Some of the time, the subjects were dealt an obviously weak hand. Using computer algorithms to sort out what amount of information each area of the brain was processing, the team found only one brain region - the temporal-parietal junction, or TPJ - carried information that was unique to decisions against the human opponent.

A brain imaging study conducted by researchers at the Duke Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Science (D-CIDES) put human subjects through a functional MRI brain scan while playing a simplified game of poker against a computer and human opponents.