), 277-286. Full Text
  - Kline, RL, Zhang, S, Farr, OM, Hu, S, Zaborszky, L, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Li, C-SR. (2016, January). The Effects of Methylphenidate on Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Basal Nucleus of Meynert, Locus Coeruleus, and Ventral Tegmental Area in Healthy Adults. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 10 , 149-null. Full Text
  - Leong, JK, Pestilli, F, Wu, CC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Knutson, B. (2016, January). White-Matter Tract Connecting Anterior Insula to Nucleus Accumbens Correlates with Reduced Preference for Positively Skewed Gambles. Neuron , 89 (1), 63-69. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Knutson, B. (2015, May). Decision making in the ageing brain: changes in affective and motivational circuits. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience , 16 (5), 278-289. (Review) Full Text
  - Braver, TS, Krug, MK, Chiew, KS, Kool, W, Westbrook, JA, Clement, NJ, Adcock, RA, Barch, DM, Botvinick, MM, Carver, CS, Cools, R, Custers, R, Dickinson, A, Dweck, CS, Fishbach, A, Gollwitzer, PM, Hess, TM, Isaacowitz, DM, Mather, M, Murayama, K, Pessoa, L, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Somerville, LH, & MOMCAI group, . (2014, June). Mechanisms of motivation-cognition interaction: challenges and opportunities. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience , 14 (2), 443-472. (Review) Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Worthy, DA, Mata, R, McClure, SM, & Knutson, B. (2014, June). Adult age differences in frontostriatal representation of prediction error but not reward outcome. Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience , 14 (2), 672-682. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Benningfield, MM, Blackford, JU, Ellsworth, ME, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Martin, PR, Cowan, RL, & Zald, DH. (2014, January). Caudate responses to reward anticipation associated with delay discounting behavior in healthy youth. Developmental cognitive neuroscience , 7 , 43-52. Full Text
  - Wu, CC, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Katovich, K, & Knutson, B. (2014, January). Affective traits link to reliable neural markers of incentive anticipation. Neuroimage , 84 , 279-289. Full Text
  - Hills, TT, Mata, R, Wilke, A, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2013, December). Mechanisms of age-related decline in memory search across the adult life span. Developmental psychology , 49 (12), 2396-2404. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Buckholtz, JW, Cowan, RL, Woodward, ND, Li, R, Ansari, MS, Arrington, CM, Baldwin, RM, Smith, CE, Treadway, MT, Kessler, RM, & Zald, DH. (2013, July). A thalamocorticostriatal dopamine network for psychostimulant-enhanced human cognitive flexibility. Biological Psychiatry , 74 (2), 99-105. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2013, June). Financial Decision Making and the Aging Brain. APS observer , 26 (5), 30-33.
  - Garrett, DD, Samanez-Larkin, GR, MacDonald, SWS, Lindenberger, U, McIntosh, AR, & Grady, CL. (2013, May). Moment-to-moment brain signal variability: a next frontier in human brain mapping?. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews , 37 (4), 610-624. (Review) Full Text
  - Kuhnen, CM, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Knutson, B. (2013, January 30). Serotonergic genotypes, neuroticism, and financial choices. PloS one , 8 (1), e54632-. Full Text
  - Camerer, C, Smith, A, Kuhnen, CM, Wargo, DT, Samanez-Larkin, G, Montague, R, Levy, DJ, Smith, D, Meshi, D, Kenning, PH, Clithero, J, Weber, B, Hare, T, Huettel, S, Josephson, C, d'Acremont, M, Knoch, D, Krajbich, I, De Martino, B, Mohr, PNC, Barton, J, Halko, M-L, Chick, CF, Gianotti, L, & Heekeren, HR. (2013). Correspondence Are Cognitive Functions Localizable?. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES , 27 (2), 247-250. Link to Item
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Li, S-C, & Ridderinkhof, KR. (2013, January). Complementary approaches to the study of decision making across the adult life span. Frontiers in Neuroscience , 7 , 243-null. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Levens, SM, Perry, LM, Dougherty, RF, & Knutson, B. (2012, April). Frontostriatal white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in probabilistic reward learning. The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience , 32 (15), 5333-5337. Full Text
  - Mata, R, Josef, AK, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Hertwig, R. (2011, October). Age differences in risky choice: a meta-analysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , 1235 , 18-29. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2011, October). Introduction to decision making over the life span. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , 1235 , v-vi. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Wagner, AD, & Knutson, B. (2011, April). Expected value information improves financial risk taking across the adult life span. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience , 6 (2), 207-217. Full Text
  - Carstensen, LL, Turan, B, Scheibe, S, Ram, N, Ersner-Hershfield, H, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Brooks, KP, & Nesselroade, JR. (2011, March). Emotional experience improves with age: evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling. Psychology and Aging , 26 (1), 21-33. Full Text
  - Knutson, B, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Kuhnen, CM. (2011, January). Gain and loss learning differentially contribute to life financial outcomes. PloS one , 6 (9), e24390-. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Mata, R, Radu, PT, Ballard, IC, Carstensen, LL, & McClure, SM. (2011, January). Age Differences in Striatal Delay Sensitivity during Intertemporal Choice in Healthy Adults. Frontiers in Neuroscience , 5 , 126-null. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Kuhnen, CM, Yoo, DJ, & Knutson, B. (2010, January). Variability in nucleus accumbens activity mediates age-related suboptimal financial risk taking. The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience , 30 (4), 1426-1434. Full Text
  - Kwon, Y, Scheibe, S, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Tsai, JL, & Carstensen, LL. (2009, September). Replicating the positivity effect in picture memory in Koreans: evidence for cross-cultural generalizability. Psychology and Aging , 24 (3), 748-754. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Robertson, ER, Mikels, JA, Carstensen, LL, & Gotlib, IH. (2009, September). Selective attention to emotion in the aging brain. Psychology and Aging , 24 (3), 519-529. Full Text
  - Ersner-Hershfield, H, Garton, MT, Ballard, K, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Knutson, B. (2009, June). Don't stop thinking about tomorrow: Individual differences in future self-continuity account for saving. Judgment and Decision Making , 4 (4), 280-286.
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, & D'Esposito, M. (2008, September). Group comparisons: imaging the aging brain. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience , 3 (3), 290-297. (Review) Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Hollon, NG, Carstensen, LL, & Knutson, B. (2008, April). Individual differences in insular sensitivity during loss anticipation predict avoidance learning. Psychological Science , 19 (4), 320-323. Full Text
  - Samanez Larkin, GR, Gibbs, SEB, Khanna, K, Nielsen, L, Carstensen, LL, & Knutson, B. (2007, September 1). Erratum: Anticipation of monetary gain but not loss in healthy older adults (Nature Neuroscience (2007) 10, (787-791)). Nature Neuroscience , 10 (9), 1222-. Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Gibbs, SEB, Khanna, K, Nielsen, L, Carstensen, LL, & Knutson, B. (2007, June). Anticipation of monetary gain but not loss in healthy older adults. Nature Neuroscience , 10 (6), 787-791. Full Text
  - Mikels, JA, Larkin, GR, Reuter-Lorenz, PA, & Cartensen, LL. (2005, December). Divergent trajectories in the aging mind: changes in working memory for affective versus visual information with age. Psychology and Aging , 20 (4), 542-553. Full Text
  - Mikels, JA, Fredrickson, BL, Larkin, GR, Lindberg, CM, Maglio, SJ, & Reuter-Lorenz, PA. (2005, November). Emotional category data on images from the International Affective Picture System. Behavior Research Methods , 37 (4), 626-630. Full Text
  - Fredrickson, BL, Tugade, MM, Waugh, CE, & Larkin, GR. (2003, February). What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 84 (2), 365-376. Full Text
- Book Sections
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2015, February 23). Chapter 3 - Decision Neuroscience and Aging. In Aging and Decision Making: Empirical and Applied Perspectives (pp. 41-60). Full Text
  - Sofia Beas, B, Setlow, B, Samanez-Larkin, GR, & Bizon, JL. (2015, February 23). Chapter 2 - Modeling Cost-Benefit Decision Making in Aged Rodents. In Aging and Decision Making: Empirical and Applied Perspectives (pp. 17-40). Full Text
  - Samanez-Larkin, GR, Hagen, TA, & Weiner, DJ. (2014, April 1). Financial decision making across adulthood. In The Psychological Science of Money (pp. 121-135). Full Text
  - Knutson, B, & Samanez-Larkin, GR. (2013, January 24). Brain, Decision, and Debt. In A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Debt. Full Text
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

Academic Positions Outside Duke

In the News

Awards & Honors

Subject Headings

Global Scholarship

Research

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Recent Courses