“Liking” and “Wanting” Linked to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Hypothesizing Differential Responsivity in Brain Reward Circuitry

PubMed Central

Blum, Kenneth; Gardner, Eliot; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Gold, Mark

2013-01-01

In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the causal contributions of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems to reward, we evaluate the three main competing explanatory categories: “liking,” “learning,” and “wanting” [1]. That is, DA may mediate (a) the hedonic impact of reward (liking), (b) learned predictions about rewarding effects (learning), or (c) the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli (wanting). We evaluate these hypotheses, especially as they relate to the Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), and we find that the incentive salience or “wanting” hypothesis of DA function is supported by a majority of the evidence. Neuroimaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse, palatable foods, and anticipated behaviors such as sex and gaming affect brain regions involving reward circuitry, and may not be unidirectional. Drugs of abuse enhance DA signaling and sensitize mesolimbic mechanisms that evolved to attribute incentive salience to rewards. Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily self-administered, they enhance (directly or indirectly) dopaminergic synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens, and they stimulate the functioning of brain reward circuitry (producing the “high” that drug users seek). Although originally believed simply to encode the set point of hedonic tone, these circuits now are believed to be functionally more complex, also encoding attention, reward expectancy, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Elevated stress levels, together with polymorphisms of dopaminergic genes and other neurotransmitter genetic variants, may have a cumulative effect on vulnerability to addiction. The RDS model of etiology holds very well for a variety of chemical and behavioral addictions. PMID:22236117

Lighting up the brain's reward circuitry.

PubMed

Lobo, Mary Kay

2012-07-01

The brain's reward circuit is critical for mediating natural reward behaviors including food, sex, and social interaction. Drugs of abuse take over this circuit and produce persistent molecular and cellular alterations in the brain regions and their neural circuitry that make up the reward pathway. Recent use of optogenetic technologies has provided novel insights into the functional and molecular role of the circuitry and cell subtypes within these circuits that constitute this pathway. This perspective will address the current and future use of light-activated proteins, including those involved in modulating neuronal activity, cellular signaling, and molecular properties in the neural circuitry mediating rewarding stimuli and maladaptive responses to drugs of abuse. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Menstrual cycle phase modulates reward-related neural function in women.

PubMed

Dreher, Jean-Claude; Schmidt, Peter J; Kohn, Philip; Furman, Daniella; Rubinow, David; Berman, Karen Faith

2007-02-13

There is considerable evidence from animal studies that the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine systems are sensitive to circulating gonadal steroid hormones. Less is known about the influence of estrogen and progesterone on the human reward system. To investigate this directly, we used functional MRI and an event-related monetary reward paradigm to study women with a repeated-measures, counterbalanced design across the menstrual cycle. Here we show that during the midfollicular phase (days 4-8 after onset of menses) women anticipating uncertain rewards activated the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala more than during the luteal phase (6-10 days after luteinizing hormone surge). At the time of reward delivery, women in the follicular phase activated the midbrain, striatum, and left fronto-polar cortex more than during the luteal phase. These data demonstrate augmented reactivity of the reward system in women during the midfollicular phase when estrogen is unopposed by progesterone. Moreover, investigation of between-sex differences revealed that men activated ventral putamen more than women during anticipation of uncertain rewards, whereas women more strongly activated the anterior medial prefrontal cortex at the time of reward delivery. Correlation between brain activity and gonadal steroid levels also revealed that the amygdalo-hippocampal complex was positively correlated with estradiol level, regardless of menstrual cycle phase. Together, our findings provide evidence of neurofunctional modulation of the reward system by gonadal steroid hormones in humans and establish a neurobiological foundation for understanding their impact on vulnerability to drug abuse, neuropsychiatric diseases with differential expression across males and females, and hormonally mediated mood disorders.

CRF1 receptor activation mediates nicotine withdrawal-induced deficit in brain reward function and stress-induced relapse

PubMed Central

Bruijnzeel, Adrie W.; Prado, Melissa; Isaac, Shani

2010-01-01

Background Tobacco addiction is a chronic brain disorder that is characterized by a negative affective state upon smoking cessation and relapse after periods of abstinence. Previous research has shown that blockade of CRF receptors with a non-specific CRF1/CRF2 receptor antagonist prevents the deficit in brain reward function associated with nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of extinguished nicotine seeking in rats. The aim of these studies was to investigate the role of CRF1 and CRF2 receptors in the deficit in brain reward function associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. Methods The intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) procedure was used to assess the negative affective state of nicotine withdrawal. Elevations in brain reward thresholds are indicative of a deficit in brain reward function. Stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking was investigated in animals in which responding for intravenously infused nicotine was extinguished by substituting saline for nicotine. Results In the ICSS experiments, the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine elevated the brain reward thresholds of the nicotine dependent rats but not those of the control rats. The CRF1 receptor antagonist R278995/CRA0450, but not the CRF2 receptor antagonist astressin-2B, prevented the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal. Furthermore, R278995/CRA0450, but not astressin-2B, prevented stress-induced reinstatement of extinguished nicotine seeking. Neither R278995/CRA0450 nor astressin-2B affected operant responding for chocolate-flavored food pellets. Conclusions These studies indicate that CRF1 receptors, but not CRF2 receptors, play an important role in the anhedonic-state associated with acute nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. PMID:19217073

Cumulative stress in childhood is associated with blunted reward-related brain activity in adulthood

PubMed Central

Albert, Dustin; Iselin, Anne-Marie R.; Carré, Justin M.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Hariri, Ahmad R.

2016-01-01

Early life stress (ELS) is strongly associated with negative outcomes in adulthood, including reduced motivation and increased negative mood. The mechanisms mediating these relations, however, are poorly understood. We examined the relation between exposure to ELS and reward-related brain activity, which is known to predict motivation and mood, at age 26, in a sample followed since kindergarten with annual assessments. Using functional neuroimaging, we assayed individual differences in the activity of the ventral striatum (VS) during the processing of monetary rewards associated with a simple card-guessing task, in a sample of 72 male participants. We examined associations between a cumulative measure of ELS exposure and VS activity in adulthood. We found that greater levels of cumulative stress during childhood and adolescence predicted lower reward-related VS activity in adulthood. Extending this general developmental pattern, we found that exposure to stress early in development (between kindergarten and grade 3) was significantly associated with variability in adult VS activity. Our results provide an important demonstration that cumulative life stress, especially during this childhood period, is associated with blunted reward-related VS activity in adulthood. These differences suggest neurobiological pathways through which a history of ELS may contribute to reduced motivation and increased negative mood. PMID:26443679

Diminished social reward anticipation in the broad autism phenotype as revealed by event-related brain potentials.

PubMed

Cox, Anthony; Kohls, Gregor; Naples, Adam J; Mukerji, Cora E; Coffman, Marika C; Rutherford, Helena J V; Mayes, Linda C; McPartland, James C

2015-10-01

Diminished responsivity to reward incentives is a key contributor to the social-communication problems seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Social motivation theories suggest that individuals with ASD do not experience social interactions as rewarding, leading to negative consequences for the development of brain circuitry subserving social information. In this study, we examined neural responses to social and non-social reward anticipation in 35 typically developing young adults, examining modulation of reward sensitivity by level of autistic traits. Using an Event-related potential incentive-delay task incorporating novel, more ecologically valid forms of reward, higher expression of autistic traits was associated with an attenuated P3 response to the anticipation of social (simulated real-time video feedback from an observer), but not non-social (candy), rewards. Exploratory analyses revealed that this was unrelated to mentalizing ability. The P3 component reflects motivated attention to reward signals, suggesting attenuated motivation allocation specific to social incentives. The study extends prior findings of atypical reward anticipation in ASD, demonstrating that attenuated social reward responsiveness extends to autistic traits in the range of typical functioning. Results support the development of innovative paradigms for investigating social and non-social reward responsiveness. Insight into vulnerabilities in reward processing is critical for understanding social function in ASD. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Is brain response to food rewards related to overeating? A test of the reward surfeit model of overeating in children.

PubMed

Adise, Shana; Geier, Charles F; Roberts, Nicole J; White, Corey N; Keller, Kathleen L

2018-06-08

The reward surfeit model of overeating suggests that heightened brain response to rewards contributes to overeating and subsequent weight gain. However, previous studies have not tested whether brain response to reward is associated with food intake, particularly during childhood, a period of dynamic development in reward and inhibitory control neurocircuitry. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 7-11-year-old children (n = 59; healthy weight, n = 31; overweight, n = 28; 54% female) while they played a modified card-guessing paradigm to examine blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response to anticipating and winning rewards (food, money, neutral). Food intake was assessed at three separate meals that measured different facets of eating behavior: 1) typical consumption (baseline), 2) overindulgence (palatable buffet), and 3) eating in the absence of hunger (EAH). A priori regions of interest included regions implicated in both reward processing and inhibitory control. Multiple stepwise regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between intake and BOLD response to rewards. Corrected results showed that a greater BOLD response in the medial prefrontal cortex for anticipating food compared to money positively correlated with how much children ate at the baseline and palatable buffet meals. BOLD response in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for winning food compared to money was positively correlated with intake at the palatable buffet meal and EAH. All aforementioned relationships were independent of child weight status. Findings support the reward surfeit model by showing that increased brain response to food compared to money rewards positively correlates with laboratory measures of food intake in children. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Addictive drugs and brain stimulation reward.

PubMed

Wise, R A

1996-01-01

Direct electrical or chemical stimulation of specific brain regions can establish response habits similar to those established by natural rewards such as food or sexual contact. Cocaine, mu and delta opiates, nicotine, phencyclidine, and cannabis each have actions that summate with rewarding electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). The reward-potentiating effects of amphetamine and opiates are associated with central sites of action where these drugs also have their direct rewarding effects, suggesting common mechanisms for drug reward per se and for drug potentiation of brain stimulation reward. The central sites at which these and perhaps other drugs of abuse potentiate brain stimulation reward and are rewarding in their own right are consistent with the hypothesis that the laboratory reward of brain stimulation and the pharmacological rewards of addictive drugs are habit forming because they act in the brain circuits that subserve more natural and biologically significant rewards.

Neural Sensitivity to Absolute and Relative Anticipated Reward in Adolescents

PubMed Central

Vaidya, Jatin G.; Knutson, Brian; O'Leary, Daniel S.; Block, Robert I.; Magnotta, Vincent

2013-01-01

Adolescence is associated with a dramatic increase in risky and impulsive behaviors that have been attributed to developmental differences in neural processing of rewards. In the present study, we sought to identify age differences in anticipation of absolute and relative rewards. To do so, we modified a commonly used monetary incentive delay (MID) task in order to examine brain activity to relative anticipated reward value (neural sensitivity to the value of a reward as a function of other available rewards). This design also made it possible to examine developmental differences in brain activation to absolute anticipated reward magnitude (the degree to which neural activity increases with increasing reward magnitude). While undergoing fMRI, 18 adolescents and 18 adult participants were presented with cues associated with different reward magnitudes. After the cue, participants responded to a target to win money on that trial. Presentation of cues was blocked such that two reward cues associated with $.20, $1.00, or $5.00 were in play on a given block. Thus, the relative value of the $1.00 reward varied depending on whether it was paired with a smaller or larger reward. Reflecting age differences in neural responses to relative anticipated reward (i.e., reference dependent processing), adults, but not adolescents, demonstrated greater activity to a $1 reward when it was the larger of the two available rewards. Adults also demonstrated a more linear increase in ventral striatal activity as a function of increasing absolute reward magnitude compared to adolescents. Additionally, reduced ventral striatal sensitivity to absolute anticipated reward (i.e., the difference in activity to medium versus small rewards) correlated with higher levels of trait Impulsivity. Thus, ventral striatal activity in anticipation of absolute and relative rewards develops with age. Absolute reward processing is also linked to individual differences in Impulsivity. PMID:23544046

Relation of dietary restraint scores to activation of reward-related brain regions in response to food intake, anticipated intake, and food pictures.

PubMed

Burger, Kyle S; Stice, Eric

2011-03-01

Prospective studies indicate that individuals with elevated dietary restraint scores are at increased risk for future bulimic symptom onset, suggesting that these individuals may show hyper-responsivity of reward regions to food and food cues. Thus, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the relation of dietary restraint scores to activation of reward-related brain regions in response to receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and exposure to pictures of appetizing foods in 39 female adolescents (mean age=15.5 ± 0.94). Dietary restraint scores were positively correlated with activation in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in response to milkshake receipt. However, dietary restraint scores did not correlate with activation in response to anticipated milkshake receipt or exposure to food pictures. Results indicate that individuals who report high dietary restraint have a hyper-responsivity in reward-related brain regions when food intake is occurring, which may increase risk for overeating and binge eating. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cumulative stress in childhood is associated with blunted reward-related brain activity in adulthood.

PubMed

Hanson, Jamie L; Albert, Dustin; Iselin, Anne-Marie R; Carré, Justin M; Dodge, Kenneth A; Hariri, Ahmad R

2016-03-01

Early life stress (ELS) is strongly associated with negative outcomes in adulthood, including reduced motivation and increased negative mood. The mechanisms mediating these relations, however, are poorly understood. We examined the relation between exposure to ELS and reward-related brain activity, which is known to predict motivation and mood, at age 26, in a sample followed since kindergarten with annual assessments. Using functional neuroimaging, we assayed individual differences in the activity of the ventral striatum (VS) during the processing of monetary rewards associated with a simple card-guessing task, in a sample of 72 male participants. We examined associations between a cumulative measure of ELS exposure and VS activity in adulthood. We found that greater levels of cumulative stress during childhood and adolescence predicted lower reward-related VS activity in adulthood. Extending this general developmental pattern, we found that exposure to stress early in development (between kindergarten and grade 3) was significantly associated with variability in adult VS activity. Our results provide an important demonstration that cumulative life stress, especially during this childhood period, is associated with blunted reward-related VS activity in adulthood. These differences suggest neurobiological pathways through which a history of ELS may contribute to reduced motivation and increased negative mood. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Maternal interpersonal affiliation is associated with adolescents' brain structure and reward processing

PubMed Central

Schneider, S; Brassen, S; Bromberg, U; Banaschewski, T; Conrod, P; Flor, H; Gallinat, J; Garavan, Hugh; Heinz, A; Martinot, J-L; Nees, F; Rietschel, M; Smolka, M N; Ströhle, A; Struve, M; Schumann, G; Büchel, C

2012-01-01

Considerable animal and human research has been dedicated to the effects of parenting on structural brain development, focusing on hippocampal and prefrontal areas. Conversely, although functional imaging studies suggest that the neural reward circuitry is involved in parental affection, little is known about mothers' interpersonal qualities in relation to their children's brain structure and function. Moreover, gender differences concerning the effect of maternal qualities have rarely been investigated systematically. In 63 adolescents, we assessed structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging as well as interpersonal affiliation in their mothers. This allowed us to associate maternal affiliation with gray matter density and neural responses during different phases of the well-established Monetary Incentive Delay task. Maternal affiliation was positively associated with hippocampal and orbitofrontal gray matter density. Moreover, in the feedback of reward hit as compared with reward miss, an association with caudate activation was found. Although no significant gender effects were observed in these associations, during reward feedback as compared with baseline, maternal affiliation was significantly associated with ventral striatal and caudate activation only in females. Our findings demonstrate that maternal interpersonal affiliation is related to alterations in both the brain structure and reward-related activation in healthy adolescents. Importantly, the pattern is in line with typical findings in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, suggesting that a lack of maternal affiliation might have a role in the genesis of mental disorders. PMID:23149446

Fuel not fun: Reinterpreting attenuated brain responses to reward in obesity.

PubMed

Kroemer, Nils B; Small, Dana M

2016-08-01

There is a well-established literature linking obesity to altered dopamine signaling and brain response to food-related stimuli. Neuroimaging studies frequently report enhanced responses in dopaminergic regions during food anticipation and decreased responses during reward receipt. This has been interpreted as reflecting anticipatory "reward surfeit", and consummatory "reward deficiency". In particular, attenuated response in the dorsal striatum to primary food rewards is proposed to reflect anhedonia, which leads to overeating in an attempt to compensate for the reward deficit. In this paper, we propose an alternative view. We consider brain response to food-related stimuli in a reinforcement-learning framework, which can be employed to separate the contributions of reward sensitivity and reward-related learning that are typically entangled in the brain response to reward. Consequently, we posit that decreased striatal responses to milkshake receipt reflect reduced reward-related learning rather than reward deficiency or anhedonia because reduced reward sensitivity would translate uniformly into reduced anticipatory and consummatory responses to reward. By re-conceptualizing reward deficiency as a shift in learning about subjective value of rewards, we attempt to reconcile neuroimaging findings with the putative role of dopamine in effort, energy expenditure and exploration and suggest that attenuated brain responses to energy dense foods reflect the "fuel", not the fun entailed by the reward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity of the frontal-striatal reward system in social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Manning, Joshua; Reynolds, Gretchen; Saygin, Zeynep M; Hofmann, Stefan G; Pollack, Mark; Gabrieli, John D E; Whitfield-Gabrieli, Susan

2015-01-01

We investigated differences in the intrinsic functional brain organization (functional connectivity) of the human reward system between healthy control participants and patients with social anxiety disorder. Functional connectivity was measured in the resting-state via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 53 patients with social anxiety disorder and 33 healthy control participants underwent a 6-minute resting-state fMRI scan. Functional connectivity of the reward system was analyzed by calculating whole-brain temporal correlations with a bilateral nucleus accumbens seed and a ventromedial prefrontal cortex seed. Patients with social anxiety disorder, relative to the control group, had (1) decreased functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens seed and other regions associated with reward, including ventromedial prefrontal cortex; (2) decreased functional connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex seed and lateral prefrontal regions, including the anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices; and (3) increased functional connectivity between both the nucleus accumbens seed and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex seed with more posterior brain regions, including anterior cingulate cortex. Social anxiety disorder appears to be associated with widespread differences in the functional connectivity of the reward system, including markedly decreased functional connectivity between reward regions and between reward regions and lateral prefrontal cortices, and markedly increased functional connectivity between reward regions and posterior brain regions.

Corticotropin-releasing factor-1 receptor activation mediates nicotine withdrawal-induced deficit in brain reward function and stress-induced relapse.

PubMed

Bruijnzeel, Adrie W; Prado, Melissa; Isaac, Shani

2009-07-15

Tobacco addiction is a chronic brain disorder that is characterized by a negative affective state upon smoking cessation and relapse after periods of abstinence. Previous research has shown that blockade of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors with a nonspecific CRF1/CRF2 receptor antagonist prevents the deficit in brain reward function associated with nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of extinguished nicotine-seeking in rats. The aim of these studies was to investigate the role of CRF1 and CRF2 receptors in the deficit in brain reward function associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking. The intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) procedure was used to assess the negative affective state of nicotine withdrawal. Elevations in brain reward thresholds are indicative of a deficit in brain reward function. Stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking was investigated in animals in which responding for intravenously infused nicotine was extinguished by substituting saline for nicotine. In the ICSS experiments, the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine elevated the brain reward thresholds of the nicotine-dependent rats but not those of the control rats. The CRF1 receptor antagonist R278995/CRA0450 but not the CRF2 receptor antagonist astressin-2B prevented the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal. Furthermore, R278995/CRA0450 but not astressin-2B prevented stress-induced reinstatement of extinguished nicotine-seeking. Neither R278995/CRA0450 nor astressin-2B affected operant responding for chocolate-flavored food pellets. These studies indicate that CRF(1) receptors but not CRF(2) receptors play an important role in the anhedonic-state associated with acute nicotine withdrawal and stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking.

Neural Processing of Calories in Brain Reward Areas Can be Modulated by Reward Sensitivity

PubMed Central

van Rijn, Inge; Griffioen-Roose, Sanne; de Graaf, Cees; Smeets, Paul A. M.

2016-01-01

A food's reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food's acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity), however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth and trait reward sensitivity in different hunger states. Firstly, we assessed this in data from a functional neuroimaging study (van Rijn et al., 2015), in which participants (n = 30) tasted simple solutions of a non-caloric sweetener with or without a non-sweet carbohydrate (maltodextrin) during hunger and satiety. Secondly, we expanded these analyses to regular drinks by assessing the same relationship in data from a study in which soft drinks sweetened with either sucrose or a non-caloric sweetener were administered during hunger (n = 18) (Griffioen-Roose et al., 2013). First, taste activation by the non-caloric solution/soft drink was subtracted from that by the caloric solution/soft drink to eliminate sweetness effects and retain activation induced by calories. Subsequently, this difference in taste activation was correlated with reward sensitivity as measured with the BAS drive subscale of the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaire. When participants were hungry and tasted calories from the simple solution, brain activation in the right ventral striatum (caudate), right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (bilaterally) correlated negatively with BAS drive scores. In contrast, when participants were satiated, taste responses correlated positively with BAS drive scores in the left caudate. These results were not replicated for soft drinks. Thus, neural responses to oral calories from maltodextrin were modulated by reward sensitivity in reward-related brain areas. This was not the case for sucrose. This may be due to the direct detection of maltodextrin, but not sucrose in the oral cavity. Also, in a familiar beverage, detection of calories per se may be

Enhanced neural responsiveness to reward associated with obesity in the absence of food-related stimuli.

PubMed

Opel, Nils; Redlich, Ronny; Grotegerd, Dominik; Dohm, Katharina; Haupenthal, Cordula; Heindel, Walter; Kugel, Harald; Arolt, Volker; Dannlowski, Udo

2015-06-01

Obesity has been characterized by alterations in brain structure and function associated with emotion processing and regulation. Particularly, aberrations in food-related reward processing have been frequently demonstrated in obese subjects. However, it remains unclear whether reward-associated functional aberrations in obesity are specific for food-related stimuli or represent a general deficit in reward processing, extending to other stimulus domains. Given the crucial role of rewarding effects in the development of obesity and the ongoing discussion on overlapping neurobiological traits of obesity and psychiatric disorders such as depression and substance-related disorders, this study aimed to investigate the possibility of altered reward processing in obese subjects to occur in the absence of food-related stimuli during a monetary reward condition. Twenty-nine healthy obese subjects (body mass index >30) and 29 healthy, age-, and sex-matched control subjects of normal weight underwent functional MRI during a frequently used card guessing paradigm. A Group × Condition (win vs. loss) ANOVA was conducted to investigate differences between obese and normal-weight subjects. We found significant Group × Condition interaction effects in brain areas involved in emotion regulation and reward processing including the insula, the striatum, and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This interaction was predominantly driven by a significant increase in blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response in obese individuals while experiencing reward. Enhanced neural activation in obesity during reward processing seems to be apparent even in the absence of food-related stimuli and, thus, might point to generalized dysfunctions in reward-related brain circuits in obese individuals. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The endocannabinoid system in brain reward processes.

PubMed

Solinas, M; Goldberg, S R; Piomelli, D

2008-05-01

Food, drugs and brain stimulation can serve as strong rewarding stimuli and are all believed to activate common brain circuits that evolved in mammals to favour fitness and survival. For decades, endogenous dopaminergic and opioid systems have been considered the most important systems in mediating brain reward processes. Recent evidence suggests that the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system also has an important role in signalling of rewarding events. First, CB(1) receptors are found in brain areas involved in reward processes, such as the dopaminergic mesolimbic system. Second, activation of CB(1) receptors by plant-derived, synthetic or endogenous CB(1) receptor agonists stimulates dopaminergic neurotransmission, produces rewarding effects and increases rewarding effects of abused drugs and food. Third, pharmacological or genetic blockade of CB(1) receptors prevents activation of dopaminergic neurotransmission by several addictive drugs and reduces rewarding effects of food and these drugs. Fourth, brain levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are altered by activation of reward processes. However, the intrinsic activity of the endocannabinoid system does not appear to play a facilitatory role in brain stimulation reward and some evidence suggests it may even oppose it. The influence of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward processes may depend on the degree of activation of the different brain areas involved and might represent a mechanism for fine-tuning dopaminergic activity. Although involvement of the various components of the endocannabinoid system may differ depending on the type of rewarding event investigated, this system appears to play a major role in modulating reward processes.

The Brain's Reward Response Occurs Even Without Actual Reward!

PubMed

Fielding, A; Fu, Y; Franz, E A

2018-06-01

What if the brain's response to reward occurs even when there is no reward? Wouldn't that be a further concern for people prone to problem gambling and other forms of addiction, like those related to eating? Electroencephalography was employed to investigate this possibility using probabilistic feedback manipulations and measures of known event-related potentials (ERPs) related to reward processing. We tested the hypothesis-that reward-based ERPs would occur even in the absence of a tangible reward and when manipulations on expectation are implicit. The well-known P300 response potential was a key focus, and was assessed in non-gambling volunteer undergraduates on a task involving experimentally-manipulated probabilities of positive or negative feedback comprising three trial types-80, 50, or 20% positive feedback. A feedback stimulus (F1) followed a guess response between two possible outcomes (implicit win/loss), and then a second feedback stimulus (F2) was presented to confirm an alleged 'win' or 'loss' (explicit win/loss). Results revealed that amplitude of the P300 in F1-locked data (implicit manipulation) was larger (more positive) on average for feedback outcomes that were manipulated to be less likely than expected. The effect is pronounced after increased time on task (later trials), even though the majority of participants were not explicitly aware of our probability manipulations. For the explicit effects in F2-locked data, no meaningful or significant effects were observed. These findings point to the existence of proposed success-response mechanisms that operate not only explicitly but also with implicit manipulations that do not involve any direct indication of a win or loss, and are not associated with tangible rewards. Thus, there seems to be a non-explicit form of perception (we call 'implicit') associated with an internal experience of wins/losses (in the absence of actual rewards or losses) that can be measured in associated brain processes. The

Marijuana and cannabinoid regulation of brain reward circuits.

PubMed

Lupica, Carl R; Riegel, Arthur C; Hoffman, Alexander F

2004-09-01

The reward circuitry of the brain consists of neurons that synaptically connect a wide variety of nuclei. Of these brain regions, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) play central roles in the processing of rewarding environmental stimuli and in drug addiction. The psychoactive properties of marijuana are mediated by the active constituent, Delta(9)-THC, interacting primarily with CB1 cannabinoid receptors in a large number of brain areas. However, it is the activation of these receptors located within the central brain reward circuits that is thought to play an important role in sustaining the self-administration of marijuana in humans, and in mediating the anxiolytic and pleasurable effects of the drug. Here we describe the cellular circuitry of the VTA and the NAc, define the sites within these areas at which cannabinoids alter synaptic processes, and discuss the relevance of these actions to the regulation of reinforcement and reward. In addition, we compare the effects of Delta(9)-THC with those of other commonly abused drugs on these reward circuits, and we discuss the roles that endogenous cannabinoids may play within these brain pathways, and their possible involvement in regulating ongoing brain function, independently of marijuana consumption. We conclude that, whereas Delta(9)-THC alters the activity of these central reward pathways in a manner that is consistent with other abused drugs, the cellular mechanism through which this occurs is likely different, relying upon the combined regulation of several afferent pathways to the VTA.

Addiction and brain reward and antireward pathways.

PubMed

Gardner, Eliot L

2011-01-01

Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily self-administered by laboratory animals (usually avidly), and that they enhance the functioning of the reward circuitry of the brain (producing the 'high' that the drug user seeks). The core reward circuitry consists of an 'in-series' circuit linking the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum via the medial forebrain bundle. Although originally believed to simply encode the set point of hedonic tone, these circuits are now believed to be functionally far more complex, also encoding attention, expectancy of reward, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. 'Hedonic dysregulation' within these circuits may lead to addiction. The 'second-stage' dopaminergic component in this reward circuitry is the crucial addictive-drug-sensitive component. All addictive drugs have in common that they enhance (directly or indirectly or even transsynaptically) dop-aminergic reward synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens. Drug self-administration is regulated by nucleus accumbens dopamine levels, and is done to keep nucleus accumbens dopamine within a specific elevated range (to maintain a desired hedonic level). For some classes of addictive drugs (e.g. opiates), tolerance to the euphoric effects develops with chronic use. Postuse dysphoria then comes to dominate reward circuit hedonic tone, and addicts no longer use drugs to get high, but simply to get back to normal ('get straight'). The brain circuits mediating the pleasurable effects of addictive drugs are anatomically, neurophysiologically and neurochemically different from those mediating physical dependence, and from those mediating craving and relapse. There are important genetic variations in vulnerability to drug addiction, yet environmental factors such as stress and social defeat also alter brain-reward mechanisms in such a manner as to impart vulnerability to addiction. In short, the 'bio-psycho-social' model of

Independent functional connectivity networks underpin food and monetary reward sensitivity in excess weight.

PubMed

Verdejo-Román, Juan; Fornito, Alex; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Vilar-López, Raquel; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2017-02-01

Overvaluation of palatable food is a primary driver of obesity, and is associated with brain regions of the reward system. However, it remains unclear if this network is specialized in food reward, or generally involved in reward processing. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize functional connectivity during processing of food and monetary rewards. Thirty-nine adults with excess weight and 37 adults with normal weight performed the Willingness to Pay for Food task and the Monetary Incentive Delay task in the fMRI scanner. A data-driven graph approach was applied to compare whole-brain, task-related functional connectivity between groups. Excess weight was associated with decreased functional connectivity during the processing of food rewards in a network involving primarily frontal and striatal areas, and increased functional connectivity during the processing of monetary rewards in a network involving principally frontal and parietal areas. These two networks were topologically and anatomically distinct, and were independently associated with BMI. The processing of food and monetary rewards involve segregated neural networks, and both are altered in individuals with excess weight. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of HIV-1 regulatory TAT protein expression on brain reward function, response to psychostimulants and delay-dependent memory in mice.

PubMed

Kesby, James P; Markou, Athina; Semenova, Svetlana

2016-10-01

Depression and psychostimulant abuse are common comorbidities among humans with immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. The HIV regulatory protein TAT is one of multiple HIV-related proteins associated with HIV-induced neurotoxicity. TAT-induced dysfunction of dopamine and serotonin systems in corticolimbic brain areas may result in impaired reward function, thus, contributing to depressive symptoms and psychostimulant abuse. Transgenic mice with doxycycline-induced TAT protein expression in the brain (TAT+, TAT- control) show neuropathology resembling brain abnormalities in HIV+ humans. We evaluated brain reward function in response to TAT expression, nicotine and methamphetamine administration in TAT+ and TAT- mice using the intracranial self-stimulation procedure. We evaluated the brain dopamine and serotonin systems with high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of TAT expression on delay-dependent working memory in TAT+ and TAT- mice using the operant delayed nonmatch-to-position task were also assessed. During doxycycline administration, reward thresholds were elevated by 20% in TAT+ mice compared with TAT- mice. After the termination of doxycycline treatment, thresholds of TAT+ mice remained significantly higher than those of TAT- mice and this was associated with changes in mesolimbic serotonin and dopamine levels. TAT+ mice showed a greater methamphetamine-induced threshold lowering compared with TAT- mice. TAT expression did not alter delay-dependent working memory. These results indicate that TAT expression in mice leads to reward deficits, a core symptom of depression, and a greater sensitivity to methamphetamine-induced reward enhancement. Our findings suggest that the TAT protein may contribute to increased depressive-like symptoms and continued methamphetamine use in HIV-positive individuals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dopamine Depletion Reduces Food-Related Reward Activity Independent of BMI

PubMed Central

Frank, Sabine; Veit, Ralf; Sauer, Helene; Enck, Paul; Friederich, Hans-Christoph; Unholzer, Theresa; Bauer, Ute-Maria; Linder, Katarzyna; Heni, Martin; Fritsche, Andreas; Preissl, Hubert

2016-01-01

Reward sensitivity and possible alterations in the dopaminergic-reward system are associated with obesity. We therefore aimed to investigate the influence of dopamine depletion on food-reward processing. We investigated 34 female subjects in a randomized placebo-controlled, within-subject design (body mass index (BMI)=27.0 kg/m2 ±4.79 SD; age=28 years ±4.97 SD) using an acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion drink representing dopamine depletion and a balanced amino acid drink as the control condition. Brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging during a ‘wanting' and ‘liking' rating of food items. Eating behavior-related traits and states were assessed on the basis of questionnaires. Dopamine depletion resulted in reduced activation in the striatum and higher activation in the superior frontal gyrus independent of BMI. Brain activity during the wanting task activated a more distributed network than during the liking task. This network included gustatory, memory, visual, reward, and frontal regions. An interaction effect of dopamine depletion and the wanting/liking task was observed in the hippocampus. The interaction with the covariate BMI was significant in motor and control regions but not in the striatum. Our results support the notion of altered brain activity in the reward and prefrontal network with blunted dopaminergic action during food-reward processing. This effect is, however, independent of BMI, which contradicts the reward-deficiency hypothesis. This hints to the hypothesis suggesting a different or more complex mechanism underlying the dopaminergic reward function in obesity. PMID:26450814

Sex-Steroid Hormone Manipulation Reduces Brain Response to Reward.

PubMed

Macoveanu, Julian; Henningsson, Susanne; Pinborg, Anja; Jensen, Peter; Knudsen, Gitte M; Frokjaer, Vibe G; Siebner, Hartwig R

2016-03-01

Mood disorders are twice as frequent in women than in men. Risk mechanisms for major depression include adverse responses to acute changes in sex-steroid hormone levels, eg, postpartum in women. Such adverse responses may involve an altered processing of rewards. Here, we examine how women's vulnerability for mood disorders is linked to sex-steroid dynamics by investigating the effects of a pharmacologically induced fluctuation in ovarian sex steroids on the brain response to monetary rewards. In a double-blinded placebo controlled study, healthy women were randomized to receive either placebo or the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) goserelin, which causes a net decrease in sex-steroid levels. Fifty-eight women performed a gambling task while undergoing functional MRI at baseline, during the mid-follicular phase, and again following the intervention. The gambling task enabled us to map regional brain activity related to the magnitude of risk during choice and to monetary reward. The GnRHa intervention caused a net reduction in ovarian sex steroids (estradiol and testosterone) and increased depression symptoms. Compared with placebo, GnRHa reduced amygdala's reactivity to high monetary rewards. There was a positive association between the individual changes in testosterone and changes in bilateral insula response to monetary rewards. Our data provide evidence for the involvement of sex-steroid hormones in reward processing. A blunted amygdala response to rewarding stimuli following a rapid decline in sex-steroid hormones may reflect a reduced engagement in positive experiences. Abnormal reward processing may constitute a neurobiological mechanism by which sex-steroid fluctuations provoke mood disorders in susceptible women.

Neurophysiology of Reward-Guided Behavior: Correlates Related to Predictions, Value, Motivation, Errors, Attention, and Action.

PubMed

Bissonette, Gregory B; Roesch, Matthew R

2016-01-01

Many brain areas are activated by the possibility and receipt of reward. Are all of these brain areas reporting the same information about reward? Or are these signals related to other functions that accompany reward-guided learning and decision-making? Through carefully controlled behavioral studies, it has been shown that reward-related activity can represent reward expectations related to future outcomes, errors in those expectations, motivation, and signals related to goal- and habit-driven behaviors. These dissociations have been accomplished by manipulating the predictability of positively and negatively valued events. Here, we review single neuron recordings in behaving animals that have addressed this issue. We describe data showing that several brain areas, including orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and basolateral amygdala signal reward prediction. In addition, anterior cingulate, basolateral amygdala, and dopamine neurons also signal errors in reward prediction, but in different ways. For these areas, we will describe how unexpected manipulations of positive and negative value can dissociate signed from unsigned reward prediction errors. All of these signals feed into striatum to modify signals that motivate behavior in ventral striatum and guide responding via associative encoding in dorsolateral striatum.

Neurophysiology of Reward-Guided Behavior: Correlates Related to Predictions, Value, Motivation, Errors, Attention, and Action

PubMed Central

Roesch, Matthew R.

2017-01-01

Many brain areas are activated by the possibility and receipt of reward. Are all of these brain areas reporting the same information about reward? Or are these signals related to other functions that accompany reward-guided learning and decision-making? Through carefully controlled behavioral studies, it has been shown that reward-related activity can represent reward expectations related to future outcomes, errors in those expectations, motivation, and signals related to goal- and habit-driven behaviors. These dissociations have been accomplished by manipulating the predictability of positively and negatively valued events. Here, we review single neuron recordings in behaving animals that have addressed this issue. We describe data showing that several brain areas, including orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and basolateral amygdala signal reward prediction. In addition, anterior cingulate, basolateral amygdala, and dopamine neurons also signal errors in reward prediction, but in different ways. For these areas, we will describe how unexpected manipulations of positive and negative value can dissociate signed from unsigned reward prediction errors. All of these signals feed into striatum to modify signals that motivate behavior in ventral striatum and guide responding via associative encoding in dorsolateral striatum. PMID:26276036

Gender Dimorphism of Brain Reward System Volumes in Alcoholism

PubMed Central

Sawyer, Kayle S.; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Barthelemy, Olivier J.; Papadimitriou, George M.; Harris, Gordon J.; Makris, Nikos

2017-01-01

The brain's reward network has been reported to be smaller in alcoholic men compared to nonalcoholic men, but little is known about the volumes of reward regions in alcoholic women. Morphometric analyses were performed on magnetic resonance brain scans of 60 long-term chronic alcoholics (ALC; 30 men) and 60 nonalcoholic controls (NC; 29 men). We derived volumes of total brain, and cortical and subcortical reward-related structures including the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), orbitofrontal, and cingulate cortices, and the temporal pole, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens septi (NAc), and ventral diencephalon (VDC). We examined the relationships of the volumetric findings to drinking history. Analyses revealed a significant gender interaction for the association between alcoholism and total reward network volumes, with ALC men having smaller reward volumes than NC men and ALC women having larger reward volumes than NC women. Analyses of a priori subregions revealed a similar pattern of reward volume differences with significant gender interactions for DLPFC and VDC. Overall, the volume of the cerebral ventricles in ALC participants was negatively associated with duration of abstinence, suggesting decline in atrophy over time. PMID:28285206

Gender dimorphism of brain reward system volumes in alcoholism.

PubMed

Sawyer, Kayle S; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Barthelemy, Olivier J; Papadimitriou, George M; Harris, Gordon J; Makris, Nikos

2017-05-30

The brain's reward network has been reported to be smaller in alcoholic men compared to nonalcoholic men, but little is known about the volumes of reward regions in alcoholic women. Morphometric analyses were performed on magnetic resonance brain scans of 60 long-term chronic alcoholics (ALC; 30 men) and 60 nonalcoholic controls (NC; 29 men). We derived volumes of total brain, and cortical and subcortical reward-related structures including the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), orbitofrontal, and cingulate cortices, and the temporal pole, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens septi (NAc), and ventral diencephalon (VDC). We examined the relationships of the volumetric findings to drinking history. Analyses revealed a significant gender interaction for the association between alcoholism and total reward network volumes, with ALC men having smaller reward volumes than NC men and ALC women having larger reward volumes than NC women. Analyses of a priori subregions revealed a similar pattern of reward volume differences with significant gender interactions for DLPFC and VDC. Overall, the volume of the cerebral ventricles in ALC participants was negatively associated with duration of abstinence, suggesting decline in atrophy with greater length of sobriety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variability in Reward Responsivity and Obesity: Evidence from Brain Imaging Studies

PubMed Central

Burger, Kyle S.; Stice, Eric

2012-01-01

Advances in neuroimaging techniques have provided insight into the role of the brain in the regulation of food intake and weight. Growing evidence demonstrate that energy dense, palatable foods elicit similar responses in reward-related brain regions that mimic those of addictive substances. Currently, various models of obesity’s relation to reward from food have been theorized. There is evidence to support a theory of hypo-responsivity of reward regions to food, where individuals consume excess amounts to overcome this reward deficit. There is also data to support a theory of hyper-responsivity of reward regions, where individuals who experience greater reward from food intake are at risk for overeating. However, these seemingly discordant theories are static in nature and do not account for the possible effects of repeated overeating on brain responsivity to food and initial vulnerability factors. Here we review data that support these theories and propose a dynamic vulnerability model of obesity that appears to offer a parsimonious theory that accommodates extant findings. PMID:21999692

Obesity is marked by distinct functional connectivity in brain networks involved in food reward and salience.

PubMed

Wijngaarden, M A; Veer, I M; Rombouts, S A R B; van Buchem, M A; Willems van Dijk, K; Pijl, H; van der Grond, J

2015-01-01

We hypothesized that brain circuits involved in reward and salience respond differently to fasting in obese versus lean individuals. We compared functional connectivity networks related to food reward and saliency after an overnight fast (baseline) and after a prolonged fast of 48 h in lean versus obese subjects. We included 13 obese (2 males, 11 females, BMI 35.4 ± 1.2 kg/m(2), age 31 ± 3 years) and 11 lean subjects (2 males, 9 females, BMI 23.2 ± 0.5 kg/m(2), age 28 ± 3 years). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were made after an overnight fast (baseline) and after a prolonged 48 h fast. Functional connectivity of the amygdala, hypothalamus and posterior cingulate cortex (default-mode) networks was assessed using seed-based correlations. At baseline, we found a stronger connectivity between hypothalamus and left insula in the obese subjects. This effect diminished upon the prolonged fast. After prolonged fasting, connectivity of the hypothalamus with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) increased in lean subjects and decreased in obese subjects. Amygdala connectivity with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was stronger in lean subjects at baseline, which did not change upon the prolonged fast. No differences in posterior cingulate cortex connectivity were observed. In conclusion, obesity is marked by alterations in functional connectivity networks involved in food reward and salience. Prolonged fasting differentially affected hypothalamic connections with the dACC and the insula between obese and lean subjects. Our data support the idea that food reward and nutrient deprivation are differently perceived and/or processed in obesity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modafinil augments brain activation associated with reward anticipation in the nucleus accumbens.

PubMed

Funayama, Takuya; Ikeda, Yumiko; Tateno, Amane; Takahashi, Hidehiko; Okubo, Yoshiro; Fukayama, Haruhisa; Suzuki, Hidenori

2014-08-01

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) works as a key brain structure of the reward system, in which reward-related neural activity is well correlated with dopamine release from mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons. Since modafinil can modulate dopaminergic transmission through re-uptake inhibition of dopamine, we investigated whether modafinil affects the reward-related brain activity in the NAc in healthy subjects. Twenty healthy participants underwent two series of functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing monetary incentive delay task in which they were cued to anticipate and respond to a rapidly presented target to gain or avoid losing varying amounts of money, under modafinil or placebo condition. Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) activation signals during gain and loss anticipations were analyzed in the NAc as an a priori region of interest as well as the whole brain. Modafinil significantly changed subjective feelings toward positive ones. The activation of BOLD signals was observed during gain anticipation under the placebo and modafinil conditions in the left and bilateral NAc, respectively. The modafinil condition showed significantly higher BOLD signal change at the highest gain (+¥500) cue compared to the placebo condition. The present study showed that modafinil affects reward processing in the NAc in healthy subjects through enhancing more positive anticipation, and it may provide a basis for the use of this drug for treating anhedonia observed in psychiatric disorders.

HIT and brain reward function: A case of mistaken identity (theory).

PubMed

Wright, Cory; Colombo, Matteo; Beard, Alexander

2017-08-01

This paper employs a case study from the history of neuroscience-brain reward function-to scrutinize the inductive argument for the so-called 'Heuristic Identity Theory' (HIT). The case fails to support HIT, illustrating why other case studies previously thought to provide empirical support for HIT also fold under scrutiny. After distinguishing two different ways of understanding the types of identity claims presupposed by HIT and considering other conceptual problems, we conclude that HIT is not an alternative to the traditional identity theory so much as a relabeling of previously discussed strategies for mechanistic discovery. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Atypical Brain Responses to Reward Cues in Autism as Revealed by Event-Related Potentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohls, Gregor; Peltzer, Judith; Schulte-Ruther, Martin; Kamp-Becker, Inge; Remschmidt, Helmut; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Konrad, Kerstin

2011-01-01

Social motivation deficit theories suggest that children with autism do not properly anticipate and appreciate the pleasure of social stimuli. In this study, we investigated event-related brain potentials evoked by cues that triggered social versus monetary reward anticipation in children with autism. Children with autism showed attenuated P3…

Real and hypothetical monetary rewards modulate risk taking in the brain.

PubMed

Xu, Sihua; Pan, Yu; Wang, You; Spaeth, Andrea M; Qu, Zhe; Rao, Hengyi

2016-07-07

Both real and hypothetical monetary rewards are widely used as reinforcers in risk taking and decision making studies. However, whether real and hypothetical monetary rewards modulate risk taking and decision making in the same manner remains controversial. In this study, we used event-related potentials (ERP) with a balloon analogue risk task (BART) paradigm to examine the effects of real and hypothetical monetary rewards on risk taking in the brain. Behavioral data showed reduced risk taking after negative feedback (money loss) during the BART with real rewards compared to those with hypothetical rewards, suggesting increased loss aversion with real monetary rewards. The ERP data demonstrated a larger feedback-related negativity (FRN) in response to money loss during risk taking with real rewards compared to those with hypothetical rewards, which may reflect greater prediction error or regret emotion after real monetary losses. These findings demonstrate differential effects of real versus hypothetical monetary rewards on risk taking behavior and brain activity, suggesting a caution when drawing conclusions about real choices from hypothetical studies of intended behavior, especially when large rewards are used. The results have implications for future utility of real and hypothetical monetary rewards in studies of risk taking and decision making.

Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner's face.

PubMed

Scheele, Dirk; Plota, Jessica; Stoffel-Wagner, Birgit; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

2016-05-01

The hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) has been identified as a key modulator of pair-bonding in men, but its effects in women are still elusive. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that hormonal contraception (HC) influences partner preferences and sexual satisfaction, which constitute core domains of OXT function. We thus hypothesized that OXT effects on partner-related behavioral and neural responses could be significantly altered in women using HC. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study involving 40 pair-bonded women, 21 of whom were using HC, we investigated whether a 24-IU nasal dose of OXT would modulate brain reward responses evoked by the romantic partner's face relative to the faces of familiar and unfamiliar people. Treatment with OXT increased the perceived attractiveness of the partner relative to other men, which was paralleled by elevated responses in reward-associated regions, including the nucleus accumbens. These effects of OXT were absent in women using HC. Our results confirm and extend previous findings in men that OXT interacts with the brain reward system to reinforce partner value representations, indicating a common OXT-dependent mechanism underlying partner attraction in both sexes. This mechanism may be disturbed in women using HC, suggesting that gonadal steroids could alter partner-specific OXT effects. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Neural dissociation of food- and money-related reward processing using an abstract incentive delay task.

PubMed

Simon, Joe J; Skunde, Mandy; Wu, Mudan; Schnell, Knut; Herpertz, Sabine C; Bendszus, Martin; Herzog, Wolfgang; Friederich, Hans-Christoph

2015-08-01

Food is an innate reward stimulus related to energy homeostasis and survival, whereas money is considered a more general reward stimulus that gains a rewarding value through learning experiences. Although the underlying neural processing for both modalities of reward has been investigated independently from one another, a more detailed investigation of neural similarities and/or differences between food and monetary reward is still missing. Here, we investigated the neural processing of food compared with monetary-related rewards in 27 healthy, normal-weight women using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We developed a task distinguishing between the anticipation and the receipt of either abstract food or monetary reward. Both tasks activated the ventral striatum during the expectation of a reward. Compared with money, greater food-related activations were observed in prefrontal, parietal and central midline structures during the anticipation and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) during the receipt of food reward. Furthermore, during the receipt of food reward, brain activation in the secondary taste cortex was positively related to the body mass index. These results indicate that food-dependent activations encompass to a greater extent brain regions involved in self-control and self-reflection during the anticipation and phylogenetically older parts of the lOFC during the receipt of reward. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Neural signal during immediate reward anticipation in schizophrenia: Relationship to real-world motivation and function.

PubMed

Subramaniam, Karuna; Hooker, Christine I; Biagianti, Bruno; Fisher, Melissa; Nagarajan, Srikantan; Vinogradov, Sophia

2015-01-01

Amotivation in schizophrenia is a central predictor of poor functioning, and is thought to occur due to deficits in anticipating future rewards, suggesting that impairments in anticipating pleasure can contribute to functional disability in schizophrenia. In healthy comparison (HC) participants, reward anticipation is associated with activity in frontal-striatal networks. By contrast, schizophrenia (SZ) participants show hypoactivation within these frontal-striatal networks during this motivated anticipatory brain state. Here, we examined neural activation in SZ and HC participants during the anticipatory phase of stimuli that predicted immediate upcoming reward and punishment, and during the feedback/outcome phase, in relation to trait measures of hedonic pleasure and real-world functional capacity. SZ patients showed hypoactivation in ventral striatum during reward anticipation. Additionally, we found distinct differences between HC and SZ groups in their association between reward-related immediate anticipatory neural activity and their reported experience of pleasure. HC participants recruited reward-related regions in striatum that significantly correlated with subjective consummatory pleasure, while SZ patients revealed activation in attention-related regions, such as the IPL, which correlated with consummatory pleasure and functional capacity. These findings may suggest that SZ patients activate compensatory attention processes during anticipation of immediate upcoming rewards, which likely contribute to their functional capacity in daily life.

Neural signal during immediate reward anticipation in schizophrenia: Relationship to real-world motivation and function

PubMed Central

Subramaniam, Karuna; Hooker, Christine I.; Biagianti, Bruno; Fisher, Melissa; Nagarajan, Srikantan; Vinogradov, Sophia

2015-01-01

Amotivation in schizophrenia is a central predictor of poor functioning, and is thought to occur due to deficits in anticipating future rewards, suggesting that impairments in anticipating pleasure can contribute to functional disability in schizophrenia. In healthy comparison (HC) participants, reward anticipation is associated with activity in frontal–striatal networks. By contrast, schizophrenia (SZ) participants show hypoactivation within these frontal–striatal networks during this motivated anticipatory brain state. Here, we examined neural activation in SZ and HC participants during the anticipatory phase of stimuli that predicted immediate upcoming reward and punishment, and during the feedback/outcome phase, in relation to trait measures of hedonic pleasure and real-world functional capacity. SZ patients showed hypoactivation in ventral striatum during reward anticipation. Additionally, we found distinct differences between HC and SZ groups in their association between reward-related immediate anticipatory neural activity and their reported experience of pleasure. HC participants recruited reward-related regions in striatum that significantly correlated with subjective consummatory pleasure, while SZ patients revealed activation in attention-related regions, such as the IPL, which correlated with consummatory pleasure and functional capacity. These findings may suggest that SZ patients activate compensatory attention processes during anticipation of immediate upcoming rewards, which likely contribute to their functional capacity in daily life. PMID:26413478

Reward deficiency and anti-reward in pain chronification.

PubMed

Borsook, D; Linnman, C; Faria, V; Strassman, A M; Becerra, L; Elman, I

2016-09-01

Converging lines of evidence suggest that the pathophysiology of pain is mediated to a substantial degree via allostatic neuroadaptations in reward- and stress-related brain circuits. Thus, reward deficiency (RD) represents a within-system neuroadaptation to pain-induced protracted activation of the reward circuits that leads to depletion-like hypodopaminergia, clinically manifested anhedonia, and diminished motivation for natural reinforcers. Anti-reward (AR) conversely pertains to a between-systems neuroadaptation involving over-recruitment of key limbic structures (e.g., the central and basolateral amygdala nuclei, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the lateral tegmental noradrenergic nuclei of the brain stem, the hippocampus and the habenula) responsible for massive outpouring of stressogenic neurochemicals (e.g., norepinephrine, corticotropin releasing factor, vasopressin, hypocretin, and substance P) giving rise to such negative affective states as anxiety, fear and depression. We propose here the Combined Reward deficiency and Anti-reward Model (CReAM), in which biopsychosocial variables modulating brain reward, motivation and stress functions can interact in a 'downward spiral' fashion to exacerbate the intensity, chronicity and comorbidities of chronic pain syndromes (i.e., pain chronification). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Reward Systems in the Brain and Nutrition.

PubMed

Rolls, Edmund T

2016-07-17

The taste cortex in the anterior insula provides separate and combined representations of the taste, temperature, and texture of food in the mouth independently of hunger and thus of reward value and pleasantness. One synapse on, in the orbitofrontal cortex, these sensory inputs are combined by associative learning with olfactory and visual inputs for some neurons, and these neurons encode food reward value in that they respond to food only when hunger is present and in that activations correlate linearly with subjective pleasantness. Cognitive factors, including word-level descriptions and selective attention to affective value, modulate the representation of the reward value of taste, olfactory, and flavor stimuli in the orbitofrontal cortex and a region to which it projects, the anterior cingulate cortex. These food reward representations are important in the control of appetite and food intake. Individual differences in reward representations may contribute to obesity, and there are age-related differences in these reward representations. Implications of how reward systems in the brain operate for understanding, preventing, and treating obesity are described.

Dopamine in the Brain: Hypothesizing Surfeit or Deficit Links to Reward and Addiction.

PubMed

Blum, Kenneth; Thanos, Peter K; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Febo, Marcelo; Baron, David; Badgaiyan, Rajendra D; Gardner, Eliot; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Fahlke, Claudia; Haberstick, Brett C; Dushaj, Kristina; Gold, Mark S

Recently there has been debate concerning the role of brain dopamine in reward and addiction. David Nutt and associates eloquently proposed that dopamine (DA) may be central to psycho stimulant dependence and some what important for alcohol, but not important for opiates, nicotine or even cannabis. Others have also argued that surfeit theories can explain for example cocaine seeking behavior as well as non-substance-related addictive behaviors. It seems prudent to distinguish between what constitutes "surfeit" compared to" deficit" in terms of short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) brain reward circuitry responsivity. In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the contributions of mesolimbic DA systems to reward, we review the three main competing explanatory categories: "liking", "learning", and "wanting". They are (a) the hedonic impact -liking reward, (b) the ability to predict rewarding effects-learning and (c) the incentive salience of reward-related stimuli -wanting. In terms of acute effects, most of the evidence seems to favor the "surfeit theory". Due to preferential dopamine release at mesolimbic-VTA-caudate-accumbens loci most drugs of abuse and Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) behaviors have been linked to heightened feelings of well-being and hyperdopaminergic states.The "dopamine hypotheses" originally thought to be simple, is now believed to be quite complex and involves encoding the set point of hedonic tone, encoding attention, reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Importantly, Willuhn et al. shows that in a self-administration paradigm, (chronic) excessive use of cocaine is caused by decreased phasic dopamine signaling in the striatum. In terms of chronic addictions, others have shown a blunted responsivity at brain reward sites with food, nicotine, and even gambling behavior. Finally, we are cognizant of the differences in dopaminergic function as addiction progresses and argue that relapse may be tied to dopamine deficiency

Metabolic and reward feeding synchronises the rhythmic brain.

PubMed

Challet, Etienne; Mendoza, Jorge

2010-07-01

Daily brain rhythmicity, which controls the sleep-wake cycle and neuroendocrine functions, is generated by an endogenous circadian timing system. Within the multi-oscillatory circadian network, a master clock is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, whose main synchroniser (Zeitgeber) is light. In contrast, imposed meal times and temporally restricted feeding are potent synchronisers for secondary clocks in peripheral organs such as the liver and in brain regions, although not for the suprachiasmatic nuclei. Even when animals are exposed to a light-dark cycle, timed calorie restriction (i.e. when only a hypocaloric diet is given every day) is a synchroniser powerful enough to modify the suprachiasmatic clockwork and increase the synchronising effects of light. A daily chocolate snack in animals fed ad libitum with chow diet entrains the suprachiasmatic clockwork only under the conditions of constant darkness and decreases the synchronising effects of light. Secondary clocks in the brain outside the suprachiasmatic nuclei are differentially influenced by meal timing. Circadian oscillations can either be highly sensitive to food-related metabolic or reward cues (i.e. their phase is shifted according to the timed meal schedule) in some structures or hardly affected by meal timing (palatable or not) in others. Furthermore, animals will manifest food-anticipatory activity prior to their expected meal time. Anticipation of a palatable or regular meal may rely on a network of brain clocks, involving metabolic and reward systems and the cerebellum.

Abstinent adult daily smokers show reduced anticipatory but elevated saccade-related brain responses during a rewarded antisaccade task.

PubMed

Geier, Charles F; Sweitzer, Maggie M; Denlinger, Rachel; Sparacino, Gina; Donny, Eric C

2014-08-30

Chronic smoking may result in reduced sensitivity to non-drug rewards (e.g., money), a phenomenon particularly salient during abstinence. During a quit attempt, this effect may contribute to biased decision-making (smoking>alternative reinforcers) and relapse. Although relevant for quitting, characterization of reduced reward function in abstinent smokers remains limited. Moreover, how attenuated reward function affects other brain systems supporting decision-making has not been established. Here, we use a rewarded antisaccade (rAS) task to characterize non-drug reward processing and its influence on inhibitory control, key elements underlying decision-making, in abstinent smokers vs. non-smokers. Abstinent (12-hours) adult daily smokers (N=23) and non-smokers (N=11) underwent fMRI while performing the rAS. Behavioral performances improved on reward vs. neutral trials. Smokers showed attenuated activation in ventral striatum during the reward cue and in superior precentral sulcus and posterior parietal cortex during response preparation, but greater responses during the saccade response in posterior cingulate and parietal cortices. Smokers' attenuated anticipatory responses suggest reduced motivation from monetary reward, while heightened activation during the saccade response suggests that additional circuitry may be engaged later to enhance inhibitory task performance. Overall, this preliminary study highlights group differences in decision-making components and the utility of the rAS to characterize these effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain reward region responsivity of adolescents with and without parental substance use disorders.

PubMed

Stice, Eric; Yokum, Sonja

2014-09-01

The present study tested the competing hypotheses that adolescents at risk for future substance abuse and dependence by virtue of parental substance use disorders show either weaker or stronger responsivity of brain regions implicated in reward relative to youth without parental history of substance use disorders. Adolescents (n = 52) matched on demographics with and without parental substance use disorders, as determined by diagnostic interviews, who denied substance use in the past year were compared on functional MRI (fMRI) paradigms assessing neural response to receipt and anticipated receipt of monetary and food reward. Parental-history-positive versus -negative adolescents showed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral putamen, and less activation in the fusiform gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus in response to anticipating winning money, as well as greater activation in the left midbrain and right paracentral lobule, and less activation in the right middle frontal gyrus in response to milkshake receipt. Results indicate that adolescents at risk for future onset of substance use disorders show elevated responsivity of brain regions implicated in reward, extending results from 2 smaller prior studies that found that individuals with versus without parental alcohol use disorders showed greater reward region response to anticipated monetary reward and pictures of alcohol. Collectively, results provide support for the reward surfeit model of substance use disorders, rather than the reward deficit model.

Reward-related brain response and craving correlates of marijuana cue exposure: a preliminary study in treatment-seeking marijuana-dependent subjects.

PubMed

Goldman, Marina; Szucs-Reed, Regina P; Jagannathan, Kanchana; Ehrman, Ronald N; Wang, Ze; Li, Yin; Suh, Jesse J; Kampman, Kyle; O'Brien, Charles P; Childress, Anna Rose; Franklin, Teresa R

2013-01-01

: Determining the brain substrates underlying the motivation to abuse addictive drugs is critical for understanding and treating addictive disorders. Laboratory neuroimaging studies have demonstrated differential activation of limbic and motivational circuitry (eg, amygdala, hippocampus, ventral striatum, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex) triggered by cocaine, heroin, nicotine, and alcohol cues. The literature on neural responses to marijuana cues is sparse. Thus, the goals of this study were to characterize the brain's response to marijuana cues, a major motivator underlying drug use and relapse, and determine whether these responses are linked to self-reported craving in a clinically relevant population of treatment-seeking marijuana-dependent subjects. : Marijuana craving was assessed in 12 marijuana-dependent subjects using the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Short Form. Subsequently, blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired during exposure to alternating 20-second blocks of marijuana-related versus matched nondrug visual cues. : Brain activation during marijuana cue exposure was significantly greater in the bilateral amygdala and the hippocampus. Significant positive correlations between craving scores and brain activation were found in the ventral striatum and the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (P < 0.0001). : This study presents direct evidence for a link between reward-relevant brain responses to marijuana cues and craving and extends the current literature on marijuana cue reactivity. Furthermore, the correlative relationship between craving and brain activity in reward-related regions was observed in a clinically relevant sample (treatment-seeking marijuana-dependent subjects). Results are consistent with prior findings in cocaine, heroin, nicotine, and alcohol cue studies, indicating that the brain substrates of cue-triggered drug motivation are shared across abused substances.

Effects of reward and punishment on brain activations associated with inhibitory control in cigarette smokers.

PubMed

Luijten, Maartje; O'Connor, David A; Rossiter, Sarah; Franken, Ingmar H A; Hester, Robert

2013-11-01

Susceptibility to use of addictive substances may result, in part, from a greater preference for an immediate small reward relative to a larger delayed reward or relative insensitivity to punishment. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined the neural basis of inhibiting an immediately rewarding stimulus to obtain a larger delayed reward in smokers. We also investigated whether punishment could modulate inhibitory control. The Monetary Incentive Go/NoGo (MI-Go/NoGo) task was administered that provided three types of reward outcomes contingent upon inhibitory control performance over rewarding stimuli: inhibition failure was either followed by no monetary reward (neutral condition), a small monetary reward with immediate feedback (reward condition) or immediate monetary punishment (punishment condition). In the reward and punishment conditions, successful inhibitory control resulted in larger delayed rewards. Community sample of smokers in the Melbourne (Australia) area. Nineteen smokers were compared with 17 demographically matched non-smoking controls. Accuracy, reaction times and brain activation associated with the MI-Go/NoGo task. Smokers showed hyperactivation in the right insula (P < 0.01), inferior and middle frontal gyrus (P < 0.01), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (P = 0.001) and inferior parietal lobe (P < 0.01) both during inhibition of an immediately rewarding stimulus to obtain a larger delayed reward, and during inhibition of neutral stimuli. Group differences in brain activity were not significant in the punishment condition in the right insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, most probably as a result of increased activation in non-smoking controls. Compared with non-smokers, smokers showed increased neural activation when resisting immediately rewarding stimuli and may be less sensitive to punishment as a strategy to increase control over rewarding stimuli. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Relative Motivation for Rewards in the Absence of Choice

PubMed Central

Clithero, John A.; Reeck, Crystal; Carter, R. McKell; Smith, David V.; Huettel, Scott A.

2011-01-01

To dissociate a choice from its antecedent neural states, motivation associated with the expected outcome must be captured in the absence of choice. Yet, the neural mechanisms that mediate behavioral idiosyncrasies in motivation, particularly with regard to complex economic preferences, are rarely examined in situations without overt decisions. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging in a large sample of participants while they anticipated earning rewards from two different modalities: monetary and candy rewards. An index for relative motivation toward different reward types was constructed using reaction times to the target for earning rewards. Activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and anterior insula (aINS) predicted individual variation in relative motivation between our reward modalities. NAcc activation, however, mediated the effects of aINS, indicating the NAcc is the likely source of this relative weighting. These results demonstrate that neural idiosyncrasies in reward efficacy exist even in the absence of explicit choices, and extend the role of NAcc as a critical brain region for such choice-free motivation. PMID:21941472

Acute stress and food-related reward activation in the brain during food choice during eating in the absence of hunger.

PubMed

Born, J M; Lemmens, S G T; Rutters, F; Nieuwenhuizen, A G; Formisano, E; Goebel, R; Westerterp-Plantenga, M S

2010-01-01

Stress results in eating in the absence of hunger, possibly related to food reward perception. Stress decreases food reward perception. Determine the effect of acute stress on food choice and food choice reward-related brain activity. Nine females (BMI = 21.5 + or - 2.2 kg/m(2), age = 24.3 + or - 3.5 years). Fasted subjects came twice to randomly complete either a rest or stress condition. Per session, two functional MRI scans were made, wherein the subjects chose the subsequent meal (food images). The rewarding value of the food was measured as liking and wanting. Food characteristics (for example, crispiness, fullness of taste and so on), energy intake, amount of each macronutrient chosen, plasma cortisol and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) hunger and satiety were measured. Fasted state was confirmed by high hunger (80 + or - 5 mm VAS). Breakfast energy intake (3 + or - 1 MJ) and liking were similar in all conditions. Wanting was lower postprandially (Delta = -0.3 items/category, P<0.01). Breakfast decreased hunger (-42 mm VAS, P<0.01). Postprandially, energy intake (-1.1 MJ), protein intake (-14.7 g) and carbohydrate intake (-32.7 g all P<0.05) were lower. Fat intake was not different (-7.3, P = 0.4). Putamen activity was not lower postprandially. Cortisol levels were increased in the stress condition (Area under the curve of cortisol: DeltaAUC = +2.2 x 10(4) nmol min(-1) l(-1), P<0.05). Satiety was lower after breakfast (-8 mm VAS, P<0.01). Postprandial energy intake, protein intake and carbohydrate intake were relatively higher compared with the rest condition, resulting from more choice for crispiness and fullness of taste (P<0.05). Brain activation was reduced in reward areas: amygdala, hippocampus and cingulate cortex (AUC = -13.33, -1.34, -2.56% blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) s for choosing breakfast and AUC = -9.31, -1.25, -2.34%BOLD s<0.05 for choosing the second meal). Putamen activation was decreased postprandially (AUC = -1.2%BOLD s, P<0.05). Reward

Neural Networks Involved in Adolescent Reward Processing: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies

PubMed Central

Silverman, Merav H.; Jedd, Kelly; Luciana, Monica

2015-01-01

Behavioral responses to, and the neural processing of, rewards change dramatically during adolescence and may contribute to observed increases in risk-taking during this developmental period. Functional MRI (fMRI) studies suggest differences between adolescents and adults in neural activation during reward processing, but findings are contradictory, and effects have been found in non-predicted directions. The current study uses an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach for quantitative meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies to: 1) confirm the network of brain regions involved in adolescents’ reward processing, 2) identify regions involved in specific stages (anticipation, outcome) and valence (positive, negative) of reward processing, and 3) identify differences in activation likelihood between adolescent and adult reward-related brain activation. Results reveal a subcortical network of brain regions involved in adolescent reward processing similar to that found in adults with major hubs including the ventral and dorsal striatum, insula, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Contrast analyses find that adolescents exhibit greater likelihood of activation in the insula while processing anticipation relative to outcome and greater likelihood of activation in the putamen and amygdala during outcome relative to anticipation. While processing positive compared to negative valence, adolescents show increased likelihood for activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and ventral striatum. Contrasting adolescent reward processing with the existing ALE of adult reward processing (Liu et al., 2011) reveals increased likelihood for activation in limbic, frontolimbic, and striatal regions in adolescents compared with adults. Unlike adolescents, adults also activate executive control regions of the frontal and parietal lobes. These findings support hypothesized elevations in motivated activity during adolescence. PMID:26254587

Time of Day Differences in Neural Reward Functioning in Healthy Young Men.

PubMed

Byrne, Jamie E M; Hughes, Matthew E; Rossell, Susan L; Johnson, Sheri L; Murray, Greg

2017-09-13

Reward function appears to be modulated by the circadian system, but little is known about the neural basis of this interaction. Previous research suggests that the neural reward response may be different in the afternoon; however, the direction of this effect is contentious. Reward response may follow the diurnal rhythm in self-reported positive affect, peaking in the early afternoon. An alternative is that daily reward response represents a type of prediction error, with neural reward activation relatively high at times of day when rewards are unexpected (i.e., early and late in the day). The present study measured neural reward activation in the context of a validated reward task at 10.00 h, 14.00 h, and 19.00 h in healthy human males. A region of interest BOLD fMRI protocol was used to investigate the diurnal waveform of activation in reward-related brain regions. Multilevel modeling found, as expected, a highly significant quadratic time-of-day effect focusing on the left putamen ( p < 0.001). Consistent with the "prediction error" hypothesis, activation was significantly higher at 10.00 h and 19.00 h compared with 14.00 h. It is provisionally concluded that the putamen may be particularly important in endogenous priming of reward motivation at different times of day, with the pattern of activation consistent with circadian-modulated reward expectancies in neural pathways (i.e., greater activation to reward stimuli at unexpected times of day). This study encourages further research into circadian modulation of reward and underscores the methodological importance of accounting for time of day in fMRI protocols. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This is one of the first studies to use a repeated-measures imaging procedure to explore the diurnal rhythm of reward activation. Although self-reported reward (most often operationalized as positive affect) peaks in the afternoon, the present findings indicate that neural activation is lowest at this time. We conclude that the

Altered Reward Function in Adolescent Depression: What, When, and How?

PubMed Central

Forbes, Erika E.; Dahl, Ronald E.

2011-01-01

Background Conceptual models and recent evidence indicate that neural response to reward is altered in depression. Taking a developmental approach to investigating reward function in adolescent depression can elucidate the etiology, pathophysiology, and course of depression, a disorder that typically begins during adolescence and has high rates of recurrence. Methods This conceptual review describes the what, when, and how of altered reward function in adolescent depression. With the goal of generating new, testable hypotheses within a developmental affective neuroscience framework, we critically review findings and suggest future directions. Peer-reviewed empirical papers for inclusion in this critical review were obtained by searching PubMed, PsycInfo, and ScienceDirect for the years 1990–2010. Results A pattern of low striatal response and high medial prefrontal response to reward is evident in adolescents and adults with depression. Given the salience of social stimuli for positive affect and depression, reward function might be especially disrupted in response to social rewards. Because of changes in the dopamine system and reward function with aging, altered reward function in depression might be more evident during adolescence than later in life; however, low reward function may also be a stable characteristic of people who experience depression. Mechanisms of altered reward function in depression could include disrupted balance of corticostriatal circuit function, with disruption occurring as aberrant adolescent brain development. Conclusions Future studies should examine responses to social rewards; employ longitudinal and prospective designs; and investigate patterns of functional connectivity in reward circuits. Understanding altered reward function in depression has potential implications for treatment development. A more rigorous approach to investigating anhedonia, threat-reward interactions, and comorbid anxiety will be valuable to future progress

A balance of activity in brain control and reward systems predicts self-regulatory outcomes

PubMed Central

Chen, Pin-Hao A.; Huckins, Jeremy F.; Hofmann, Wilhelm; Kelley, William M.; Heatherton, Todd F.

2017-01-01

Abstract Previous neuroimaging work has shown that increased reward-related activity following exposure to food cues is predictive of self-control failure. The balance model suggests that self-regulation failures result from an imbalance in reward and executive control mechanisms. However, an open question is whether the relative balance of activity in brain systems associated with executive control (vs reward) supports self-regulatory outcomes when people encounter tempting cues in daily life. Sixty-nine chronic dieters, a population known for frequent lapses in self-control, completed a food cue-reactivity task during an fMRI scanning session, followed by a weeklong sampling of daily eating behaviors via ecological momentary assessment. We related participants’ food cue activity in brain systems associated with executive control and reward to real-world eating patterns. Specifically, a balance score representing the amount of activity in brain regions associated with self-regulatory control, relative to automatic reward-related activity, predicted dieters’ control over their eating behavior during the following week. This balance measure may reflect individual self-control capacity and be useful for examining self-regulation success in other domains and populations. PMID:28158874

A balance of activity in brain control and reward systems predicts self-regulatory outcomes.

PubMed

Lopez, Richard B; Chen, Pin-Hao A; Huckins, Jeremy F; Hofmann, Wilhelm; Kelley, William M; Heatherton, Todd F

2017-05-01

Previous neuroimaging work has shown that increased reward-related activity following exposure to food cues is predictive of self-control failure. The balance model suggests that self-regulation failures result from an imbalance in reward and executive control mechanisms. However, an open question is whether the relative balance of activity in brain systems associated with executive control (vs reward) supports self-regulatory outcomes when people encounter tempting cues in daily life. Sixty-nine chronic dieters, a population known for frequent lapses in self-control, completed a food cue-reactivity task during an fMRI scanning session, followed by a weeklong sampling of daily eating behaviors via ecological momentary assessment. We related participants' food cue activity in brain systems associated with executive control and reward to real-world eating patterns. Specifically, a balance score representing the amount of activity in brain regions associated with self-regulatory control, relative to automatic reward-related activity, predicted dieters' control over their eating behavior during the following week. This balance measure may reflect individual self-control capacity and be useful for examining self-regulation success in other domains and populations. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

How feedback, motor imagery, and reward influence brain self-regulation using real-time fMRI.

PubMed

Sepulveda, Pradyumna; Sitaram, Ranganatha; Rana, Mohit; Montalba, Cristian; Tejos, Cristian; Ruiz, Sergio

2016-09-01

The learning process involved in achieving brain self-regulation is presumed to be related to several factors, such as type of feedback, reward, mental imagery, duration of training, among others. Explicitly instructing participants to use mental imagery and monetary reward are common practices in real-time fMRI (rtfMRI) neurofeedback (NF), under the assumption that they will enhance and accelerate the learning process. However, it is still not clear what the optimal strategy is for improving volitional control. We investigated the differential effect of feedback, explicit instructions and monetary reward while training healthy individuals to up-regulate the blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Four groups were trained in a two-day rtfMRI-NF protocol: GF with NF only, GF,I with NF + explicit instructions (motor imagery), GF,R with NF + monetary reward, and GF,I,R with NF + explicit instructions (motor imagery) + monetary reward. Our results showed that GF increased significantly their BOLD self-regulation from day-1 to day-2 and GF,R showed the highest BOLD signal amplitude in SMA during the training. The two groups who were instructed to use motor imagery did not show a significant learning effect over the 2 days. The additional factors, namely motor imagery and reward, tended to increase the intersubject variability in the SMA during the course of training. Whole brain univariate and functional connectivity analyses showed common as well as distinct patterns in the four groups, representing the varied influences of feedback, reward, and instructions on the brain. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3153-3171, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Drug-Induced Alterations of Endocannabinoid-Mediated Plasticity in Brain Reward Regions.

PubMed

Zlebnik, Natalie E; Cheer, Joseph F

2016-10-05

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has emerged as one of the most important mediators of physiological and pathological reward-related synaptic plasticity. eCBs are retrograde messengers that provide feedback inhibition, resulting in the suppression of neurotransmitter release at both excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and they serve a critical role in the spatiotemporal regulation of both short- and long-term synaptic plasticity that supports adaptive learning of reward-motivated behaviors. However, mechanisms of eCB-mediated synaptic plasticity in reward areas of the brain are impaired following exposure to drugs of abuse. Because of this, it is theorized that maladaptive eCB signaling may contribute to the development and maintenance of addiction-related behavior. Here we review various forms of eCB-mediated synaptic plasticity present in regions of the brain involved in reward and reinforcement and explore the potential physiological relevance of maladaptive eCB signaling to addiction vulnerability. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3610230-09$15.00/0.

Neuroimaging meta-analysis of cannabis use studies reveals convergent functional alterations in brain regions supporting cognitive control and reward processing.

PubMed

Yanes, Julio A; Riedel, Michael C; Ray, Kimberly L; Kirkland, Anna E; Bird, Ryan T; Boeving, Emily R; Reid, Meredith A; Gonzalez, Raul; Robinson, Jennifer L; Laird, Angela R; Sutherland, Matthew T

2018-03-01

Lagging behind rapid changes to state laws, societal views, and medical practice is the scientific investigation of cannabis's impact on the human brain. While several brain imaging studies have contributed important insight into neurobiological alterations linked with cannabis use, our understanding remains limited. Here, we sought to delineate those brain regions that consistently demonstrate functional alterations among cannabis users versus non-users across neuroimaging studies using the activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis framework. In ancillary analyses, we characterized task-related brain networks that co-activate with cannabis-affected regions using data archived in a large neuroimaging repository, and then determined which psychological processes may be disrupted via functional decoding techniques. When considering convergent alterations among users, decreased activation was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and limbic areas and was linked with cognitive control processes. Similarly, decreased activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which co-activated with frontal and occipital areas and linked with attention-related processes. Conversely, increased activation among users was observed in the striatum, which co-activated with frontal, parietal, and other limbic areas and linked with reward processing. These meta-analytic outcomes indicate that cannabis use is linked with differential, region-specific effects across the brain.

Neuroendocrinology and brain imaging of reward in eating disorders: A possible key to the treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Monteleone, Alessio Maria; Castellini, Giovanni; Volpe, Umberto; Ricca, Valdo; Lelli, Lorenzo; Monteleone, Palmiero; Maj, Mario

2018-01-03

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are severe eating disorders whose etiopathogenesis is still unknown. Clinical features suggest that eating disorders may develop as reward-dependent syndromes, since eating less food is perceived as rewarding in anorexia nervosa while consumption of large amounts of food during binge episodes in bulimia nervosa aims at reducing the patient's negative emotional states. Therefore, brain reward mechanisms have been a major focus of research in the attempt to contribute to the comprehension of the pathophysiology of these disorders. Structural brain imaging data provided the evidence that brain reward circuits may be altered in patients with anorexia or bulimia nervosa. Similarly, functional brain imaging studies exploring the activation of brain reward circuits by food stimuli as well as by stimuli recognized to be potentially rewarding for eating disordered patients, such as body image cues or stimuli related to food deprivation and physical hyperactivity, showed several dysfunctions in ED patients. Moreover, very recently, it has been demonstrated that some of the biochemical homeostatic modulators of eating behavior are also implicated in the regulation of food-related and non-food-related reward, representing a possible link between the aberrant behaviors of ED subjects and their hypothesized deranged reward processes. In particular, changes in leptin and ghrelin occur in patients with anorexia or bulimia nervosa and have been suggested to represent not only homeostatic adaptations to an altered energy balance but to contribute also to the acquisition and/or maintenance of persistent starvation, binge eating and physical hyperactivity, which are potentially rewarding for ED patients. On the basis of such findings new pathogenetic models of EDs have been proposed, and these models may provide new theoretical basis for the development of innovative treatment strategies, either psychological and pharmacological, with the aim to

Common and distinct networks underlying reward valence and processing stages: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies

PubMed Central

Liu, Xun; Hairston, Jacqueline; Schrier, Madeleine; Fan, Jin

2011-01-01

To better understand the reward circuitry in human brain, we conducted activation likelihood estimation (ALE) and parametric voxel-based meta-analyses (PVM) on 142 neuroimaging studies that examined brain activation in reward-related tasks in healthy adults. We observed several core brain areas that participated in reward-related decision making, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), caudate, putamen, thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), bilateral anterior insula, anterior (ACC) and posterior (PCC) cingulate cortex, as well as cognitive control regions in the inferior parietal lobule and prefrontal cortex (PFC). The NAcc was commonly activated by both positive and negative rewards across various stages of reward processing (e.g., anticipation, outcome, and evaluation). In addition, the medial OFC and PCC preferentially responded to positive rewards, whereas the ACC, bilateral anterior insula, and lateral PFC selectively responded to negative rewards. Reward anticipation activated the ACC, bilateral anterior insula, and brain stem, whereas reward outcome more significantly activated the NAcc, medial OFC, and amygdala. Neurobiological theories of reward-related decision making should therefore distributed and interrelated representations of reward valuation and valence assessment into account. PMID:21185861

Reward-based hypertension control by a synthetic brain-dopamine interface.

PubMed

Rössger, Katrin; Charpin-El Hamri, Ghislaine; Fussenegger, Martin

2013-11-05

Synthetic biology has significantly advanced the design of synthetic trigger-controlled devices that can reprogram mammalian cells to interface with complex metabolic activities. In the brain, the neurotransmitter dopamine coordinates communication with target neurons via a set of dopamine receptors that control behavior associated with reward-driven learning. This dopamine transmission has recently been suggested to increase central sympathetic outflow, resulting in plasma dopamine levels that correlate with corresponding brain activities. By functionally rewiring the human dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1) via the second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to synthetic promoters containing cAMP response element-binding protein 1(CREB1)-specific cAMP-responsive operator modules, we have designed a synthetic dopamine-sensitive transcription controller that reversibly fine-tunes specific target gene expression at physiologically relevant brain-derived plasma dopamine levels. Following implantation of circuit-transgenic human cell lines insulated by semipermeable immunoprotective microcontainers into mice, the designer device interfaced with dopamine-specific brain activities and produced a systemic expression response when the animal's reward system was stimulated by food, sexual arousal, or addictive drugs. Reward-triggered brain activities were able to remotely program peripheral therapeutic implants to produce sufficient amounts of the atrial natriuretic peptide, which reduced the blood pressure of hypertensive mice to the normal physiologic range. Seamless control of therapeutic transgenes by subconscious behavior may provide opportunities for treatment strategies of the future.

Pervasive competition between threat and reward in the brain

PubMed Central

Choi, Jong Moon; Padmala, Srikanth; Spechler, Philip

2014-01-01

In the current functional MRI study, we investigated interactions between reward and threat processing. Visual cues at the start of each trial informed participants about the chance of winning monetary reward and/or receiving a mild aversive shock. We tested two competing hypothesis: according to the ‘salience hypothesis’, in the condition involving both reward and threat, enhanced activation would be observed because of increased salience; according to the ‘competition hypothesis’, the processing of reward and threat would trade-off against each other, leading to reduced activation. Analysis of skin conductance data during a delay phase revealed an interaction between reward and threat processing, such that the effect of reward was reduced during threat and the effect of threat was reduced during reward. Analysis of imaging data during the same task phase revealed interactions between reward and threat processing in several regions, including the midbrain/ventral tegmental area, caudate, putamen, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior insula, middle frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Taken together, our findings reveal conditions during which reward and threat trade-off against each other across multiple sites. Such interactions are suggestive of competitive processes and may reflect the organization of opponent systems in the brain. PMID:23547242

Comparing the effects of food restriction and overeating on brain reward systems

PubMed Central

Avena, Nicole M.; Murray, Susan; Gold, Mark S.

2014-01-01

Both caloric restriction and overeating have been shown to affect neural processes associated with reinforcement. Both preclinical and some clinical studies have provided evidence that food restriction may increase reward sensitivity, and while there are mixed findings regarding the effects of overeating on reward sensitivity, there is strong evidence linking this behavior with changes in reward-related brain regions. Evidence of these changes comes in part from findings that show that such eating patterns are associated with increased drug use. The data discussed here regarding the differential effects of various eating patterns on reward systems may be particularly relevant to the aging population, as this population has been shown to exhibit altered reward sensitivity and decreased caloric consumption. Moreover, members of this population appear to be increasingly affected by the current obesity epidemic. Food, like alcohol or drugs, can stimulate its own consumption and produce similar neurochemical changes in the brain. Age-related loss of appetite, decreased eating, and caloric restriction are hypothesized to be associated with changes in the prevalence of substance misuse, abuse, and dependence seen in this cohort. PMID:23535488

Pubertal status associations with reward and threat sensitivities and subcortical brain volumes during adolescence.

PubMed

Urošević, Snežana; Collins, Paul; Muetzel, Ryan; Lim, Kelvin O; Luciana, Monica

2014-08-01

Adolescence is characterized by complex developmental processes that impact behavior, biology, and social functioning. Two such adolescence-specific processes are puberty and increases in reward sensitivity. Relations between these processes are poorly understood. The present study focused on examining unique effects of puberty, age, and sex on reward and threat sensitivities and volumes of subcortical brain structures relevant for reward/threat processing in a healthy sample of 9-18year-olds. Unlike age, pubertal status had a significant unique positive relationship with reward sensitivity. In addition, there was a trend for adolescent females to exhibit higher threat sensitivity with more advanced pubertal development and higher reward and threat sensitivity with older age. Similarly, there were significant puberty by sex interaction effects on striatal volumes, i.e., left nucleus accumbens and right pallidum. The present pattern of results suggests that pubertal development, independent of chronological age, is uniquely associated with reward hypersensitivity and with structural differences in striatal regions implicated in reward processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mutual Influence of Reward Anticipation and Emotion on Brain Activity during Memory Retrieval

PubMed Central

Yan, Chunping; Liu, Fang; Li, Yunyun; Zhang, Qin; Cui, Lixia

2017-01-01

Previous studies on the joint effect of reward motivation and emotion on memory retrieval have obtained inconsistent results. Furthermore, whether and how any such joint effect might vary over time remains unclear too. Accordingly, using the event-related potential (ERP) measurement of high temporal resolution, our study investigates the cognitive and brain mechanisms of monetary reward and emotion affecting the retrieval processes of episodic memory. Twenty undergraduate and graduate students participated in the research, and our study’s behavioral results indicated that reward (relative to no reward) and negative emotion (relative to positive and neutral emotion) significantly improved recognition performance. The ERP results showed that there were significant interactions between monetary reward and emotion on memory retrieval, and the reward effects of positive, neutral, and negative memory occurred at varied intervals in mean amplitude. The reward effect of positive memory appeared relatively early, at 260–330 ms after the stimulus onset in the frontal-frontocentral area, at 260–500 ms in the centroparietal-parietal area and at 500–700 ms in the frontocentral area. However, the reward effects of neutral and negative memory occurred relatively later, and that of negative memory appeared at 500–700 ms in the frontocentral and centroparietal area and that of neutral memory was at 500–700 ms in the frontocentral and centroparietal-parietal area. Meanwhile, significant FN400 old/new effects were observed in the negative and rewarded positive items, and the old/new effects of negative items appeared earlier at FN400 than positive items. Also, significant late positive component (LPC) old/new effects were found in the positive, negative, and rewarded neutral items. These results suggest that, monetary reward and negative emotion significantly improved recognition performance, and there was a mutual influence between reward and emotion on brain activity

Mutual Influence of Reward Anticipation and Emotion on Brain Activity during Memory Retrieval.

PubMed

Yan, Chunping; Liu, Fang; Li, Yunyun; Zhang, Qin; Cui, Lixia

2017-01-01

Previous studies on the joint effect of reward motivation and emotion on memory retrieval have obtained inconsistent results. Furthermore, whether and how any such joint effect might vary over time remains unclear too. Accordingly, using the event-related potential (ERP) measurement of high temporal resolution, our study investigates the cognitive and brain mechanisms of monetary reward and emotion affecting the retrieval processes of episodic memory. Twenty undergraduate and graduate students participated in the research, and our study's behavioral results indicated that reward (relative to no reward) and negative emotion (relative to positive and neutral emotion) significantly improved recognition performance. The ERP results showed that there were significant interactions between monetary reward and emotion on memory retrieval, and the reward effects of positive, neutral, and negative memory occurred at varied intervals in mean amplitude. The reward effect of positive memory appeared relatively early, at 260-330 ms after the stimulus onset in the frontal-frontocentral area, at 260-500 ms in the centroparietal-parietal area and at 500-700 ms in the frontocentral area. However, the reward effects of neutral and negative memory occurred relatively later, and that of negative memory appeared at 500-700 ms in the frontocentral and centroparietal area and that of neutral memory was at 500-700 ms in the frontocentral and centroparietal-parietal area. Meanwhile, significant FN400 old/new effects were observed in the negative and rewarded positive items, and the old/new effects of negative items appeared earlier at FN400 than positive items. Also, significant late positive component (LPC) old/new effects were found in the positive, negative, and rewarded neutral items. These results suggest that, monetary reward and negative emotion significantly improved recognition performance, and there was a mutual influence between reward and emotion on brain activity during memory

ADHD Related Behaviors Are Associated with Brain Activation in the Reward System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stark, R.; Bauer, E.; Merz, C. J.; Zimmermann, M.; Reuter, M.; Plichta, M. M.; Kirsch, P.; Lesch, K. P.; Fallgatter, A. J.; Vaitl, D.; Herrmann, M. J.

2011-01-01

Neuroimaging studies on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest dysfunctional reward processing, with hypo-responsiveness during reward anticipation in the reward system including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In this study, we investigated the association between ADHD related behaviors and the reward system using functional…

Hemispheric dissociation of reward processing in humans: insights from deep brain stimulation.

PubMed

Palminteri, Stefano; Serra, Giulia; Buot, Anne; Schmidt, Liane; Welter, Marie-Laure; Pessiglione, Mathias

2013-01-01

Rewards have various effects on human behavior and multiple representations in the human brain. Behaviorally, rewards notably enhance response vigor in incentive motivation paradigms and bias subsequent choices in instrumental learning paradigms. Neurally, rewards affect activity in different fronto-striatal regions attached to different motor effectors, for instance in left and right hemispheres for the two hands. Here we address the question of whether manipulating reward-related brain activity has local or general effects, with respect to behavioral paradigms and motor effectors. Neuronal activity was manipulated in a single hemisphere using unilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease. Results suggest that DBS amplifies the representation of reward magnitude within the targeted hemisphere, so as to affect the behavior of the contralateral hand specifically. These unilateral DBS effects on behavior include both boosting incentive motivation and biasing instrumental choices. Furthermore, using computational modeling we show that DBS effects on incentive motivation can predict DBS effects on instrumental learning (or vice versa). Thus, we demonstrate the feasibility of causally manipulating reward-related neuronal activity in humans, in a manner that is specific to a class of motor effectors but that generalizes to different computational processes. As these findings proved independent from therapeutic effects on parkinsonian motor symptoms, they might provide insight into DBS impact on non-motor disorders, such as apathy or hypomania. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reward Circuitry in Addiction.

PubMed

Cooper, Sarah; Robison, A J; Mazei-Robison, Michelle S

2017-07-01

Understanding the brain circuitry that underlies reward is critical to improve treatment for many common health issues, including obesity, depression, and addiction. Here we focus on insights into the organization and function of reward circuitry and its synaptic and structural adaptations in response to cocaine exposure. While the importance of certain circuits, such as the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway, are well established in drug reward, recent studies using genetics-based tools have revealed functional changes throughout the reward circuitry that contribute to different facets of addiction, such as relapse and craving. The ability to observe and manipulate neuronal activity within specific cell types and circuits has led to new insight into not only the basic connections between brain regions, but also the molecular changes within these specific microcircuits, such as neurotrophic factor and GTPase signaling or α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor function, that underlie synaptic and structural plasticity evoked by drugs of abuse. Excitingly, these insights from preclinical rodent work are now being translated into the clinic, where transcranial magnetic simulation and deep brain stimulation therapies are being piloted in human cocaine dependence. Thus, this review seeks to summarize current understanding of the major brain regions implicated in drug-related behaviors and the molecular mechanisms that contribute to altered connectivity between these regions, with the postulation that increased knowledge of the plasticity within the drug reward circuit will lead to new and improved treatments for addiction.

Brain Stimulation Reward Supports More Consistent and Accurate Rodent Decision-Making than Food Reward.

PubMed

McMurray, Matthew S; Conway, Sineadh M; Roitman, Jamie D

2017-01-01

Animal models of decision-making rely on an animal's motivation to decide and its ability to detect differences among various alternatives. Food reinforcement, although commonly used, is associated with problematic confounds, especially satiety. Here, we examined the use of brain stimulation reward (BSR) as an alternative reinforcer in rodent models of decision-making and compared it with the effectiveness of sugar pellets. The discriminability of various BSR frequencies was compared to differing numbers of sugar pellets in separate free-choice tasks. We found that BSR was more discriminable and motivated greater task engagement and more consistent preference for the larger reward. We then investigated whether rats prefer BSR of varying frequencies over sugar pellets. We found that animals showed either a clear preference for sugar reward or no preference between reward modalities, depending on the frequency of the BSR alternative and the size of the sugar reward. Overall, these results suggest that BSR is an effective reinforcer in rodent decision-making tasks, removing food-related confounds and resulting in more accurate, consistent, and reliable metrics of choice.

Pro-Dopamine Regulator – (KB220) to Balance Brain Reward Circuitry in Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS)

PubMed Central

Blum, Kenneth; Febo, Marcelo; Fried, Lyle; Baron, David; Braverman, Eric R.; Dushaj, Kristina; Li, Mona; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Badgaiyan, Rajendra D.

2017-01-01

We are faced with a worldwide opiate/opioid epidemic that is devastating. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 127 people, young and old, are dying every day in America due to narcotic overdose. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Medication-Assisted Treatments (MATs) for opiate/opioids as well as alcohol and nicotine. The mechanism of action of most MATS favors either blocking of dopaminergic function or a form of Opiate Substitution Therapy (OST). These treatment options are adequate for short-term treatment of the symptoms of addiction and harm reduction but fail long-term to deal with the cause or lead to recovery. There is a need to continue to seek better treatment options. This mini-review is the history of the development of one such treatment; a glutaminergic-dopaminergic optimization complex called KB220. Growing evidence indicates that brain reward circuitry controls drug addiction, in conjunction with “anti-reward systems” as the “anti-reward systems” can be affected by both glutaminergic and dopaminergic transmission. KB220 may likely alter the function of these regions and provide for the possible eventual balancing the brain reward system and the induction of “dopamine homeostasis.” Many of these concepts have been reported elsewhere and have become an integral part of the addiction science literature. However, the concise review may encourage readership to reconsider these facts and stimulate further research focused on the impact that the induction of “dopamine homeostasis” may have on recovery and relapse prevention. PMID:28804788

Two spatiotemporally distinct value systems shape reward-based learning in the human brain.

PubMed

Fouragnan, Elsa; Retzler, Chris; Mullinger, Karen; Philiastides, Marios G

2015-09-08

Avoiding repeated mistakes and learning to reinforce rewarding decisions is critical for human survival and adaptive actions. Yet, the neural underpinnings of the value systems that encode different decision-outcomes remain elusive. Here coupling single-trial electroencephalography with simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging, we uncover the spatiotemporal dynamics of two separate but interacting value systems encoding decision-outcomes. Consistent with a role in regulating alertness and switching behaviours, an early system is activated only by negative outcomes and engages arousal-related and motor-preparatory brain structures. Consistent with a role in reward-based learning, a later system differentially suppresses or activates regions of the human reward network in response to negative and positive outcomes, respectively. Following negative outcomes, the early system interacts and downregulates the late system, through a thalamic interaction with the ventral striatum. Critically, the strength of this coupling predicts participants' switching behaviour and avoidance learning, directly implicating the thalamostriatal pathway in reward-based learning.

Relationship between Personality Traits and Brain Reward Responses when Playing on a Team

PubMed Central

Morawetz, Carmen; Kirilina, Evgeniya; Baudewig, Juergen; Heekeren, Hauke R.

2014-01-01

Cooperation is an integral part of human social life and we often build teams to achieve certain goals. However, very little is currently understood about emotions with regard to cooperation. Here, we investigated the impact of social context (playing alone versus playing on a team) on emotions while winning or losing a game. We hypothesized that activity in the reward network is modulated by the social context and that personality characteristics might impact team play. We conducted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment that involved a simple game of dice. In the team condition, the participant played with a partner against another two-person team. In the single-player condition, the participant played alone against another player. Our results revealed that reward processing in the right amygdala was modulated by the social context. The main effect of outcome (gains versus losses) was associated with increased responses in the reward network. We also found that differences in the reward-related neural response due to social context were associated with specific personality traits. When playing on a team, increased activity in the amygdala during winning was a unique function of openness, while decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum during losing was associated with extraversion and conscientiousness, respectively. In conclusion, we provide evidence that working on a team influences the affective value of a negative outcome by attenuating the negative response associated with it in the amygdala. Our results also show that brain reward responses in a social context are affected by personality traits related to teamwork. PMID:24475262

Relationship between personality traits and brain reward responses when playing on a team.

PubMed

Morawetz, Carmen; Kirilina, Evgeniya; Baudewig, Juergen; Heekeren, Hauke R

2014-01-01

Cooperation is an integral part of human social life and we often build teams to achieve certain goals. However, very little is currently understood about emotions with regard to cooperation. Here, we investigated the impact of social context (playing alone versus playing on a team) on emotions while winning or losing a game. We hypothesized that activity in the reward network is modulated by the social context and that personality characteristics might impact team play. We conducted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment that involved a simple game of dice. In the team condition, the participant played with a partner against another two-person team. In the single-player condition, the participant played alone against another player. Our results revealed that reward processing in the right amygdala was modulated by the social context. The main effect of outcome (gains versus losses) was associated with increased responses in the reward network. We also found that differences in the reward-related neural response due to social context were associated with specific personality traits. When playing on a team, increased activity in the amygdala during winning was a unique function of openness, while decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum during losing was associated with extraversion and conscientiousness, respectively. In conclusion, we provide evidence that working on a team influences the affective value of a negative outcome by attenuating the negative response associated with it in the amygdala. Our results also show that brain reward responses in a social context are affected by personality traits related to teamwork.

Self-administration of the synthetic cathinone MPDV enhances reward function via a nicotinic receptor dependent mechanism.

PubMed

Geste, Jean R; Pompilus, Marjory; Febo, Marcelo; Bruijnzeel, Adriaan W

2018-05-09

Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is an addictive synthetic drug with severe side effects. Previous studies have shown that MDPV has positive reinforcing properties. However, little is known about the effect of MDPV self-administration on the state of the brain reward system and the neuronal mechanisms by which MDPV mediates its effects. The goal of the present studies was to determine the effect of MDPV self-administration on reward function and the role of cholinergic neurotransmission in the reinforcing effects of MDPV. To study the effect of MDPV self-administration on the brain reward system, rats were prepared with intravenous catheters and intracranial self-stimulation electrodes (ICSS). For 10 days, the reward thresholds were assessed immediately before (23 h post prior session) and after 1 h of MDPV self-administration. The reward thresholds were decreased immediately after MDPV self-administration, which is indicative of a potentiation of brain reward function. The reward thresholds 23 h after MDPV intake gradually increased over time, which is indicative of anhedonia. Pretreatment with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist mecamylamine decreased the self-administration of MDPV and completely prevented the decrease in reward thresholds. A control study with palatable chocolate pellets showed that responding for a natural reinforcer does not affect the state of the brain reward system. Furthermore, mecamylamine did not affect responding for food pellets. In conclusion, the self-administration of MDPV potentiates reward function and nAChR blockade prevents the reward enhancing effects of MDPV self-administration. Preventing the MDPV-induced increase in cholinergic neurotransmission might be a safe approach to diminish MDPV abuse. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pervasive competition between threat and reward in the brain.

PubMed

Choi, Jong Moon; Padmala, Srikanth; Spechler, Philip; Pessoa, Luiz

2014-06-01

In the current functional MRI study, we investigated interactions between reward and threat processing. Visual cues at the start of each trial informed participants about the chance of winning monetary reward and/or receiving a mild aversive shock. We tested two competing hypothesis: according to the 'salience hypothesis', in the condition involving both reward and threat, enhanced activation would be observed because of increased salience; according to the 'competition hypothesis', the processing of reward and threat would trade-off against each other, leading to reduced activation. Analysis of skin conductance data during a delay phase revealed an interaction between reward and threat processing, such that the effect of reward was reduced during threat and the effect of threat was reduced during reward. Analysis of imaging data during the same task phase revealed interactions between reward and threat processing in several regions, including the midbrain/ventral tegmental area, caudate, putamen, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior insula, middle frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Taken together, our findings reveal conditions during which reward and threat trade-off against each other across multiple sites. Such interactions are suggestive of competitive processes and may reflect the organization of opponent systems in the brain. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Medial reward and lateral non-reward orbitofrontal cortex circuits change in opposite directions in depression.

PubMed

Cheng, Wei; Rolls, Edmund T; Qiu, Jiang; Liu, Wei; Tang, Yanqing; Huang, Chu-Chung; Wang, XinFa; Zhang, Jie; Lin, Wei; Zheng, Lirong; Pu, JunCai; Tsai, Shih-Jen; Yang, Albert C; Lin, Ching-Po; Wang, Fei; Xie, Peng; Feng, Jianfeng

2016-12-01

The first brain-wide voxel-level resting state functional connectivity neuroimaging analysis of depression is reported, with 421 patients with major depressive disorder and 488 control subjects. Resting state functional connectivity between different voxels reflects correlations of activity between those voxels and is a fundamental tool in helping to understand the brain regions with altered connectivity and function in depression. One major circuit with altered functional connectivity involved the medial orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 13, which is implicated in reward, and which had reduced functional connectivity in depression with memory systems in the parahippocampal gyrus and medial temporal lobe, especially involving the perirhinal cortex Brodmann area 36 and entorhinal cortex Brodmann area 28. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were correlated with weakened functional connectivity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 13. Thus in depression there is decreased reward-related and memory system functional connectivity, and this is related to the depressed symptoms. The lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12, involved in non-reward and punishing events, did not have this reduced functional connectivity with memory systems. Second, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12 had increased functional connectivity with the precuneus, the angular gyrus, and the temporal visual cortex Brodmann area 21. This enhanced functional connectivity of the non-reward/punishment system (Brodmann area 47/12) with the precuneus (involved in the sense of self and agency), and the angular gyrus (involved in language) is thus related to the explicit affectively negative sense of the self, and of self-esteem, in depression. A comparison of the functional connectivity in 185 depressed patients not receiving medication and 182 patients receiving medication showed that the functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann

Neural processing of reward in adolescent rodents.

PubMed

Simon, Nicholas W; Moghaddam, Bita

2015-02-01

Immaturities in adolescent reward processing are thought to contribute to poor decision making and increased susceptibility to develop addictive and psychiatric disorders. Very little is known; however, about how the adolescent brain processes reward. The current mechanistic theories of reward processing are derived from adult models. Here we review recent research focused on understanding of how the adolescent brain responds to rewards and reward-associated events. A critical aspect of this work is that age-related differences are evident in neuronal processing of reward-related events across multiple brain regions even when adolescent rats demonstrate behavior similar to adults. These include differences in reward processing between adolescent and adult rats in orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal striatum. Surprisingly, minimal age related differences are observed in ventral striatum, which has been a focal point of developmental studies. We go on to discuss the implications of these differences for behavioral traits affected in adolescence, such as impulsivity, risk-taking, and behavioral flexibility. Collectively, this work suggests that reward-evoked neural activity differs as a function of age and that regions such as the dorsal striatum that are not traditionally associated with affective processing in adults may be critical for reward processing and psychiatric vulnerability in adolescents. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Heterogeneity of reward mechanisms.

PubMed

Lajtha, A; Sershen, H

2010-06-01

The finding that many drugs that have abuse potential and other natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity cause similar chemical changes in the brain, an increase in extracellular dopamine (DA) in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAccS), indicated some time ago that the reward mechanism is at least very similar for all stimuli and that the mechanism is relatively simple. The presently available information shows that the mechanisms involved are more complex and have multiple elements. Multiple brain regions, multiple receptors, multiple distinct neurons, multiple transmitters, multiple transporters, circuits, peptides, proteins, metabolism of transmitters, and phosphorylation, all participate in reward mechanisms. The system is variable, is changed during development, is sex-dependent, and is influenced by genetic differences. Not all of the elements participate in the reward of all stimuli. Different set of mechanisms are involved in the reward of different drugs of abuse, yet different mechanisms in the reward of natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity; thus there are different systems that distinguish different stimuli. Separate functions of the reward system such as anticipation, evaluation, consummation and identification; all contain function-specific elements. The level of the stimulus also influences the participation of the elements of the reward system, there are possible reactions to even below threshold stimuli, and excessive stimuli can change reward to aversion involving parts of the system. Learning and memory of past reward is an important integral element of reward and addictive behavior. Many of the reward elements are altered by repeated or chronic stimuli, and chronic exposure to one drug is likely to alter the response to another stimulus. To evaluate and identify the reward stimulus thus requires heterogeneity of the reward components in the brain.

Comparing the effects of food restriction and overeating on brain reward systems.

PubMed

Avena, Nicole M; Murray, Susan; Gold, Mark S

2013-10-01

Both caloric restriction and overeating have been shown to affect neural processes associated with reinforcement. Both preclinical and some clinical studies have provided evidence that food restriction may increase reward sensitivity, and while there are mixed findings regarding the effects of overeating on reward sensitivity, there is strong evidence linking this behavior with changes in reward-related brain regions. Evidence of these changes comes in part from findings that show that such eating patterns are associated with increased drug use. The data discussed here regarding the differential effects of various eating patterns on reward systems may be particularly relevant to the aging population, as this population has been shown to exhibit altered reward sensitivity and decreased caloric consumption. Moreover, members of this population appear to be increasingly affected by the current obesity epidemic. Food, like alcohol or drugs, can stimulate its own consumption and produce similar neurochemical changes in the brain. Age-related loss of appetite, decreased eating, and caloric restriction are hypothesized to be associated with changes in the prevalence of substance misuse, abuse, and dependence seen in this cohort. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain reward system's alterations in response to food and monetary stimuli in overweight and obese individuals.

PubMed

Verdejo-Román, Juan; Vilar-López, Raquel; Navas, Juan F; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2017-02-01

The brain's reward system is crucial to understand obesity in modern society, as increased neural responsivity to reward can fuel the unhealthy food choices that are driving the growing obesity epidemic. Brain's reward system responsivity to food and monetary rewards in individuals with excessive weight (overweight and obese) versus normal weight controls, along with the relationship between this responsivity and body mass index (BMI) were tested. The sample comprised 21 adults with obesity (BMI > 30), 21 with overweight (BMI between 25 and 30), and 39 with normal weight (BMI < 25). Participants underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session while performing two tasks that involve the processing of food (Willing to Pay) and monetary rewards (Monetary Incentive Delay). Neural activations within the brain reward system were compared across the three groups. Curve fit analyses were conducted to establish the association between BMI and brain reward system's response. Individuals with obesity had greater food-evoked responsivity in the dorsal and ventral striatum compared with overweight and normal weight groups. There was an inverted U-shape association between BMI and monetary-evoked responsivity in the ventral striatum, medial frontal cortex, and amygdala; that is, individuals with BMIs between 27 and 32 had greater responsivity to monetary stimuli. Obesity is associated with greater food-evoked responsivity in the ventral and dorsal striatum, and overweight is associated with greater monetary-evoked responsivity in the ventral striatum, the amygdala, and the medial frontal cortex. Findings suggest differential reactivity of the brain's reward system to food versus monetary rewards in obesity and overweight. Hum Brain Mapp 38:666-677, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brain reward responses to food stimuli among female monozygotic twins discordant for BMI.

PubMed

Doornweerd, Stieneke; De Geus, Eco J; Barkhof, Frederik; Van Bloemendaal, Liselotte; Boomsma, Dorret I; Van Dongen, Jenny; Drent, Madeleine L; Willemsen, Gonneke; Veltman, Dick J; IJzerman, Richard G

2017-06-08

Obese individuals are characterized by altered brain reward responses to food. Despite the latest discovery of obesity-associated genes, the contribution of environmental and genetic factors to brain reward responsiveness to food remains largely unclear. Sixteen female monozygotic twin pairs with a mean BMI discordance of 3.96 ± 2.1 kg/m 2 were selected from the Netherlands Twin Register to undergo functional MRI scanning while watching high- and low-calorie food and non-food pictures and during the anticipation and receipt of chocolate milk. In addition, appetite ratings, eating behavior and food intake were assessed using visual analog scales, validated questionnaires and an ad libitum lunch. In the overall group, visual and taste stimuli elicited significant activation in regions of interest (ROIs) implicated in reward, i.e. amygdala, insula, striatum and orbitofrontal cortex. However, when comparing leaner and heavier co-twins no statistically significant differences in ROI-activations were observed after family wise error correction. Heavier versus leaner co-twins reported higher feelings of hunger (P = 0.02), cravings for sweet food (P = 0.04), body dissatisfaction (P < 0.05) and a trend towards more emotional eating (P = 0.1), whereas caloric intake was not significantly different between groups (P = 0.3). Our results suggest that inherited rather than environmental factors are largely responsible for the obesity-related altered brain responsiveness to food. Future studies should elucidate the genetic variants underlying the susceptibility to reward dysfunction and obesity. NCT02025595.

Abnormal activity in reward brain circuits in human narcolepsy with cataplexy.

PubMed

Ponz, Aurélie; Khatami, Ramin; Poryazova, Rositsa; Werth, Esther; Boesiger, Peter; Bassetti, Claudio L; Schwartz, Sophie

2010-02-01

Hypothalamic hypocretins (or orexins) regulate energy metabolism and arousal maintenance. Recent animal research suggests that hypocretins may also influence reward-related behaviors. In humans, the loss of hypocretin-containing neurons results in a major sleep-wake disorder called narcolepsy-cataplexy, which is associated with emotional disturbances. Here, we aim to test whether narcoleptic patients show an abnormal pattern of brain activity during reward processing. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 12 unmedicated patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy to measure the neural responses to expectancy and experience of monetary gains and losses. We statistically compared the patients' data with those obtained in a group of 12 healthy matched controls. Our results reveal that activity in the dopaminergic ventral midbrain (ventral tegmental area) was not modulated in narcolepsy-cataplexy patients during high reward expectancy (unlike controls), and that ventral striatum activity was reduced during winning. By contrast, the patients showed abnormal activity increases in the amygdala and in dorsal striatum for positive outcomes. In addition, we found that activity in the nucleus accumbens and the ventral-medial prefrontal cortex correlated with disease duration, suggesting that an alternate neural circuit could be privileged over the years to control affective responses to emotional challenges and compensate for the lack of influence from ventral midbrain regions. Our study offers a detailed picture of the distributed brain network involved during distinct stages of reward processing and shows for the first time, to our knowledge, how this network is affected in hypocretin-deficient narcoleptic patients.

Research Review: altered reward function in adolescent depression: what, when and how?

PubMed

Forbes, Erika E; Dahl, Ronald E

2012-01-01

Conceptual models and recent evidence indicate that neural response to reward is altered in depression. Taking a developmental approach to investigating reward function in adolescent depression can elucidate the etiology, pathophysiology and course of depression, a disorder that typically begins during adolescence and has high rates of recurrence. This conceptual review describes the what, when and how of altered reward function in adolescent depression. With the goal of generating new, testable hypotheses within a developmental affective neuroscience framework, we critically review findings and suggest future directions. Peer-reviewed empirical papers for inclusion in this critical review were obtained by searching PubMed, PsycInfo and ScienceDirect for the years 1990-2010. A pattern of low striatal response and high medial prefrontal response to reward is evident in adolescents and adults with depression. Given the salience of social stimuli for positive affect and depression, reward function might be especially disrupted in response to social rewards. Because of changes in the dopamine system and reward function with aging, altered reward function in depression might be more evident during adolescence than later in life; however, low reward function may also be a stable characteristic of people who experience depression. Mechanisms of altered reward function in depression could include disrupted balance of corticostriatal circuit function, with disruption occurring as aberrant adolescent brain development. Future studies should examine responses to social rewards; employ longitudinal and prospective designs; and investigate patterns of functional connectivity in reward circuits. Understanding altered reward function in depression has potential implications for treatment development. A more rigorous approach to investigating anhedonia, threat-reward interactions and comorbid anxiety will be valuable to future progress in describing the role of reward function in

Differential effects of fructose versus glucose on brain and appetitive responses to food cues and decisions for food rewards.

PubMed

Luo, Shan; Monterosso, John R; Sarpelleh, Kayan; Page, Kathleen A

2015-05-19

Prior studies suggest that fructose compared with glucose may be a weaker suppressor of appetite, and neuroimaging research shows that food cues trigger greater brain reward responses in a fasted relative to a fed state. We sought to determine the effects of ingesting fructose versus glucose on brain, hormone, and appetitive responses to food cues and food-approach behavior. Twenty-four healthy volunteers underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions with ingestion of either fructose or glucose in a double-blinded, random-order cross-over design. fMRI was performed while participants viewed images of high-calorie foods and nonfood items using a block design. After each block, participants rated hunger and desire for food. Participants also performed a decision task in which they chose between immediate food rewards and delayed monetary bonuses. Hormones were measured at baseline and 30 and 60 min after drink ingestion. Ingestion of fructose relative to glucose resulted in smaller increases in plasma insulin levels and greater brain reactivity to food cues in the visual cortex (in whole-brain analysis) and left orbital frontal cortex (in region-of-interest analysis). Parallel to the neuroimaging findings, fructose versus glucose led to greater hunger and desire for food and a greater willingness to give up long-term monetary rewards to obtain immediate high-calorie foods. These findings suggest that ingestion of fructose relative to glucose results in greater activation of brain regions involved in attention and reward processing and may promote feeding behavior.

Differential effects of fructose versus glucose on brain and appetitive responses to food cues and decisions for food rewards

PubMed Central

Luo, Shan; Monterosso, John R.; Sarpelleh, Kayan; Page, Kathleen A.

2015-01-01

Prior studies suggest that fructose compared with glucose may be a weaker suppressor of appetite, and neuroimaging research shows that food cues trigger greater brain reward responses in a fasted relative to a fed state. We sought to determine the effects of ingesting fructose versus glucose on brain, hormone, and appetitive responses to food cues and food-approach behavior. Twenty-four healthy volunteers underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions with ingestion of either fructose or glucose in a double-blinded, random-order cross-over design. fMRI was performed while participants viewed images of high-calorie foods and nonfood items using a block design. After each block, participants rated hunger and desire for food. Participants also performed a decision task in which they chose between immediate food rewards and delayed monetary bonuses. Hormones were measured at baseline and 30 and 60 min after drink ingestion. Ingestion of fructose relative to glucose resulted in smaller increases in plasma insulin levels and greater brain reactivity to food cues in the visual cortex (in whole-brain analysis) and left orbital frontal cortex (in region-of-interest analysis). Parallel to the neuroimaging findings, fructose versus glucose led to greater hunger and desire for food and a greater willingness to give up long-term monetary rewards to obtain immediate high-calorie foods. These findings suggest that ingestion of fructose relative to glucose results in greater activation of brain regions involved in attention and reward processing and may promote feeding behavior. PMID:25941364

Violence-related content in video game may lead to functional connectivity changes in brain networks as revealed by fMRI-ICA in young men.

PubMed

Zvyagintsev, M; Klasen, M; Weber, R; Sarkheil, P; Esposito, F; Mathiak, K A; Schwenzer, M; Mathiak, K

2016-04-21

In violent video games, players engage in virtual aggressive behaviors. Exposure to virtual aggressive behavior induces short-term changes in players' behavior. In a previous study, a violence-related version of the racing game "Carmageddon TDR2000" increased aggressive affects, cognitions, and behaviors compared to its non-violence-related version. This study investigates the differences in neural network activity during the playing of both versions of the video game. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recorded ongoing brain activity of 18 young men playing the violence-related and the non-violence-related version of the video game Carmageddon. Image time series were decomposed into functional connectivity (FC) patterns using independent component analysis (ICA) and template-matching yielded a mapping to established functional brain networks. The FC patterns revealed a decrease in connectivity within 6 brain networks during the violence-related compared to the non-violence-related condition: three sensory-motor networks, the reward network, the default mode network (DMN), and the right-lateralized frontoparietal network. Playing violent racing games may change functional brain connectivity, in particular and even after controlling for event frequency, in the reward network and the DMN. These changes may underlie the short-term increase of aggressive affects, cognitions, and behaviors as observed after playing violent video games. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reduced cerebellar brain activity during reward processing in adolescent binge drinkers

PubMed Central

Cservenka, Anita; Jonesb, Scott A.; Nagel, Bonnie J.

2015-01-01

Due to ongoing development, adolescence may be a period of heightened vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. Binge drinking may alter reward-driven behavior and neurocircuitry, thereby increasing risk for escalating alcohol use. Therefore, we compared reward processing in adolescents with and without a history of recent binge drinking. At their baseline study visit, all participants (age = 14.86 ± 0.88) were free of heavy alcohol use and completed a modified version of the Wheel of Fortune (WOF) functional magnetic resonance imaging task. Following this visit, 17 youth reported binge drinking on ≥3 occasions within a 90 day period and were matched to 17 youth who remained alcohol and substance-naïve. All participants repeated the WOF task during a second visit (age = 16.83 ± 1.22). No significant effects were found in a region of interest analysis of the ventral striatum, but whole-brain analyses showed significant group differences in reward response at the second study visit in the left cerebellum, controlling for baseline visit brain activity (p/α<0.05), which was negatively correlated with mean number of drinks consumed/drinking day in the last 90 days. These findings suggest that binge drinking during adolescence may alter brain activity during reward processing in a dose-dependent manner. PMID:26190276

Running is rewarding and antidepressive.

PubMed

Brené, Stefan; Bjørnebekk, Astrid; Aberg, Elin; Mathé, Aleksander A; Olson, Lars; Werme, Martin

2007-09-10

Natural behaviors such as eating, drinking, reproduction and exercise activate brain reward pathways and consequently the individual engages in these behaviors to receive the reward. However, drugs of abuse are even more potent in activating the reward pathways. Rewarding behaviors and addictive drugs also affect other parts of the brain not directly involved in the mediation of reward. For instance, running increases neurogenesis in hippocampus and is beneficial as an antidepressant in a genetic animal model of depression and in depressed humans. Here we discuss and compare neurochemical and functional changes in the brain after addictive drugs and exercise with a focus on brain reward pathways and hippocampus.

Running is rewarding and antidepressive

PubMed Central

Brené, Stefan; Bjørnebekk, Astrid; Åberg, Elin; Mathé, Aleksander A; Olson, Lars; Werme, Martin

2007-01-01

Natural behaviors such as eating, drinking, reproduction and exercise activate brain reward pathways and consequently the individual engages in these behaviors to receive the reward. However, drugs of abuse are even more potent to activate the reward pathways. Rewarding behaviors and addictive drugs also affect other parts of the brain not directly involved in the mediation of reward. For instance, running increases neurogenesis in hippocampus and is beneficial as an antidepressant in a genetic animal model of depression and in depressed humans. Here we discuss and compare neurochemical and functional changes in the brain after addictive drugs and exercise with a focus on brain reward pathways and hippocampus. PMID:17561174

Valuation of opportunity costs by rats working for rewarding electrical brain stimulation.

PubMed

Solomon, Rebecca Brana; Conover, Kent; Shizgal, Peter

2017-01-01

Pursuit of one goal typically precludes simultaneous pursuit of another. Thus, each exclusive activity entails an "opportunity cost:" the forgone benefits from the next-best activity eschewed. The present experiment estimates, in laboratory rats, the function that maps objective opportunity costs into subjective ones. In an operant chamber, rewarding electrical brain stimulation was delivered when the cumulative time a lever had been depressed reached a criterion duration. The value of the activities forgone during this duration is the opportunity cost of the electrical reward. We determined which of four functions best describes how objective opportunity costs, expressed as the required duration of lever depression, are translated into their subjective equivalents. The simplest account is the identity function, which equates subjective and objective opportunity costs. A variant of this function called the "sigmoidal-slope function," converges on the identity function at longer durations but deviates from it at shorter durations. The sigmoidal-slope function has the form of a hockey stick. The flat "blade" denotes a range over which opportunity costs are subjectively equivalent; these durations are too short to allow substitution of more beneficial activities. The blade extends into an upward-curving portion over which costs become discriminable and finally into the straight "handle," over which objective and subjective costs match. The two remaining functions are based on hyperbolic and exponential temporal discounting, respectively. The results are best described by the sigmoidal-slope function. That this is so suggests that different principles of intertemporal choice are involved in the evaluation of time spent working for a reward or waiting for its delivery. The subjective opportunity-cost function plays a key role in the evaluation and selection of goals. An accurate description of its form and parameters is essential to successful modeling and prediction of

Craving love? Enduring grief activates brain's reward center.

PubMed

O'Connor, Mary-Frances; Wellisch, David K; Stanton, Annette L; Eisenberger, Naomi I; Irwin, Michael R; Lieberman, Matthew D

2008-08-15

Complicated Grief (CG) occurs when an individual experiences prolonged, unabated grief. The neural mechanisms distinguishing CG from Noncomplicated Grief (NCG) are unclear, but hypothesized mechanisms include both pain-related activity (related to the social pain of loss) and reward-related activity (related to attachment behavior). Bereaved women (11 CG, 12 NCG) participated in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, during grief elicitation with idiographic stimuli. Analyses revealed that whereas both CG and NCG participants showed pain-related neural activity in response to reminders of the deceased, only those with CG showed reward-related activity in the nucleus accumbens (NA). This NA cluster was positively correlated with self-reported yearning, but not with time since death, participant age, or positive/negative affect. This study supports the hypothesis that attachment activates reward pathways. For those with CG, reminders of the deceased still activate neural reward activity, which may interfere with adapting to the loss in the present.

Food-related odor probes of brain reward circuits during hunger: a pilot FMRI study.

PubMed

Bragulat, Veronique; Dzemidzic, Mario; Bruno, Carolina; Cox, Cari A; Talavage, Thomas; Considine, Robert V; Kareken, David A

2010-08-01

Food aromas can be powerful appetitive cues in the natural environment. Although several studies have examined the cerebral responses to food images, none have used naturalistic food aromas to study obesity. Ten individuals (five normal-weight and five obese) were recruited to undergo 24 h of food deprivation. Subjects were then imaged on a 3T Siemens Trio-Tim scanner (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) while smelling four food-related odors (FRO; two sweet odors and two fat-related) and four "nonappetitive odors" (NApO; e.g., Douglas fir). Before the imaging session, subjects rated their desire to eat each type of food to determine their most preferred (P-FRO). Across all 10 subjects, P-FRO elicited a greater blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response than the NApO in limbic and reward-related areas, including the bilateral insula and opercular (gustatory) cortex, the anterior and posterior cingulate, and ventral striatum. Obese subjects showed greater activation in the bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus, but lean controls showed more activation in the posterior insula. Brain areas activated by food odors are similar to those elicited by cues of addictive substances, such as alcohol. Food odors are highly naturalistic stimuli, and may be effective probes of reward-related networks in the context of hunger and obesity.

Brain activity and infant attachment history in young men during loss and reward processing.

PubMed

Quevedo, Karina; Waters, Theodore E A; Scott, Hannah; Roisman, Glenn I; Shaw, Daniel S; Forbes, Erika E

2017-05-01

There is now ample evidence that the quality of early attachment experiences shapes expectations for supportive and responsive care and ultimately serves to scaffold adaptation to the salient tasks of development. Nonetheless, few studies have identified neural mechanisms that might give rise to these associations. Using a moderately large sample of low-income male participants recruited during infancy (N = 171), we studied the predictive significance of attachment insecurity and disorganization at age 18 months (as measured in the Strange Situation Procedure) for patterns of neural activation to reward and loss at age 20 years (assessed during a reward-based task as part of a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan). Results indicated that individuals with a history of insecure attachment showed hyperactivity in (a) reward- and emotion-related (e.g., basal ganglia and amygdala) structures and (b) emotion regulation and self-referential processing (cortical midline structures) in response to positive and negative outcomes (and anticipation of those outcomes). Further, the neural activation of individuals with a history of disorganized attachment suggested that they had greater emotional reactivity in anticipation of reward and employed greater cognitive control when negative outcomes were encountered. Overall, results suggest that the quality of early attachments has lasting impacts on brain function and reward processing.

The impact of Parkinson's disease and subthalamic deep brain stimulation on reward processing.

PubMed

Evens, Ricarda; Stankevich, Yuliya; Dshemuchadse, Maja; Storch, Alexander; Wolz, Martin; Reichmann, Heinz; Schlaepfer, Thomas E; Goschke, Thomas; Lueken, Ulrike

2015-08-01

Due to its position in cortico-subthalamic and cortico-striatal pathways, the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is considered to play a crucial role not only in motor, but also in cognitive and motivational functions. In the present study we aimed to characterize how different aspects of reward processing are affected by disease and deep brain stimulation of the STN (DBS-STN) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). We compared 33 PD patients treated with DBS-STN under best medical treatment (DBS-on, medication-on) to 33 PD patients without DBS, but optimized pharmacological treatment and 34 age-matched healthy controls. We then investigated DBS-STN effects using a postoperative stimulation-on/ -off design. The task set included a delay discounting task, a task to assess changes in incentive salience attribution, and the Iowa Gambling Task. The presence of PD was associated with increased incentive salience attribution and devaluation of delayed rewards. Acute DBS-STN increased risky choices in the Iowa Gambling Task under DBS-on condition, but did not further affect incentive salience attribution or the evaluation of delayed rewards. Findings indicate that acute DBS-STN affects specific aspects of reward processing, including the weighting of gains and losses, while larger-scale effects of disease or medication are predominant in others reward-related functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Brain Reward Circuitry in Mood Disorders

PubMed Central

Russo, Scott J.; Nestler, Eric J.

2013-01-01

Mood disorders are common and debilitating conditions characterized in part by profound deficits in reward-related behavioral domains. A recent literature has identified important structural and functional alterations within the brain’s reward circuitry —particularly in the ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens pathway — that are associated with symptoms such as anhedonia and aberrant reward-associated perception and memory. This review synthesizes recent data from human and rodent studies from which emerges a circuit-level framework for understanding reward deficits in depression. We also discuss some of the molecular and cellular underpinnings of this framework, ranging from adaptations in glutamatergic synapses and neurotrophic factors to transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. PMID:23942470

Neurocircuitry of drug reward

PubMed Central

Ikemoto, Satoshi; Bonci, Antonello

2013-01-01

In recent years, neuroscientists have produced profound conceptual and mechanistic advances on the neurocircuitry of reward and substance use disorders. Here, we will provide a brief review of intracranial drug self-administration and optogenetic self-stimulation studies that identified brain regions and neurotransmitter systems involved in drug- and reward-related behaviors. Also discussed is a theoretical framework that helps to understand the functional properties of the circuitry involved in these behaviors. The circuitry appears to be homeostatically regulated and mediate anticipatory processes that regulate behavioral interaction with the environment in response to salient stimuli. That is, abused drugs or, at least, some may act on basic motivation and mood processes, regulating behavior-environment interaction. Optogenetics and related technologies have begun to uncover detailed circuit mechanisms linking key brain regions in which abused drugs act for rewarding effects. PMID:23664810

Medial prefrontal brain activation to anticipated reward and loss in obsessive–compulsive disorder☆

PubMed Central

Kaufmann, C.; Beucke, J.C.; Preuße, F.; Endrass, T.; Schlagenhauf, F.; Heinz, A.; Juckel, G.; Kathmann, N.

2013-01-01

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with dysfunctional brain activity in several regions which are also involved in the processing of motivational stimuli. Processing of reward and punishment appears to be of special importance to understand clinical symptoms. There is evidence for higher sensitivity to punishment in patients with OCD which raises the question how avoidance of punishment relates to activity within the brain's reward circuitry. We employed the monetary incentive delay task paradigm optimized for modeling the anticipation phase of immediate reward and punishment, in the context of a cross-sectional event-related FMRI study comparing OCD patients and healthy control participants (n = 19 in each group). While overall behavioral performance was similar in both groups, patients showed increased activation upon anticipated losses in a medial and superior frontal cortex region extending into the cingulate cortex, and decreased activation upon anticipated rewards. No evidence was found for altered activation of dorsal or ventral striatal regions. Patients also showed more delayed responses for anticipated rewards than for anticipated losses whereas the reverse was true in healthy participants. The medial prefrontal cortex has been shown to implement a domain-general process comprising negative affect, pain and cognitive control. This process uses information about punishment to control aversively motivated actions by integrating signals arriving from subcortical regions. Our results support the notion that OCD is associated with altered sensitivity to anticipated rewards and losses in a medial prefrontal region whereas there is no significant aberrant activation in ventral or dorsal striatal brain regions during processing of reinforcement anticipation. PMID:24179774

Medial prefrontal brain activation to anticipated reward and loss in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Kaufmann, C; Beucke, J C; Preuße, F; Endrass, T; Schlagenhauf, F; Heinz, A; Juckel, G; Kathmann, N

2013-01-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with dysfunctional brain activity in several regions which are also involved in the processing of motivational stimuli. Processing of reward and punishment appears to be of special importance to understand clinical symptoms. There is evidence for higher sensitivity to punishment in patients with OCD which raises the question how avoidance of punishment relates to activity within the brain's reward circuitry. We employed the monetary incentive delay task paradigm optimized for modeling the anticipation phase of immediate reward and punishment, in the context of a cross-sectional event-related FMRI study comparing OCD patients and healthy control participants (n = 19 in each group). While overall behavioral performance was similar in both groups, patients showed increased activation upon anticipated losses in a medial and superior frontal cortex region extending into the cingulate cortex, and decreased activation upon anticipated rewards. No evidence was found for altered activation of dorsal or ventral striatal regions. Patients also showed more delayed responses for anticipated rewards than for anticipated losses whereas the reverse was true in healthy participants. The medial prefrontal cortex has been shown to implement a domain-general process comprising negative affect, pain and cognitive control. This process uses information about punishment to control aversively motivated actions by integrating signals arriving from subcortical regions. Our results support the notion that OCD is associated with altered sensitivity to anticipated rewards and losses in a medial prefrontal region whereas there is no significant aberrant activation in ventral or dorsal striatal brain regions during processing of reinforcement anticipation.

Toward an autonomous brain machine interface: integrating sensorimotor reward modulation and reinforcement learning.

PubMed

Marsh, Brandi T; Tarigoppula, Venkata S Aditya; Chen, Chen; Francis, Joseph T

2015-05-13

For decades, neurophysiologists have worked on elucidating the function of the cortical sensorimotor control system from the standpoint of kinematics or dynamics. Recently, computational neuroscientists have developed models that can emulate changes seen in the primary motor cortex during learning. However, these simulations rely on the existence of a reward-like signal in the primary sensorimotor cortex. Reward modulation of the primary sensorimotor cortex has yet to be characterized at the level of neural units. Here we demonstrate that single units/multiunits and local field potentials in the primary motor (M1) cortex of nonhuman primates (Macaca radiata) are modulated by reward expectation during reaching movements and that this modulation is present even while subjects passively view cursor motions that are predictive of either reward or nonreward. After establishing this reward modulation, we set out to determine whether we could correctly classify rewarding versus nonrewarding trials, on a moment-to-moment basis. This reward information could then be used in collaboration with reinforcement learning principles toward an autonomous brain-machine interface. The autonomous brain-machine interface would use M1 for both decoding movement intention and extraction of reward expectation information as evaluative feedback, which would then update the decoding algorithm as necessary. In the work presented here, we show that this, in theory, is possible. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/357374-14$15.00/0.

Earlier adolescent substance use onset predicts stronger connectivity between reward and cognitive control brain networks.

PubMed

Weissman, David G; Schriber, Roberta A; Fassbender, Catherine; Atherton, Olivia; Krafft, Cynthia; Robins, Richard W; Hastings, Paul D; Guyer, Amanda E

2015-12-01

Early adolescent onset of substance use is a robust predictor of future substance use disorders. We examined the relation between age of substance use initiation and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the core reward processing (nucleus accumbens; NAcc) to cognitive control (prefrontal cortex; PFC) brain networks. Adolescents in a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth reported their substance use annually from ages 10 to 16 years. At age 16, 69 adolescents participated in a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Seed-based correlational analyses were conducted using regions of interest in bilateral NAcc. The earlier that adolescents initiated substance use, the stronger the connectivity between bilateral NAcc and right dorsolateral PFC, right dorsomedial PFC, right pre-supplementary motor area, right inferior parietal lobule, and left medial temporal gyrus. The regions that demonstrated significant positive linear relationships between the number of adolescent years using substances and connectivity with NAcc are nodes in the right frontoparietal network, which is central to cognitive control. The coupling of reward and cognitive control networks may be a mechanism through which earlier onset of substance use is related to brain function over time, a trajectory that may be implicated in subsequent substance use disorders. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

'Proactive' use of cue-context congruence for building reinforcement learning's reward function.

PubMed

Zsuga, Judit; Biro, Klara; Tajti, Gabor; Szilasi, Magdolna Emma; Papp, Csaba; Juhasz, Bela; Gesztelyi, Rudolf

2016-10-28

Reinforcement learning is a fundamental form of learning that may be formalized using the Bellman equation. Accordingly an agent determines the state value as the sum of immediate reward and of the discounted value of future states. Thus the value of state is determined by agent related attributes (action set, policy, discount factor) and the agent's knowledge of the environment embodied by the reward function and hidden environmental factors given by the transition probability. The central objective of reinforcement learning is to solve these two functions outside the agent's control either using, or not using a model. In the present paper, using the proactive model of reinforcement learning we offer insight on how the brain creates simplified representations of the environment, and how these representations are organized to support the identification of relevant stimuli and action. Furthermore, we identify neurobiological correlates of our model by suggesting that the reward and policy functions, attributes of the Bellman equitation, are built by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), respectively. Based on this we propose that the OFC assesses cue-context congruence to activate the most context frame. Furthermore given the bidirectional neuroanatomical link between the OFC and model-free structures, we suggest that model-based input is incorporated into the reward prediction error (RPE) signal, and conversely RPE signal may be used to update the reward-related information of context frames and the policy underlying action selection in the OFC and ACC, respectively. Furthermore clinical implications for cognitive behavioral interventions are discussed.

Abstinence duration modulates striatal functioning during monetary reward processing in cocaine patients.

PubMed

Bustamante, Juan-Carlos; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso; Costumero, Víctor; Fuentes-Claramonte, Paola; Rosell-Negre, Patricia; Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Llopis, Juan-José; Ávila, César

2014-09-01

Pre-clinical and clinical studies in cocaine addiction highlight alterations in the striatal dopaminergic reward system that subserve maintenance of cocaine use. Using an instrumental conditioning paradigm with monetary reinforcement, we studied striatal functional alterations in long-term abstinent cocaine-dependent patients and striatal functioning as a function of abstinence and treatment duration. Eighteen patients and 20 controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a Monetary Incentive Delay task. Region of interest analyses based on masks of the dorsal and ventral striatum were conducted to test between-group differences and the functional effects in the cocaine group of time (in months) with no more than two lapses from the first time patients visited the clinical service to seek treatment at the scanning time (duration of treatment), and the functional effects of the number of months with no lapses or relapses at the scanning session time (length of abstinence). We applied a voxel-wise and a cluster-wise FWE-corrected level (pFWE) at a threshold of P < 0.05. The patient group showed lower activation in the right caudate during reward anticipation than the control group. The regression analyses in the patients group revealed a positive correlation between duration of treatment and brain activity in the left caudate during reward anticipation. Likewise, length of abstinence negatively correlated with brain activity in the bilateral nucleus accumbens during monetary outcome processing. In conclusion, caudate and nucleus accumbens show a different brain response pattern to non-drug rewards during cocaine addiction, which can be modulated by treatment success. © 2013 The Authors, Addiction Biology © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Brain reward circuitry beyond the mesolimbic dopamine system: a neurobiological theory.

PubMed

Ikemoto, Satoshi

2010-11-01

Reductionist attempts to dissect complex mechanisms into simpler elements are necessary, but not sufficient for understanding how biological properties like reward emerge out of neuronal activity. Recent studies on intracranial self-administration of neurochemicals (drugs) found that rats learn to self-administer various drugs into the mesolimbic dopamine structures-the posterior ventral tegmental area, medial shell nucleus accumbens and medial olfactory tubercle. In addition, studies found roles of non-dopaminergic mechanisms of the supramammillary, rostromedial tegmental and midbrain raphe nuclei in reward. To explain intracranial self-administration and related effects of various drug manipulations, I outlined a neurobiological theory claiming that there is an intrinsic central process that coordinates various selective functions (including perceptual, visceral, and reinforcement processes) into a global function of approach. Further, this coordinating process for approach arises from interactions between brain structures including those structures mentioned above and their closely linked regions: the medial prefrontal cortex, septal area, ventral pallidum, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, preoptic area, lateral hypothalamic areas, lateral habenula, periaqueductal gray, laterodorsal tegmental nucleus and parabrachical area. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Executive and Reward-Related Function in Pediatric Obesity: A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Pearce, Alaina L; Leonhardt, Christine A; Vaidya, Chandan J

2018-06-06

This study examined the effect of pediatric obesity on executive function and reward-related decision-making, cognitive processes that are relevant to obesogenic behaviors, and evaluated their association with sample (e.g., age, gender, intelligence, and socioeconomic status, SES) and study/task (e.g., categorical/continuous variable, food stimuli) characteristics. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using Hedge's g effect sizes of published studies from 1960 to 2016, limited to children younger than the age of 21 years without medical comorbidities. Analysis included estimation of heterogeneity (τ 2 ), publication bias (funnel-plot symmetry and fail-safe N), and sensitivity analyses for sample and study/task characteristics. Across 68 studies with 70 samples, obesity was associated with worse functioning overall (-0.24; 95CI: -0.30 to -0.19; p < 0.001) and for each component process (attention, switching, inhibition, interference, working memory, reward, delay of gratification: -0.19 to -0.38; p's < 0.017), except trait impulsivity (-0.06; 95CI: -0.18 to 0.07). Deficits increased with age and female composition of the sample for inhibition (p = 0.002). No other characteristics moderated effect of obesity. Small-to-moderate negative associations with obesity were observed for executive and reward-related performance, but not on reported impulsivity in studies with children younger than the age of 21 years. These results were not moderated by IQ, SES, and study/task characteristics. Age and gender moderated association with inhibition, with a larger obesity-related deficit in older and predominantly female samples. These results suggest cognitive and demographic intervention targets for prevention and mitigation of obesogenic behavior.

Methylphenidate and brain activity in a reward/conflict paradigm: role of the insula in task performance.

PubMed

Ivanov, Iliyan; Liu, Xun; Clerkin, Suzanne; Schulz, Kurt; Fan, Jin; Friston, Karl; London, Edythe D; Schwartz, Jeffrey; Newcorn, Jeffrey H

2014-06-01

Psychostimulants, such as methylphenidate, are thought to improve information processing in motivation-reward and attention-activation networks by enhancing the effects of more relevant signals and suppressing those of less relevant ones; however the nature of such reciprocal influences remains poorly understood. To explore this question, we tested the effect of methylphenidate on performance and associated brain activity in the Anticipation, Conflict, Reward (ACR) task. Sixteen healthy adult volunteers, ages 21-45, were scanned twice using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they performed the ACR task under placebo and methylphenidate conditions. A three-way repeated measures analysis of variance, with cue (reward vs. non-reward), target (congruent vs. incongruent) and medication condition (methylphenidate vs. placebo) as the factors, was used to analyze behaviors on the task. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals, reflecting task-related neural activity, were evaluated using linear contrasts. Participants exhibited significantly greater accuracy in the methylphenidate condition than the placebo condition. Compared with placebo, the methylphenidate condition also was associated with lesser task-related activity in components of attention-activation systems irrespective of the reward cue, and less task-related activity in components of the reward-motivation system, particularly the insula, during reward trials irrespective of target difficulty. These results suggest that methylphenidate enhances task performance by improving efficiency of information processing in both reward-motivation and in attention-activation systems. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Brain mechanisms for perceptual and reward-related decision-making.

PubMed

Deco, Gustavo; Rolls, Edmund T; Albantakis, Larissa; Romo, Ranulfo

2013-04-01

Phenomenological models of decision-making, including the drift-diffusion and race models, are compared with mechanistic, biologically plausible models, such as integrate-and-fire attractor neuronal network models. The attractor network models show how decision confidence is an emergent property; and make testable predictions about the neural processes (including neuronal activity and fMRI signals) involved in decision-making which indicate that the medial prefrontal cortex is involved in reward value-based decision-making. Synaptic facilitation in these models can help to account for sequential vibrotactile decision-making, and for how postponed decision-related responses are made. The randomness in the neuronal spiking-related noise that makes the decision-making probabilistic is shown to be increased by the graded firing rate representations found in the brain, to be decreased by the diluted connectivity, and still to be significant in biologically large networks with thousands of synapses onto each neuron. The stability of these systems is shown to be influenced in different ways by glutamatergic and GABAergic efficacy, leading to a new field of dynamical neuropsychiatry with applications to understanding schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The noise in these systems is shown to be advantageous, and to apply to similar attractor networks involved in short-term memory, long-term memory, attention, and associative thought processes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brain substrates of reward processing and the μ-opioid receptor: a pathway into pain?

PubMed

Nees, Frauke; Becker, Susanne; Millenet, Sabina; Banaschewski, Tobias; Poustka, Luise; Bokde, Arun; Bromberg, Uli; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia J; Desrivières, Sylvane; Frouin, Vincent; Gallinat, Jürgen; Garavan, Hugh; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Papadopoulos Orfanos, Dimitri; Paus, Tomáš; Smolka, Michael N; Walter, Henrik; Whelan, Rob; Schumann, Gunter; Flor, Herta

2017-02-01

The processing of reward and reinforcement learning seems to be important determinants of pain chronicity. However, reward processing is already altered early in life and if this is related to the development of pain symptoms later on is not known. The aim of this study was first to examine whether behavioural and brain-related indicators of reward processing at the age of 14 to 15 years are significant predictors of pain complaints 2 years later, at 16 to 17 years. Second, we investigated the contribution of genetic variations in the opioidergic system, which is linked to the processing of both, reward and pain, to this prediction. We used the monetary incentive delay task to assess reward processing, the Children's Somatization Inventory as measure of pain complaints and tested the effects of 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs1799971/rs563649) of the human μ-opioid receptor gene. We found a significant prediction of pain complaints by responses in the dorsal striatum during reward feedback, independent of genetic predisposition. The relationship of pain complaints and activation in the periaqueductal gray and ventral striatum depended on the T-allele of rs563649. Carriers of this allele also showed more pain complaints than CC-allele carriers. Therefore, brain responses to reward outcomes and higher sensitivity to pain might be related already early in life and may thus set the course for pain complaints later in life, partly depending on a specific opioidergic genetic predisposition.

Insula and striatum activity in effort-related monetary reward processing in gambling disorder: the role of depressive symptomatology.

PubMed

Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Zois, Evangelos; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Lemenager, Tagrid; Beutel, Martin; Mann, Karl

2014-01-01

The neurobiological underpinnings of effort-related monetary reward processing of gambling disorder have not been previously studied. To date neuroimaging studies lack in large sample sizes and as a consequence less attention has been given to brain reward processing that could potentially be attributed to comorbid conditions such as depressive mood state. We assessed monetary reward processing using an effort-dependent task during 3 tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated a large sample of male, right-handed, slot-machine-playing disordered gamblers (DGs; N = 80) as well as age- and smoking-matched male healthy controls (HCs; N = 89). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). DGs and HCs were divided into subgroups ("high" and "low") based on their BDI scores. Effort-related monetary reward processing did not differ between the complete groups of HCs and DGs. Brain activation during receipt of monetary reward though revealed a significant Group × BDI interaction: DGs with higher BDI scores compared to DGs with lower BDI scores showed greater brain activity in the right insula cortex and dorsal striatum while no differences were observed for HCs with higher versus lower BDI scores. Our results suggest that effort-related aspects of monetary motivation, i.e. when monetary output is tied to performance, are not altered in DG. Additionally, our findings strengthen the need for subgroup comparisons in future investigations of the disorder as part of a personalized medicine approach.

Insula and striatum activity in effort-related monetary reward processing in gambling disorder: The role of depressive symptomatology

PubMed Central

Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Zois, Evangelos; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Lemenager, Tagrid; Beutel, Martin; Mann, Karl

2014-01-01

The neurobiological underpinnings of effort-related monetary reward processing of gambling disorder have not been previously studied. To date neuroimaging studies lack in large sample sizes and as a consequence less attention has been given to brain reward processing that could potentially be attributed to comorbid conditions such as depressive mood state. We assessed monetary reward processing using an effort-dependent task during 3 tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated a large sample of male, right-handed, slot-machine-playing disordered gamblers (DGs; N = 80) as well as age- and smoking-matched male healthy controls (HCs; N = 89). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). DGs and HCs were divided into subgroups (“high” and “low”) based on their BDI scores. Effort-related monetary reward processing did not differ between the complete groups of HCs and DGs. Brain activation during receipt of monetary reward though revealed a significant Group × BDI interaction: DGs with higher BDI scores compared to DGs with lower BDI scores showed greater brain activity in the right insula cortex and dorsal striatum while no differences were observed for HCs with higher versus lower BDI scores. Our results suggest that effort-related aspects of monetary motivation, i.e. when monetary output is tied to performance, are not altered in DG. Additionally, our findings strengthen the need for subgroup comparisons in future investigations of the disorder as part of a personalized medicine approach. PMID:25379437

Problematic internet use is associated with structural alterations in the brain reward system in females.

PubMed

Altbäcker, Anna; Plózer, Enikő; Darnai, Gergely; Perlaki, Gábor; Horváth, Réka; Orsi, Gergely; Nagy, Szilvia Anett; Bogner, Péter; Schwarcz, Attila; Kovács, Norbert; Komoly, Sámuel; Clemens, Zsófia; Janszky, József

2016-12-01

Neuroimaging findings suggest that excessive Internet use shows functional and structural brain changes similar to substance addiction. Even though it is still under debate whether there are gender differences in case of problematic use, previous studies by-passed this question by focusing on males only or by using gender matched approach without controlling for potential gender effects. We designed our study to find out whether there are structural correlates in the brain reward system of problematic Internet use in habitual Internet user females. T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance (MR) images were collected in 82 healthy habitual Internet user females. Structural brain measures were investigated using both automated MR volumetry and voxel based morphometry (VBM). Self-reported measures of problematic Internet use and hours spent online were also assessed. According to MR volumetry, problematic Internet use was associated with increased grey matter volume of bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens while decreased grey matter volume of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Similarly, VBM analysis revealed a significant negative association between the absolute amount of grey matter OFC and problematic Internet use. Our findings suggest structural brain alterations in the reward system usually related to addictions are present in problematic Internet use.

A longitudinal examination of event-related potentials sensitive to monetary reward and loss feedback from late childhood to middle adolescence.

PubMed

Kujawa, Autumn; Carroll, Ashley; Mumper, Emma; Mukherjee, Dahlia; Kessel, Ellen M; Olino, Thomas; Hajcak, Greg; Klein, Daniel N

2017-11-04

Brain regions involved in reward processing undergo developmental changes from childhood to adolescence, and alterations in reward-related brain function are thought to contribute to the development of psychopathology. Event-related potentials (ERPs), such as the reward positivity (RewP) component, are valid measures of reward responsiveness that are easily assessed across development and provide insight into temporal dynamics of reward processing. Little work has systematically examined developmental changes in ERPs sensitive to reward. In this longitudinal study of 75 youth assessed 3 times across 6years, we used principal components analyses (PCA) to differentiate ERPs sensitive to monetary reward and loss feedback in late childhood, early adolescence, and middle adolescence. We then tested reliability of, and developmental changes in, ERPs. A greater number of ERP components differentiated reward and loss feedback in late childhood compared to adolescence, but components in childhood accounted for only a small proportion of variance. A component consistent with RewP was the only one to consistently emerge at each of the 3 assessments. RewP demonstrated acceptable reliability, particularly from early to middle adolescence, though reliability estimates varied depending on scoring approach and developmental period. The magnitude of the RewP component did not significantly change across time. Results provide insight into developmental changes in the structure of ERPs sensitive to reward, and indicate that RewP is a consistently observed and relatively stable measure of reward responsiveness, particularly across adolescence. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Reward circuit connectivity relates to delay discounting in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

PubMed Central

Costa Dias, Taciana G.; Wilson, Vanessa B.; Bathula, Deepti R.; Iyer, Swathi P.; Mills, Kathryn L.; Thurlow, Bria L.; Stevens, Corinne A.; Musser, Erica D.; Carpenter, Samuel D.; Grayson, David S.; Mitchell, Suzanne H.; Nigg, Joel T.; Fair, Damien A.

2012-01-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent psychiatric disorder that has poor long-term outcomes and remains a major public health concern. Recent theories have proposed that ADHD arises from alterations in multiple neural pathways. Alterations in reward circuits are hypothesized as one core dysfunction, leading to altered processing of anticipated rewards. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is particularly important for reward processes; task-based fMRI studies have found atypical activation of this region while the participants performed a reward task. Understanding how reward circuits are involved with ADHD may be further enhanced by considering how the NAcc interacts with other brain regions. Here we used the technique of resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) to examine the alterations in the NAcc interactions and how they relate to impulsive decision making in ADHD. Using rs-fcMRI, this study: examined differences in functional connectivity of the NAcc between children with ADHD and control children; correlated the functional connectivity of NAcc with impulsivity, as measured by a delay discounting task; and combined these two initial segments to identify the atypical NAcc connections that were associated with impulsive decision making in ADHD. We found that functional connectivity of NAcc was atypical in children with ADHD and the ADHD-related increased connectivity between NAcc and the prefrontal cortex was associated with greater impulsivity (steeper delayed-reward discounting). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that atypical signaling of the NAcc to the prefrontal cortex in ADHD may lead to excessive approach and failure in estimating future consequences; thus, leading to impulsive behavior. PMID:23206930

EEG to Primary Rewards: Predictive Utility and Malleability by Brain Stimulation.

PubMed

Prause, Nicole; Siegle, Greg J; Deblieck, Choi; Wu, Allan; Iacoboni, Marco

2016-01-01

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is thought to affect reward processing mechanisms, which may increase and decrease reward sensitivity. To test the ability of TBS to modulate response to strong primary rewards, participants hypersensitive to primary rewards were recruited. Twenty men and women with at least two opposite-sex, sexual partners in the last year received two forms of TBS. Stimulations were randomized to avoid order effects and separated by 2 hours to reduce carryover. The two TBS forms have been demonstrated to inhibit (continuous) or excite (intermittent) the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using different pulse patterns, which links to brain areas associated with reward conditioning. After each TBS, participants completed tasks assessing their reward responsiveness to monetary and sexual rewards. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. They also reported their number of orgasms in the weekend following stimulation. This signal was malleable by TBS, where excitatory TBS resulted in lower EEG alpha relative to inhibitory TBS to primary rewards. EEG responses to sexual rewards in the lab (following both forms of TBS) predicted the number of orgasms experienced over the forthcoming weekend. TBS may be useful in modifying hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to primary rewards that predict sexual behaviors. Since TBS altered the anticipation of a sexual reward, TBS may offer a novel treatment for sexual desire problems.

Neural correlates of reward processing in healthy siblings of patients with schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Hanssen, Esther; van der Velde, Jorien; Gromann, Paula M.; Shergill, Sukhi S.; de Haan, Lieuwe; Bruggeman, Richard; Krabbendam, Lydia; Aleman, André; van Atteveldt, Nienke

2015-01-01

Deficits in motivational behavior and psychotic symptoms often observed in schizophrenia (SZ) may be driven by dysfunctional reward processing (RP). RP can be divided in two different stages; reward anticipation and reward consumption. Aberrant processing during reward anticipation seems to be related to SZ. Studies in patients with SZ have found less activation in the ventral striatum (VS) during anticipation of reward, but these findings do not provide information on effect of the genetic load on reward processing. Therefore, this study investigated RP in healthy first-degree relatives of SZ patients. The sample consisted of 94 healthy siblings of SZ patients and 57 healthy controls. Participants completed a classic RP task, the Monetary Incentive Delay task, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As expected, there were no behavioral differences between groups. In contrast to our expectations, we found no differences in any of the anticipatory reward related brain areas (region of interest analyses). Whole-brain analyses did reveal group differences during both reward anticipation and reward consumption; during reward anticipation siblings showed less deactivation in the insula, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and medial frontal gyrus (MFG) than controls. During reward consumption siblings showed less deactivation in the PCC and the right MFG compared to controls and activation in contrast to deactivation in controls in the precuneus and the left MFG. Exclusively in siblings, MFG activity correlated positively with subclinical negative symptoms. These regions are typically associated with the default mode network (DMN), which normally shows decreases in activation during task-related cognitive processes. Thus, in contrast to prior literature in patients with SZ, the results do not point to altered brain activity in classical RP brain areas, such as the VS. However, the weaker deactivation found outside the reward-related network in siblings could

Cannabis Dampens the Effects of Music in Brain Regions Sensitive to Reward and Emotion

PubMed Central

Pope, Rebecca A; Wall, Matthew B; Bisby, James A; Luijten, Maartje; Hindocha, Chandni; Mokrysz, Claire; Lawn, Will; Moss, Abigail; Bloomfield, Michael A P; Morgan, Celia J A; Nutt, David J; Curran, H Valerie

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Despite the current shift towards permissive cannabis policies, few studies have investigated the pleasurable effects users seek. Here, we investigate the effects of cannabis on listening to music, a rewarding activity that frequently occurs in the context of recreational cannabis use. We additionally tested how these effects are influenced by cannabidiol, which may offset cannabis-related harms. Methods Across 3 sessions, 16 cannabis users inhaled cannabis with cannabidiol, cannabis without cannabidiol, and placebo. We compared their response to music relative to control excerpts of scrambled sound during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging within regions identified in a meta-analysis of music-evoked reward and emotion. All results were False Discovery Rate corrected (P<.05). Results Compared with placebo, cannabis without cannabidiol dampened response to music in bilateral auditory cortex (right: P=.005, left: P=.008), right hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus (P=.025), right amygdala (P=.025), and right ventral striatum (P=.033). Across all sessions, the effects of music in this ventral striatal region correlated with pleasure ratings (P=.002) and increased functional connectivity with auditory cortex (right: P< .001, left: P< .001), supporting its involvement in music reward. Functional connectivity between right ventral striatum and auditory cortex was increased by cannabidiol (right: P=.003, left: P=.030), and cannabis with cannabidiol did not differ from placebo on any functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging measures. Both types of cannabis increased ratings of wanting to listen to music (P<.002) and enhanced sound perception (P<.001). Conclusions Cannabis dampens the effects of music in brain regions sensitive to reward and emotion. These effects were offset by a key cannabis constituent, cannabidol. PMID:29025134

Regulation of brain reward by the endocannabinoid system: a critical review of behavioral studies in animals.

PubMed

Vlachou, S; Panagis, G

2014-01-01

The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of physiological processes, including a crucial involvement in brain reward systems and the regulation of motivational processes. Behavioral studies have shown that cannabinoid reward may involve the same brain circuits and similar brain mechanisms with other drugs of abuse, such as nicotine, cocaine, alcohol and heroin, as well as natural rewards, such as food, water and sucrose, although the conditions under which cannabinoids exert their rewarding effects may be more limited. The purpose of the present review is to briefly describe and evaluate the behavioral and pharmacological research concerning the major components of the endocannabinoid system and reward processes. Special emphasis is placed on data received from four procedures used to test the effects of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward in animals; namely, the intracranial self-stimulation paradigm, the self-administration procedure, the conditioned place preference procedure and the drug-discrimination procedure. The effects of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonists, antagonists and endocannabinoid modulators in these procedures are examined. Further, the involvement of CB1 and CB2 receptors, as well the fatty acid amid hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme in reward processes is investigated through presentation of respective genetic ablation studies in mice. We suggest that the endocannabinoid system plays a major role in modulating motivation and reward processes. Further research will provide us with a better understanding of these processes and, thus, could lead to the development of potential therapeutic compounds for the treatment of reward-related disorders.

Video game training and the reward system.

PubMed

Lorenz, Robert C; Gleich, Tobias; Gallinat, Jürgen; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual toward playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors in relation to video gaming experience as well as functional changes in the brain in response to video game training. Fifty healthy participants were randomly assigned to a video game training (TG) or control group (CG). Before and after training/control period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted using a non-video game related reward task. At pretest, both groups showed strongest activation in ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation. At posttest, the TG showed very similar VS activity compared to pretest. In the CG, the VS activity was significantly attenuated. This longitudinal study revealed that video game training may preserve reward responsiveness in the VS in a retest situation over time. We suggest that video games are able to keep striatal responses to reward flexible, a mechanism which might be of critical value for applications such as therapeutic cognitive training.

Reward anticipation in the adolescent and aging brain.

PubMed

Lorenz, Robert C; Gleich, Tobias; Beck, Anne; Pöhland, Lydia; Raufelder, Diana; Sommer, Werner; Rapp, Michael A; Kühn, Simone; Gallinat, Jürgen

2014-10-01

Processing of reward is the basis of adaptive behavior of the human being. Neural correlates of reward processing seem to be influenced by developmental changes from adolescence to late adulthood. The aim of this study is to uncover these neural correlates during a slot machine gambling task across the lifespan. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate 102 volunteers in three different age groups: 34 adolescents, 34 younger adults, and 34 older adults. We focused on the core reward areas ventral striatum (VS) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the valence processing associated areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, as well as information integration associated areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Results showed that VS and VMPFC were characterized by a hyperactivation in adolescents compared with younger adults. Furthermore, the ACC and insula were characterized by a U-shape pattern (hypoactivation in younger adults compared with adolescents and older adults), whereas the DLPFC and IPL were characterized by a J-shaped form (hyperactivation in older adults compared with younger groups). Furthermore, a functional connectivity analysis revealed an elevated negative functional coupling between the inhibition-related area rIFG and VS in younger adults compared with adolescents. Results indicate that lifespan-related changes during reward anticipation are characterized by different trajectories in different reward network modules and support the hypothesis of an imbalance in maturation of striatal and prefrontal cortex in adolescents. Furthermore, these results suggest compensatory age-specific effects in fronto-parietal regions. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Expected reward modulates encoding-related theta activity before an event.

PubMed

Gruber, Matthias J; Watrous, Andrew J; Ekstrom, Arne D; Ranganath, Charan; Otten, Leun J

2013-01-01

Oscillatory brain activity in the theta frequency range (4-8 Hz) before the onset of an event has been shown to affect the likelihood of successfully encoding the event into memory. Recent work has also indicated that frontal theta activity might be modulated by reward, but it is not clear how reward expectancy, anticipatory theta activity, and memory formation might be related. Here, we used scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to assess the relationship between these factors. EEG was recorded from healthy adults while they memorized a series of words. Each word was preceded by a cue that indicated whether a high or low monetary reward would be earned if the word was successfully remembered in a later recognition test. Frontal theta power between the presentation of the reward cue and the onset of a word was predictive of later memory for the word, but only in the high reward condition. No theta differences were observed before word onset following low reward cues. The magnitude of prestimulus encoding-related theta activity in the high reward condition was correlated with the number of high reward words that were later confidently recognized. These findings provide strong evidence for a link between reward expectancy, theta activity, and memory encoding. Theta activity before event onset seems to be especially important for the encoding of motivationally significant stimuli. One possibility is that dopaminergic activity during reward anticipation mediates frontal theta activity related to memory. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EEG to Primary Rewards: Predictive Utility and Malleability by Brain Stimulation

PubMed Central

Prause, Nicole; Siegle, Greg J.; Deblieck, Choi; Wu, Allan; Iacoboni, Marco

2016-01-01

Theta burst stimulation (TBS) is thought to affect reward processing mechanisms, which may increase and decrease reward sensitivity. To test the ability of TBS to modulate response to strong primary rewards, participants hypersensitive to primary rewards were recruited. Twenty men and women with at least two opposite-sex, sexual partners in the last year received two forms of TBS. Stimulations were randomized to avoid order effects and separated by 2 hours to reduce carryover. The two TBS forms have been demonstrated to inhibit (continuous) or excite (intermittent) the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using different pulse patterns, which links to brain areas associated with reward conditioning. After each TBS, participants completed tasks assessing their reward responsiveness to monetary and sexual rewards. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. They also reported their number of orgasms in the weekend following stimulation. This signal was malleable by TBS, where excitatory TBS resulted in lower EEG alpha relative to inhibitory TBS to primary rewards. EEG responses to sexual rewards in the lab (following both forms of TBS) predicted the number of orgasms experienced over the forthcoming weekend. TBS may be useful in modifying hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to primary rewards that predict sexual behaviors. Since TBS altered the anticipation of a sexual reward, TBS may offer a novel treatment for sexual desire problems. PMID:27902711

Leptin Is Associated With Exaggerated Brain Reward and Emotion Responses to Food Images in Adolescent Obesity

PubMed Central

Jastreboff, Ania M.; Lacadie, Cheryl; Seo, Dongju; Kubat, Jessica; Van Name, Michelle A.; Giannini, Cosimo; Savoye, Mary; Constable, R. Todd; Sherwin, Robert S.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE In the U.S., an astonishing 12.5 million children and adolescents are now obese, predisposing 17% of our nation’s youth to metabolic complications of obesity, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Adolescent obesity has tripled over the last three decades in the setting of food advertising directed at children. Obese adults exhibit increased brain responses to food images in motivation-reward pathways. These neural alterations may be attributed to obesity-related metabolic changes, which promote food craving and high-calorie food (HCF) consumption. It is not known whether these metabolic changes affect neural responses in the adolescent brain during a crucial period for establishing healthy eating behaviors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty-five obese (BMI 34.4 kg/m2, age 15.7 years) and fifteen lean (BMI 20.96 kg/m2, age 15.5 years) adolescents underwent functional MRI during exposure to HCF, low-calorie food (LCF), and nonfood (NF) visual stimuli 2 h after isocaloric meal consumption. RESULTS Brain responses to HCF relative to NF cues increased in obese versus lean adolescents in striatal-limbic regions (i.e., putamen/caudate, insula, amygdala) (P < 0.05, family-wise error [FWE]), involved in motivation-reward and emotion processing. Higher endogenous leptin levels correlated with increased neural activation to HCF images in all subjects (P < 0.05, FWE). CONCLUSIONS This significant association between higher circulating leptin and hyperresponsiveness of brain motivation-reward regions to HCF images suggests that dysfunctional leptin signaling may contribute to the risk of overconsumption of these foods, thus further predisposing adolescents to the development of obesity and T2D. PMID:25139883

FNDC5/irisin, a molecular target for boosting reward-related learning and motivation.

PubMed

Zsuga, Judit; Tajti, Gabor; Papp, Csaba; Juhasz, Bela; Gesztelyi, Rudolf

2016-05-01

Interventions focusing on the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases are on rise. In the current article, we propose that dysfunction of the mesocortico-limbic reward system contributes to the emergence of the WHO-identified risk behaviors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol), behaviors that underlie the evolution of major non-communicable diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases). Given that dopaminergic neurons of the mesocortico-limbic system are tightly associated with reward-related processes and motivation, their dysfunction may fundamentally influence behavior. While nicotine and alcohol alter dopamine neuron function by influencing some receptors, mesocortico-limbic system dysfunction was associated with elevation of metabolic set-point leading to hedonic over-eating. Although there is some empirical evidence, precise molecular mechanism for linking physical inactivity and mesocortico-limbic dysfunction per se seems to be missing; identification of which may contribute to higher success rates for interventions targeting lifestyle changes pertaining to physical activity. In the current article, we compile evidence in support of a link between exercise and the mesocortico-limbic system by elucidating interactions on the axis of muscle - irisin - brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - and dopaminergic function of the midbrain. Irisin is a contraction-regulated myokine formed primarily in skeletal muscle but also in the brain. Irisin stirred considerable interest, when its ability to induce browning of white adipose tissue parallel to increasing thermogenesis was discovered. Furthermore, it may also play a role in the regulation of behavior given it readily enters the central nervous system, where it induces BDNF expression in several brain areas linked to reward processing, e.g. the ventral tegmental area and the hippocampus. BDNF is a

Depression-Related Increases and Decreases in Appetite: Dissociable Patterns of Aberrant Activity in Reward and Interoceptive Neurocircuitry.

PubMed

Simmons, W Kyle; Burrows, Kaiping; Avery, Jason A; Kerr, Kara L; Bodurka, Jerzy; Savage, Cary R; Drevets, Wayne C

2016-04-01

Appetite and weight changes are common but variable diagnostic markers in major depressive disorder: some depressed individuals manifest increased appetite, while others lose their appetite. Many of the brain regions implicated in appetitive responses to food have also been implicated in depression. It is thus remarkable that there exists no published research comparing the neural responses to food stimuli of depressed patients with increased versus decreased appetites. Using functional MRI, brain activity was compared in unmedicated depressed patients with increased or decreased appetite and healthy control subjects while viewing photographs of food and nonfood objects. The authors also measured how resting-state functional connectivity related to subjects' food pleasantness ratings. Within putative reward regions, depressed participants with increased appetites exhibited greater hemodynamic activity to food stimuli than both those reporting appetite decreases and healthy control subjects. In contrast, depressed subjects experiencing appetite loss exhibited hypoactivation within a region of the mid-insula implicated in interoception, with no difference observed in this region between healthy subjects and those with depression-related appetite increases. Mid-insula activity was negatively correlated with food pleasantness ratings of depressed participants with increased appetites, and its functional connectivity to reward circuitry was positively correlated with food pleasantness ratings. Depression-related increases in appetite are associated with hyperactivation of putative mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry, while depression-related appetite loss is associated with hypoactivation of insular regions that support monitoring the body's physiological state. Importantly, the interactions among these regions also contribute to individual differences in the depression-related appetite changes.

Music-related reward responses predict episodic memory performance.

PubMed

Ferreri, Laura; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni

2017-12-01

Music represents a special type of reward involving the recruitment of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. According to recent theories on episodic memory formation, as dopamine strengthens the synaptic potentiation produced by learning, stimuli triggering dopamine release could result in long-term memory improvements. Here, we behaviourally test whether music-related reward responses could modulate episodic memory performance. Thirty participants rated (in terms of arousal, familiarity, emotional valence, and reward) and encoded unfamiliar classical music excerpts. Twenty-four hours later, their episodic memory was tested (old/new recognition and remember/know paradigm). Results revealed an influence of music-related reward responses on memory: excerpts rated as more rewarding were significantly better recognized and remembered. Furthermore, inter-individual differences in the ability to experience musical reward, measured through the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, positively predicted memory performance. Taken together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between music, reward and memory, showing for the first time that music-driven reward responses are directly implicated in higher cognitive functions and can account for individual differences in memory performance.

The "Creative Right Brain" Revisited: Individual Creativity and Associative Priming in the Right Hemisphere Relate to Hemispheric Asymmetries in Reward Brain Function.

PubMed

Aberg, Kristoffer Carl; Doell, Kimberly C; Schwartz, Sophie

2017-10-01

The idea that creativity resides in the right cerebral hemisphere is persistent in popular science, but has been widely frowned upon by the scientific community due to little empirical support. Yet, creativity is believed to rely on the ability to combine remote concepts into novel and useful ideas, an ability which would depend on associative processing in the right hemisphere. Moreover, associative processing is modulated by dopamine, and asymmetries in dopamine functionality between hemispheres may imbalance the expression of their implemented cognitive functions. Here, by uniting these largely disconnected concepts, we hypothesize that relatively less dopamine function in the right hemisphere boosts creativity by releasing constraining effects of dopamine on remote associations. Indeed, participants with reduced neural responses in the dopaminergic system of the right hemisphere (estimated by functional MRI in a reward task with positive and negative feedback), displayed higher creativity (estimated by convergent and divergent tasks), and increased associative processing in the right hemisphere (estimated by a lateralized lexical decision task). Our findings offer unprecedented empirical support for a crucial and specific contribution of the right hemisphere to creativity. More importantly our study provides a comprehensive view on potential determinants of human creativity, namely dopamine-related activity and associative processing. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Integration of homeostatic signaling and food reward processing in the human brain

PubMed Central

Simon, Joe J.; Wetzel, Anne; Sinno, Maria Hamze; Skunde, Mandy; Bendszus, Martin; Enck, Paul; Herzog, Wolfgang; Friederich, Hans-Christoph

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND. Food intake is guided by homeostatic needs and by the reward value of food, yet the exact relation between the two remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different metabolic states and hormonal satiety signaling on responses in neural reward networks. METHODS. Twenty-three healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a task distinguishing between the anticipation and the receipt of either food- or monetary-related reward. Every participant was scanned twice in a counterbalanced fashion, both during a fasted state (after 24 hours fasting) and satiety. A functional connectivity analysis was performed to investigate the influence of satiety signaling on activation in neural reward networks. Blood samples were collected to assess hormonal satiety signaling. RESULTS. Fasting was associated with sensitization of the striatal reward system to the anticipation of food reward irrespective of reward magnitude. Furthermore, during satiety, individual ghrelin levels were associated with increased neural processing during the expectation of food-related reward. CONCLUSIONS. Our findings show that physiological hunger stimulates food consumption by specifically increasing neural processing during the expectation (i.e., incentive salience) but not the receipt of food-related reward. In addition, these findings suggest that ghrelin signaling influences hedonic-driven food intake by increasing neural reactivity during the expectation of food-related reward. These results provide insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of motivational processing and hedonic evaluation of food reward. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03081585. FUNDING. This work was supported by the German Competence Network on Obesity, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ 01GI1122E). PMID:28768906

Integration of homeostatic signaling and food reward processing in the human brain.

PubMed

Simon, Joe J; Wetzel, Anne; Sinno, Maria Hamze; Skunde, Mandy; Bendszus, Martin; Preissl, Hubert; Enck, Paul; Herzog, Wolfgang; Friederich, Hans-Christoph

2017-08-03

Food intake is guided by homeostatic needs and by the reward value of food, yet the exact relation between the two remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different metabolic states and hormonal satiety signaling on responses in neural reward networks. Twenty-three healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a task distinguishing between the anticipation and the receipt of either food- or monetary-related reward. Every participant was scanned twice in a counterbalanced fashion, both during a fasted state (after 24 hours fasting) and satiety. A functional connectivity analysis was performed to investigate the influence of satiety signaling on activation in neural reward networks. Blood samples were collected to assess hormonal satiety signaling. Fasting was associated with sensitization of the striatal reward system to the anticipation of food reward irrespective of reward magnitude. Furthermore, during satiety, individual ghrelin levels were associated with increased neural processing during the expectation of food-related reward. Our findings show that physiological hunger stimulates food consumption by specifically increasing neural processing during the expectation (i.e., incentive salience) but not the receipt of food-related reward. In addition, these findings suggest that ghrelin signaling influences hedonic-driven food intake by increasing neural reactivity during the expectation of food-related reward. These results provide insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of motivational processing and hedonic evaluation of food reward. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03081585. This work was supported by the German Competence Network on Obesity, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ 01GI1122E).

Inferior frontal cortex activity is modulated by reward sensitivity and performance variability.

PubMed

Fuentes-Claramonte, Paola; Ávila, César; Rodríguez-Pujadas, Aina; Costumero, Víctor; Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Bustamante, Juan Carlos; Rosell-Negre, Patricia; Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso

2016-02-01

High reward sensitivity has been linked with motivational and cognitive disorders related with prefrontal and striatal brain function during inhibitory control. However, few studies have analyzed the interaction among reward sensitivity, task performance and neural activity. Participants (N=57) underwent fMRI while performing a Go/No-go task with Frequent-go (77.5%), Infrequent-go (11.25%) and No-go (11.25%) stimuli. Task-associated activity was found in inhibition-related brain regions, with different activity patterns for right and left inferior frontal gyri (IFG): right IFG responded more strongly to No-go stimuli, while left IFG responded similarly to all infrequent stimuli. Reward sensitivity correlated with omission errors in Go trials and reaction time (RT) variability, and with increased activity in right and left IFG for No-go and Infrequent-go stimuli compared with Frequent-go. Bilateral IFG activity was associated with RT variability, with reward sensitivity mediating this association. These results suggest that reward sensitivity modulates behavior and brain function during executive control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reward-related neural responses are dependent on the beneficiary

PubMed Central

Güroğlu, Berna; de Water, Erik; Meuwese, Rosa; Koolschijn, P. Cédric; Peper, Jiska S.; Crone, Eveline A.

2014-01-01

Prior studies have suggested that positive social interactions are experienced as rewarding. Yet, it is not well understood how social relationships influence neural responses to other persons’ gains. In this study, we investigated neural responses during a gambling task in which healthy participants (N = 31; 18 females) could win or lose money for themselves, their best friend or a disliked other (antagonist). At the moment of receiving outcome, person-related activity was observed in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), precuneus and temporal parietal junction (TPJ), showing higher activity for friends and antagonists than for self, and this activity was independent of outcome. The only region showing an interaction between the person-participants played for and outcome was the ventral striatum. Specifically, the striatum was more active following gains than losses for self and friends, whereas for the antagonist this pattern was reversed. Together, these results show that, in a context with social and reward information, social aspects are processed in brain regions associated with social cognition (mPFC, TPJ), and reward aspects are processed in primary reward areas (striatum). Furthermore, there is an interaction of social and reward information in the striatum, such that reward-related activity was dependent on social relationship. PMID:23720575

Video game training and the reward system

PubMed Central

Lorenz, Robert C.; Gleich, Tobias; Gallinat, Jürgen; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual toward playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors in relation to video gaming experience as well as functional changes in the brain in response to video game training. Fifty healthy participants were randomly assigned to a video game training (TG) or control group (CG). Before and after training/control period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted using a non-video game related reward task. At pretest, both groups showed strongest activation in ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation. At posttest, the TG showed very similar VS activity compared to pretest. In the CG, the VS activity was significantly attenuated. This longitudinal study revealed that video game training may preserve reward responsiveness in the VS in a retest situation over time. We suggest that video games are able to keep striatal responses to reward flexible, a mechanism which might be of critical value for applications such as therapeutic cognitive training. PMID:25698962

Neural activity in the reward-related brain regions predicts implicit self-esteem: A novel validity test of psychological measures using neuroimaging.

PubMed

Izuma, Keise; Kennedy, Kate; Fitzjohn, Alexander; Sedikides, Constantine; Shibata, Kazuhisa

2018-03-01

Self-esteem, arguably the most important attitudes an individual possesses, has been a premier research topic in psychology for more than a century. Following a surge of interest in implicit attitude measures in the 90s, researchers have tried to assess self-esteem implicitly to circumvent the influence of biases inherent in explicit measures. However, the validity of implicit self-esteem measures remains elusive. Critical tests are often inconclusive, as the validity of such measures is examined in the backdrop of imperfect behavioral measures. To overcome this serious limitation, we tested the neural validity of the most widely used implicit self-esteem measure, the implicit association test (IAT). Given the conceptualization of self-esteem as attitude toward the self, and neuroscience findings that the reward-related brain regions represent an individual's attitude or preference for an object when viewing its image, individual differences in implicit self-esteem should be associated with neural signals in the reward-related regions during passive-viewing of self-face (the most obvious representation of the self). Using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional MRI (fMRI) data, we demonstrate that the neural signals in the reward-related regions were robustly associated with implicit (but not explicit) self-esteem, thus providing unique evidence for the neural validity of the self-esteem IAT. In addition, both implicit and explicit self-esteem were related, although differently, to neural signals in regions involved in self-processing. Our finding highlights the utility of neuroscience methods in addressing fundamental psychological questions and providing unique insights into important psychological constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Brain structural correlates of reward sensitivity and impulsivity in adolescents with normal and excess weight.

PubMed

Moreno-López, Laura; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Delgado-Rico, Elena; Rio-Valle, Jacqueline S; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2012-01-01

Neuroscience evidence suggests that adolescent obesity is linked to brain dysfunctions associated with enhanced reward and somatosensory processing and reduced impulse control during food processing. Comparatively less is known about the role of more stable brain structural measures and their link to personality traits and neuropsychological factors on the presentation of adolescent obesity. Here we aimed to investigate regional brain anatomy in adolescents with excess weight vs. lean controls. We also aimed to contrast the associations between brain structure and personality and cognitive measures in both groups. Fifty-two adolescents (16 with normal weight and 36 with excess weight) were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging and completed the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), the UPPS-P scale, and the Stroop task. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess possible between-group differences in regional gray matter (GM) and to measure the putative differences in the way reward and punishment sensitivity, impulsivity and inhibitory control relate to regional GM volumes, which were analyzed using both region of interest (ROI) and whole brain analyses. The ROIs included areas involved in reward/somatosensory processing (striatum, somatosensory cortices) and motivation/impulse control (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex). Excess weight adolescents showed increased GM volume in the right hippocampus. Voxel-wise volumes of the second somatosensory cortex (SII) were correlated with reward sensitivity and positive urgency in lean controls, but this association was missed in excess weight adolescents. Moreover, Stroop performance correlated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volumes in controls but not in excess weight adolescents. Adolescents with excess weight have structural abnormalities in brain regions associated with somatosensory processing and motivation.

Differential reward network functional connectivity in cannabis dependent and non-dependent users☆

PubMed Central

Filbey, Francesca M.; Dunlop, Joseph

2015-01-01

Background Emergent studies show that similar to other substances of abuse, cue-reactivity to cannabis is also associated with neural response in the brain’s reward pathway (Filbey et al., 2009). However, the inter-relatedness of brain regions during cue-reactivity in cannabis users remains unknown. Methods In this study, we conducted a series of investigations to determine functional connectivity during cue-reactivity in 71 cannabis users. First, we used psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis to examine coherent neural response to cannabis cues. Second, we evaluated whether these patterns of network functional connectivity differentiated dependent and non-dependent users. Finally, as an exploratory analysis, we determined the directionality of these connections via Granger connectivity analyses. Results PPI analyses showed reward network functional connectivity with the nucleus accumbens (NAc) seed region during cue exposure. Between-group contrasts found differential effects of dependence status. Dependent users (N = 31) had greater functional connectivity with amygdala and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) seeds while the non-dependent users (N = 24) had greater functional connectivity with the NAc, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus seeds. Granger analyses showed that hippocampal and ACG activation preceded neural response in reward areas. Conclusions Both PPI and Granger analyses demonstrated strong functional coherence in reward regions during exposure to cannabis cues in current cannabis users. Functional connectivity (but not regional activation) in the reward network differentiated dependent from non-dependent cannabis users. Our findings suggest that repeated cannabis exposure causes observable changes in functional connectivity in the reward network and should be considered in intervention strategies. PMID:24838032

Healthy adolescents' neural response to reward: associations with puberty, positive affect, and depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Forbes, Erika E; Ryan, Neal D; Phillips, Mary L; Manuck, Stephen B; Worthman, Carol M; Moyles, Donna L; Tarr, Jill A; Sciarrillo, Samantha R; Dahl, Ronald E

2010-02-01

Changes in reward-related behavior are an important component of normal adolescent affective development. Understanding the neural underpinnings of these normative changes creates a foundation for investigating adolescence as a period of vulnerability to affective disorders, substance use disorders, and health problems. Studies of reward-related brain function have revealed conflicting findings regarding developmental change in the reactivity of the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and have not considered puberty. The current study focused on puberty-specific changes in brain function and their association with mood. A sample of 77 healthy adolescents (26 pre-/early pubertal, 51 mid-/late pubertal) recruited in a narrow age range (mean = 11.94 years, SD = 0.75) were assessed for sexual maturation and circulating testosterone, completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) guessing task with monetary reward, and underwent experience sampling of mood in natural environments. For comparison, 19 healthy adults completed the fMRI assessment. Adolescents with more advanced pubertal maturation exhibited less striatal and more mPFC reactivity during reward outcome than similarly aged adolescents with less advanced maturation. Testosterone was positively correlated with striatal reactivity in boys during reward anticipation and negatively correlated with striatal reactivity in girls and boys during reward outcome. Striatal reactivity was positively correlated with real-world subjective positive affect and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. mPFC reactivity was positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Reward-related brain function changes with puberty and is associated with adolescents' positive affect and depressive symptoms. Increased reward-seeking behavior at this developmental point could serve to compensate for these changes.

Subliminal and supraliminal processing of reward-related stimuli in anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Boehm, I; King, J A; Bernardoni, F; Geisler, D; Seidel, M; Ritschel, F; Goschke, T; Haynes, J-D; Roessner, V; Ehrlich, S

2018-04-01

Previous studies have highlighted the role of the brain reward and cognitive control systems in the etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). In an attempt to disentangle the relative contribution of these systems to the disorder, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate hemodynamic responses to reward-related stimuli presented both subliminally and supraliminally in acutely underweight AN patients and age-matched healthy controls (HC). fMRI data were collected from a total of 35 AN patients and 35 HC, while they passively viewed subliminally and supraliminally presented streams of food, positive social, and neutral stimuli. Activation patterns of the group × stimulation condition × stimulus type interaction were interrogated to investigate potential group differences in processing different stimulus types under the two stimulation conditions. Moreover, changes in functional connectivity were investigated using generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis. AN patients showed a generally increased response to supraliminally presented stimuli in the inferior frontal junction (IFJ), but no alterations within the reward system. Increased activation during supraliminal stimulation with food stimuli was observed in the AN group in visual regions including superior occipital gyrus and the fusiform gyrus/parahippocampal gyrus. No group difference was found with respect to the subliminal stimulation condition and functional connectivity. Increased IFJ activation in AN during supraliminal stimulation may indicate hyperactive cognitive control, which resonates with clinical presentation of excessive self-control in AN patients. Increased activation to food stimuli in visual regions may be interpreted in light of an attentional food bias in AN.

Leptin is associated with exaggerated brain reward and emotion responses to food images in adolescent obesity.

PubMed

Jastreboff, Ania M; Lacadie, Cheryl; Seo, Dongju; Kubat, Jessica; Van Name, Michelle A; Giannini, Cosimo; Savoye, Mary; Constable, R Todd; Sherwin, Robert S; Caprio, Sonia; Sinha, Rajita

2014-11-01

In the U.S., an astonishing 12.5 million children and adolescents are now obese, predisposing 17% of our nation's youth to metabolic complications of obesity, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Adolescent obesity has tripled over the last three decades in the setting of food advertising directed at children. Obese adults exhibit increased brain responses to food images in motivation-reward pathways. These neural alterations may be attributed to obesity-related metabolic changes, which promote food craving and high-calorie food (HCF) consumption. It is not known whether these metabolic changes affect neural responses in the adolescent brain during a crucial period for establishing healthy eating behaviors. Twenty-five obese (BMI 34.4 kg/m2, age 15.7 years) and fifteen lean (BMI 20.96 kg/m2, age 15.5 years) adolescents underwent functional MRI during exposure to HCF, low-calorie food (LCF), and nonfood (NF) visual stimuli 2 h after isocaloric meal consumption. Brain responses to HCF relative to NF cues increased in obese versus lean adolescents in striatal-limbic regions (i.e., putamen/caudate, insula, amygdala) (P < 0.05, family-wise error [FWE]), involved in motivation-reward and emotion processing. Higher endogenous leptin levels correlated with increased neural activation to HCF images in all subjects (P < 0.05, FWE). This significant association between higher circulating leptin and hyperresponsiveness of brain motivation-reward regions to HCF images suggests that dysfunctional leptin signaling may contribute to the risk of overconsumption of these foods, thus further predisposing adolescents to the development of obesity and T2D. © 2014 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite reveal dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry

PubMed Central

Simmons, W. Kyle; Burrows, Kaiping; Avery, Jason A.; Kerr, Kara L.; Bodurka, Jerzy; Savage, Cary R.; Drevets, Wayne C.

2016-01-01

Objective Appetite and weight changes are common but variable diagnostic markers in major depressive disorder: some depressed individuals manifest increased appetite, while others lose their appetite. Many of the brain regions implicated in appetitive responses to food have also been implicated in depression. It is thus remarkable that there exists no published research comparing the neural responses to food stimuli of depressed patients with increased versus decreased appetites. Method Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we compared brain activity in unmedicated depressed patients with increased or decreased appetite, and healthy control subjects, while viewing photographs of food and non-food objects. We also measured how resting-state functional connectivity related to subjects’ food pleasantness ratings. Results Within putative reward regions, depressed participants with increased appetites exhibited greater hemodynamic activity to food stimuli than both those reporting appetite decreases and healthy control subjects. In contrast, depressed subjects experiencing appetite loss exhibited hypoactivation within a region of the mid-insula implicated in interoception, with no difference observed in this region between healthy subjects and those with depression-related appetite increases. Mid-insula activity was negatively correlated with food pleasantness ratings of depressed participants with increased appetites, and its functional connectivity to reward circuitry was positively correlated with food pleasantness ratings. Conclusions Depression-related increases in appetite are associated with hyperactivation of putative mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry, while depression-related appetite loss is associated with hypoactivation of insular regions that support monitoring the body’s physiological state. Importantly, the interactions among these regions also contribute to individual differences in the depression-related appetite changes. PMID:26806872

Reward-Related Decision-Making in Pediatric Major Depressive Disorder: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Erika E.; Christopher May, J.; Siegle, Greg J.; Ladouceur, Cecile D.; Ryan, Neal D.; Carter, Cameron S.; Birmaher, Boris; Axelson, David A.; Dahl, Ronald E.

2006-01-01

Background: Although reward processing is considered an important part of affective functioning, few studies have investigated reward-related decisions or responses in young people with affective disorders. Depression is postulated to involve decreased activity in reward-related affective systems. Methods: Using functional magnetic resonance…

Elevated cognitive control over reward processing in recovered female patients with anorexia nervosa.

PubMed

Ehrlich, Stefan; Geisler, Daniel; Ritschel, Franziska; King, Joseph A; Seidel, Maria; Boehm, Ilka; Breier, Marion; Clas, Sabine; Weiss, Jessika; Marxen, Michael; Smolka, Michael N; Roessner, Veit; Kroemer, Nils B

2015-09-01

Individuals with anorexia nervosa are thought to exert excessive self-control to inhibit primary drives. This study used functional MRI (fMRI) to interrogate interactions between the neural correlates of cognitive control and motivational processes in the brain reward system during the anticipation of monetary reward and reward-related feedback. In order to avoid confounding effects of undernutrition, we studied female participants recovered from anorexia nervosa and closely matched healthy female controls. The fMRI analysis (including node-to-node functional connectivity) followed a region of interest approach based on models of the brain reward system and cognitive control regions implicated in anorexia nervosa: the ventral striatum, medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We included 30 recovered patients and 30 controls in our study. There were no behavioural differences and no differences in hemodynamic responses of the ventral striatum and the mOFC in the 2 phases of the task. However, relative to controls, recovered patients showed elevated DLPFC activity during the anticipation phase, failed to deactivate this region during the feedback phase and displayed greater functional coupling between the DLPFC and mOFC. Recovered patients also had stronger associations than controls between anticipation-related DLPFC responses and instrumental responding. The results we obtained using monetary stimuli might not generalize to other forms of reward. Unaltered neural responses in ventral limbic reward networks but increased recruitment of and connectivity with lateral-frontal brain circuitry in recovered patients suggests an elevated degree of selfregulatory processes in response to rewarding stimuli. An imbalance between brain systems subserving bottom-up and top-down processes may be a trait marker of the disorder.

Time-of-day differences and short-term stability of the neural response to monetary reward: a pilot study.

PubMed

Hasler, Brant P; Forbes, Erika E; Franzen, Peter L

2014-10-30

Human and animal studies indicate that reward function is modulated by the circadian clock that governs our daily sleep/wake rhythm. For example, a robust circadian rhythm exists in positive affect, which is lower in the morning hours and peaks in the afternoon. A handful of functional neuroimaging studies suggest that systematic diurnal variation exists in brain activity related to other functions, but no published human studies have examined daily variation in the neural processing of reward. In the present study, we attempt to advance this literature by using functional neuroimaging methods to examine time-of-day changes in the responsivity of the reward circuit. Using a within-person design and a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) monetary reward task, we compared morning and afternoon reward-related brain activation in a sample of healthy young adults within 24h. Region of interest analyses focused on the striatum, and we hypothesized greater reward activation in the afternoon, concordant with the circadian peak in positive affect. Results were consistent with our hypothesis. In addition, we counterbalanced the order of morning and afternoon scans in order to explore the short-term stability of the neural response. Whole-brain analyses showed a markedly higher reactivity to reward throughout the brain in the first scan relative to the second scan, consistent with habituation to the monetary reward stimuli. However, these effects did not appear to explain the time-of-day findings. In summary, we report the first preliminary evidence of circadian variation in the neural processing of reward. These findings have both methodological and theoretical implications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reward- and attention-related biasing of sensory selection in visual cortex.

PubMed

Buschschulte, Antje; Boehler, Carsten N; Strumpf, Hendrik; Stoppel, Christian; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Schoenfeld, Mircea A; Hopf, Jens-Max

2014-05-01

Attention to task-relevant features leads to a biasing of sensory selection in extrastriate cortex. Features signaling reward seem to produce a similar bias, but how modulatory effects due to reward and attention relate to each other is largely unexplored. To address this issue, it is critical to separate top-down settings defining reward relevance from those defining attention. To this end, we used a visual search paradigm in which the target's definition (attention to color) was dissociated from reward relevance by delivering monetary reward on search frames where a certain task-irrelevant color was combined with the target-defining color to form the target object. We assessed the state of neural biasing for the attended and reward-relevant color by analyzing the neuromagnetic brain response to asynchronously presented irrelevant distractor probes drawn in the target-defining color, the reward-relevant color, and a completely irrelevant color as a reference. We observed that for the prospect of moderate rewards, the target-defining color but not the reward-relevant color produced a selective enhancement of the neuromagnetic response between 180 and 280 msec in ventral extrastriate visual cortex. Increasing reward prospect caused a delayed attenuation (220-250 msec) of the response to reward probes, which followed a prior (160-180 msec) response enhancement in dorsal ACC. Notably, shorter latency responses in dorsal ACC were associated with stronger attenuation in extrastriate visual cortex. Finally, an analysis of the brain response to the search frames revealed that the presence of the reward-relevant color in search distractors elicited an enhanced response that was abolished after increasing reward size. The present data together indicate that when top-down definitions of reward relevance and attention are separated, the behavioral significance of reward-associated features is still rapidly coded in higher-level cortex areas, thereby commanding effective top

Reward-related neural responses are dependent on the beneficiary.

PubMed

Braams, Barbara R; Güroğlu, Berna; de Water, Erik; Meuwese, Rosa; Koolschijn, P Cédric; Peper, Jiska S; Crone, Eveline A

2014-07-01

Prior studies have suggested that positive social interactions are experienced as rewarding. Yet, it is not well understood how social relationships influence neural responses to other persons' gains. In this study, we investigated neural responses during a gambling task in which healthy participants (N = 31; 18 females) could win or lose money for themselves, their best friend or a disliked other (antagonist). At the moment of receiving outcome, person-related activity was observed in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), precuneus and temporal parietal junction (TPJ), showing higher activity for friends and antagonists than for self, and this activity was independent of outcome. The only region showing an interaction between the person-participants played for and outcome was the ventral striatum. Specifically, the striatum was more active following gains than losses for self and friends, whereas for the antagonist this pattern was reversed. Together, these results show that, in a context with social and reward information, social aspects are processed in brain regions associated with social cognition (mPFC, TPJ), and reward aspects are processed in primary reward areas (striatum). Furthermore, there is an interaction of social and reward information in the striatum, such that reward-related activity was dependent on social relationship. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Abnormal Reward System Activation in Mania

PubMed Central

Abler, Birgit; Greenhouse, Ian; Ongur, Dost; Walter, Henrik; Heckers, Stephan

2008-01-01

Transmission of reward signals is a function of dopamine, a neurotransmitter known to be involved in the mechanism of psychosis. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated how expectation and receipt of monetary rewards modulate brain activation in patients with bipolar mania and schizophrenia. We studied 12 acutely manic patients with a history of bipolar disorder, 12 patients with a current episode of schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia and 12 healthy subjects. All patients were treated with dopamine antagonists at the time of the study. Subjects performed a delayed incentive paradigm with monetary reward in the scanner that allowed for investigating effects of expectation, receipt, and omission of rewards. Patients with schizophrenia and healthy control subjects showed the expected activation of dopaminergic brain areas, that is, ventral tegmentum activation upon expectation of monetary rewards and nucleus accumbens activation during receipt vs omission of rewards. In manic patients, however, we did not find a similar pattern of brain activation and the differential signal in the nucleus accumbens upon receipt vs omission of rewards was significantly lower compared to the healthy control subjects. Our findings provide evidence for abnormal function of the dopamine system during receipt or omission of expected rewards in bipolar disorder. These deficits in prediction error processing in acute mania may help to explain symptoms of disinhibition and abnormal goal pursuit regulation. PMID:17987058

Activation of dopamine D3 receptors inhibits reward-related learning induced by cocaine.

PubMed

Kong, H; Kuang, W; Li, S; Xu, M

2011-03-10

Memories of learned associations between the rewarding properties of drugs and environmental cues contribute to craving and relapse in humans. The mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system is involved in reward-related learning induced by drugs of abuse. DA D3 receptors are preferentially expressed in mesocorticolimbic DA projection areas. Genetic and pharmacological studies have shown that DA D3 receptors suppress locomotor-stimulant effects of cocaine and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behaviors. Activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) induced by acute cocaine administration is also inhibited by D3 receptors. How D3 receptors modulate cocaine-induced reward-related learning and associated changes in cell signaling in reward circuits in the brain, however, have not been fully investigated. In the present study, we show that D3 receptor mutant mice exhibit potentiated acquisition of conditioned place preference (CPP) at low doses of cocaine compared to wild-type mice. Activation of ERK and CaMKIIα, but not the c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38, in the nucleus accumbens, amygdala and prefrontal cortex is also potentiated in D3 receptor mutant mice compared to that in wild-type mice following CPP expression. These results support a model in which D3 receptors modulate reward-related learning induced by low doses of cocaine by inhibiting activation of ERK and CaMKIIα in reward circuits in the brain. Copyright © 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural connectivity during reward expectation dissociates psychopathic criminals from non-criminal individuals with high impulsive/antisocial psychopathic traits

PubMed Central

von Borries, Katinka; Volman, Inge; Bulten, Berend Hendrik; Cools, Roshan; Verkes, Robbert-Jan

2016-01-01

Criminal behaviour poses a big challenge for society. A thorough understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying criminality could optimize its prevention and management. Specifically,elucidating the neural mechanisms underpinning reward expectation might be pivotal to understanding criminal behaviour. So far no study has assessed reward expectation and its mechanisms in a criminal sample. To fill this gap, we assessed reward expectation in incarcerated, psychopathic criminals. We compared this group to two groups of non-criminal individuals: one with high levels and another with low levels of impulsive/antisocial traits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify neural responses to reward expectancy. Psychophysiological interaction analyses were performed to examine differences in functional connectivity patterns of reward-related regions. The data suggest that overt criminality is characterized, not by abnormal reward expectation per se, but rather by enhanced communication between reward-related striatal regions and frontal brain regions. We establish that incarcerated psychopathic criminals can be dissociated from non-criminal individuals with comparable impulsive/antisocial personality tendencies based on the degree to which reward-related brain regions interact with brain regions that control behaviour. The present results help us understand why some people act according to their impulsive/antisocial personality while others are able to behave adaptively despite reward-related urges. PMID:27217111

Developmental continuity in reward-related enhancement of cognitive control.

PubMed

Strang, Nicole M; Pollak, Seth D

2014-10-01

Adolescents engage in more risky behavior than children or adults. The most prominent hypothesis for this phenomenon is that brain systems governing reward sensitivity and brain systems governing self-regulation mature at different rates. Those systems governing reward sensitivity mature in advance of those governing self-control. This hypothesis has substantial empirical support, however, the evidence supporting this theory has been exclusively derived from contexts where self-control systems are required to regulate reward sensitivity in order to promote adaptive behavior. In adults, reward promotes a shift to a proactive control strategy and better cognitive control performance. It is unclear whether children and adolescents will respond to reward in the same way. Using fMRI methodology, we explored whether children and adolescents would demonstrate a shift to proactive control in the context of reward. We tested 22 children, 20 adolescents, and 23 adults. In contrast to our hypothesis, children, adolescents, and adults all demonstrated a shift to proactive cognitive control in the context of reward. In light of the results, current neurobiological theories of adolescent behavior need to be refined to reflect that in certain contexts there is continuity in the manner reward and cognitive control systems interact across development. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting

PubMed Central

Bromberg-Martin, Ethan S.; Matsumoto, Masayuki; Hikosaka, Okihide

2010-01-01

SUMMARY Midbrain dopamine neurons are well known for their strong responses to rewards and their critical role in positive motivation. It has become increasingly clear, however, that dopamine neurons also transmit signals related to salient but non-rewarding experiences such as aversive and alerting events. Here we review recent advances in understanding the reward and non-reward functions of dopamine. Based on this data, we propose that dopamine neurons come in multiple types that are connected with distinct brain networks and have distinct roles in motivational control. Some dopamine neurons encode motivational value, supporting brain networks for seeking, evaluation, and value learning. Others encode motivational salience, supporting brain networks for orienting, cognition, and general motivation. Both types of dopamine neurons are augmented by an alerting signal involved in rapid detection of potentially important sensory cues. We hypothesize that these dopaminergic pathways for value, salience, and alerting cooperate to support adaptive behavior. PMID:21144997

Neural basis of reward anticipation and its genetic determinants.

PubMed

Jia, Tianye; Macare, Christine; Desrivières, Sylvane; Gonzalez, Dante A; Tao, Chenyang; Ji, Xiaoxi; Ruggeri, Barbara; Nees, Frauke; Banaschewski, Tobias; Barker, Gareth J; Bokde, Arun L W; Bromberg, Uli; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia J; Dove, Rachel; Frouin, Vincent; Gallinat, Jürgen; Garavan, Hugh; Gowland, Penny A; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Lathrop, Mark; Lemaitre, Hervé; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Paus, Tomáš; Pausova, Zdenka; Poline, Jean-Baptiste; Rietschel, Marcella; Robbins, Trevor; Smolka, Michael N; Müller, Christian P; Feng, Jianfeng; Rothenfluh, Adrian; Flor, Herta; Schumann, Gunter

2016-04-05

Dysfunctional reward processing is implicated in various mental disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addictions. Such impairments might involve different components of the reward process, including brain activity during reward anticipation. We examined brain nodes engaged by reward anticipation in 1,544 adolescents and identified a network containing a core striatal node and cortical nodes facilitating outcome prediction and response preparation. Distinct nodes and functional connections were preferentially associated with either adolescent hyperactivity or alcohol consumption, thus conveying specificity of reward processing to clinically relevant behavior. We observed associations between the striatal node, hyperactivity, and the vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 4A (VPS4A) gene in humans, and the causal role of Vps4 for hyperactivity was validated in Drosophila Our data provide a neurobehavioral model explaining the heterogeneity of reward-related behaviors and generate a hypothesis accounting for their enduring nature.

Neural basis of reward anticipation and its genetic determinants

PubMed Central

Jia, Tianye; Macare, Christine; Desrivières, Sylvane; Gonzalez, Dante A.; Tao, Chenyang; Ji, Xiaoxi; Ruggeri, Barbara; Nees, Frauke; Banaschewski, Tobias; Barker, Gareth J.; Bokde, Arun L. W.; Bromberg, Uli; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia J.; Dove, Rachel; Gallinat, Jürgen; Garavan, Hugh; Gowland, Penny A.; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Lathrop, Mark; Lemaitre, Hervé; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Paus, Tomáš; Pausova, Zdenka; Poline, Jean-Baptiste; Rietschel, Marcella; Robbins, Trevor; Müller, Christian P.; Feng, Jianfeng; Rothenfluh, Adrian; Flor, Herta; Schumann, Gunter

2016-01-01

Dysfunctional reward processing is implicated in various mental disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addictions. Such impairments might involve different components of the reward process, including brain activity during reward anticipation. We examined brain nodes engaged by reward anticipation in 1,544 adolescents and identified a network containing a core striatal node and cortical nodes facilitating outcome prediction and response preparation. Distinct nodes and functional connections were preferentially associated with either adolescent hyperactivity or alcohol consumption, thus conveying specificity of reward processing to clinically relevant behavior. We observed associations between the striatal node, hyperactivity, and the vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 4A (VPS4A) gene in humans, and the causal role of Vps4 for hyperactivity was validated in Drosophila. Our data provide a neurobehavioral model explaining the heterogeneity of reward-related behaviors and generate a hypothesis accounting for their enduring nature. PMID:27001827

Additive effects of oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms on reward circuitry in youth with autism.

PubMed

Hernandez, L M; Krasileva, K; Green, S A; Sherman, L E; Ponting, C; McCarron, R; Lowe, J K; Geschwind, D H; Bookheimer, S Y; Dapretto, M

2017-08-01

Several common alleles in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) are associated with altered brain function in reward circuitry in neurotypical adults and may increase risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Yet, it is currently unknown how variation in the OXTR relates to brain functioning in individuals with ASD, and, critically, whether neural endophenotypes vary as a function of aggregate genetic risk. Here, for we believe the first time, we use a multi-locus approach to examine how genetic variation across several OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affect functional connectivity of the brain's reward network. Using data from 41 children with ASD and 41 neurotypical children, we examined functional connectivity of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) - a hub of the reward network - focusing on how connectivity varies with OXTR risk-allele dosage. Youth with ASD showed reduced NAcc connectivity with other areas in the reward circuit as a function of increased OXTR risk-allele dosage, as well as a positive association between risk-allele dosage and symptom severity, whereas neurotypical youth showed increased NAcc connectivity with frontal brain regions involved in mentalizing. In addition, we found that increased NAcc-frontal cortex connectivity in typically developing youth was related to better scores on a standardized measure of social functioning. Our results indicate that cumulative genetic variation on the OXTR impacts reward system connectivity in both youth with ASD and neurotypical controls. By showing differential genetic effects on neuroendophenotypes, these pathways elucidate mechanisms of vulnerability versus resilience in carriers of disease-associated risk alleles.

Reward loss and the basolateral amygdala: A function in reward comparisons.

PubMed

Kawasaki, Katsuyoshi; Annicchiarico, Iván; Glueck, Amanda C; Morón, Ignacio; Papini, Mauricio R

2017-07-28

The neural circuitry underlying behavior in reward loss situations is poorly understood. We considered two such situations: reward devaluation (from large to small rewards) and reward omission (from large rewards to no rewards). There is evidence that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in the negative emotion accompanying reward loss. However, little is known about the function of the basolateral nucleus (BLA) in reward loss. Two hypotheses of BLA function in reward loss, negative emotion and reward comparisons, were tested in an experiment involving pretraining excitotoxic BLA lesions followed by training in four tasks: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), autoshaping (AS) acquisition and extinction, anticipatory negative contrast (ANC), and open field testing (OF). Cell counts in the BLA (but not in the CeA) were significantly lower in animals with lesions vs. shams. BLA lesions eliminated cSNC and ANC, and accelerated extinction of lever pressing in AS. BLA lesions had no effect on OF testing: higher activity in the periphery than in the central area. This pattern of results provides support for the hypothesis that BLA neurons are important for reward comparison. The three affected tasks (cSNC, ANC, and AS extinction) involve reward comparisons. However, ANC does not seem to involve negative emotions and it was affected, whereas OF activity is known to involve negative emotion, but it was not affected. It is hypothesized that a circuit involving the thalamus, insular cortex, and BLA is critically involved in the mechanism comparing current and expected rewards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Association of Elevated Reward Prediction Error Response With Weight Gain in Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa.

PubMed

DeGuzman, Marisa; Shott, Megan E; Yang, Tony T; Riederer, Justin; Frank, Guido K W

2017-06-01

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder of unknown etiology. Understanding associations between behavior and neurobiology is important in treatment development. Using a novel monetary reward task during functional magnetic resonance brain imaging, the authors tested how brain reward learning in adolescent anorexia nervosa changes with weight restoration. Female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (N=21; mean age, 16.4 years [SD=1.9]) underwent functional MRI (fMRI) before and after treatment; similarly, healthy female control adolescents (N=21; mean age, 15.2 years [SD=2.4]) underwent fMRI on two occasions. Brain function was tested using the reward prediction error construct, a computational model for reward receipt and omission related to motivation and neural dopamine responsiveness. Compared with the control group, the anorexia nervosa group exhibited greater brain response 1) for prediction error regression within the caudate, ventral caudate/nucleus accumbens, and anterior and posterior insula, 2) to unexpected reward receipt in the anterior and posterior insula, and 3) to unexpected reward omission in the caudate body. Prediction error and unexpected reward omission response tended to normalize with treatment, while unexpected reward receipt response remained significantly elevated. Greater caudate prediction error response when underweight was associated with lower weight gain during treatment. Punishment sensitivity correlated positively with ventral caudate prediction error response. Reward system responsiveness is elevated in adolescent anorexia nervosa when underweight and after weight restoration. Heightened prediction error activity in brain reward regions may represent a phenotype of adolescent anorexia nervosa that does not respond well to treatment. Prediction error response could be a neurobiological marker of illness severity that can indicate individual treatment needs.

Association of Elevated Reward Prediction Error Response With Weight Gain in Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

PubMed Central

DeGuzman, Marisa; Shott, Megan E.; Yang, Tony T.; Riederer, Justin; Frank, Guido K.W.

2017-01-01

Objective Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder of unknown etiology. Understanding associations between behavior and neurobiology is important in treatment development. Using a novel monetary reward task during functional magnetic resonance brain imaging, the authors tested how brain reward learning in adolescent anorexia nervosa changes with weight restoration. Method Female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (N=21; mean age, 15.2 years [SD=2.4]) underwent functional MRI (fMRI) before and after treatment; similarly, healthy female control adolescents (N=21; mean age, 16.4 years [SD=1.9]) underwent fMRI on two occasions. Brain function was tested using the reward prediction error construct, a computational model for reward receipt and omission related to motivation and neural dopamine responsiveness. Results Compared with the control group, the anorexia nervosa group exhibited greater brain response 1) for prediction error regression within the caudate, ventral caudate/nucleus accumbens, and anterior and posterior insula, 2) to unexpected reward receipt in the anterior and posterior insula, and 3) to unexpected reward omission in the caudate body. Prediction error and unexpected reward omission response tended to normalize with treatment, while unexpected reward receipt response remained significantly elevated. Greater caudate prediction error response when underweight was associated with lower weight gain during treatment. Punishment sensitivity correlated positively with ventral caudate prediction error response. Conclusions Reward system responsiveness is elevated in adolescent anorexia nervosa when underweight and after weight restoration. Heightened prediction error activity in brain reward regions may represent a phenotype of adolescent anorexia nervosa that does not respond well to treatment. Prediction error response could be a neurobiological marker of illness severity that can indicate individual treatment needs. PMID:28231717

Reward Promotes Self-Face Processing: An Event-Related Potential Study

PubMed Central

Zhan, Youlong; Chen, Jie; Xiao, Xiao; Li, Jin; Yang, Zilu; Fan, Wei; Zhong, Yiping

2016-01-01

The present study adopted a reward-priming paradigm to investigate whether and how monetary reward cues affected self-face processing. Event-related potentials were recorded during judgments of head orientation of target faces (self, friend, and stranger), with performance associated with a monetary reward. The results showed self-faces elicited larger N2 mean amplitudes than other-faces, and mean N2 amplitudes increased after monetary reward as compared with no reward cue. Moreover, an interaction effect between cue type and face type was observed for the P3 component, suggesting that both self-faces and friend-faces elicited larger P3 mean amplitudes than stranger-faces after no reward cue, with no significant difference between self-faces and friend-faces under this condition. However, self-faces elicited larger P3 mean amplitudes than friend-faces when monetary reward cues were provided. Interestingly, the enhancement of reward on friend-faces processing was observed at late positive potentials (LPP; 450–600 ms), suggesting that the LPP difference between friend-faces and stranger-faces was enhanced with monetary reward cues. Thus, we found that the enhancement effect of reward on self-relevant processing occurred at the later stages, but not at the early stage. These findings suggest that the activation of the reward expectations can enhance self-face processing, yielding a robust and sustained modulation over their overlapped brain areas where reward and self-relevant processing mechanisms may operate together. PMID:27242637

The effects of intranasal oxytocin on reward circuitry responses in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Greene, R K; Spanos, M; Alderman, C; Walsh, E; Bizzell, J; Mosner, M G; Kinard, J L; Stuber, G D; Chandrasekhar, T; Politte, L C; Sikich, L; Dichter, G S

2018-03-27

Intranasal oxytocin (OT) has been shown to improve social communication functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, thus, has received considerable interest as a potential ASD therapeutic agent. Although preclinical research indicates that OT modulates the functional output of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system that processes rewards, no clinical brain imaging study to date has examined the effects of OT on this system using a reward processing paradigm. To address this, we used an incentive delay task to examine the effects of a single dose of intranasal OT, versus placebo (PLC), on neural responses to social and nonsocial rewards in children with ASD. In this placebo-controlled double-blind study, 28 children and adolescents with ASD (age: M = 13.43 years, SD = 2.36) completed two fMRI scans, one after intranasal OT administration and one after PLC administration. During both scanning sessions, participants completed social and nonsocial incentive delay tasks. Task-based neural activation and connectivity were examined to assess the impact of OT relative to PLC on mesocorticolimbic brain responses to social and nonsocial reward anticipation and outcomes. Central analyses compared the OT and PLC conditions. During nonsocial reward anticipation, there was greater activation in the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc), left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral orbital frontal cortex (OFC), left superior frontal cortex, and right frontal pole (FP) during the OT condition relative to PLC. Alternatively, during social reward anticipation and outcomes, there were no significant increases in brain activation during the OT condition relative to PLC. A Treatment Group × Reward Condition interaction revealed relatively greater activation in the right NAcc, right caudate nucleus, left ACC, and right OFC during nonsocial relative to social reward anticipation during the OT condition relative to PLC. Additionally, these analyses revealed

Cannabinoid Regulation of Brain Reward Processing with an Emphasis on the Role of CB1 Receptors: A Step Back into the Future.

PubMed

Panagis, George; Mackey, Brian; Vlachou, Styliani

2014-01-01

Over the last decades, the endocannabinoid system has been implicated in a large variety of functions, including a crucial modulation of brain-reward circuits and the regulation of motivational processes. Importantly, behavioral studies have shown that cannabinoid compounds activate brain reward mechanisms and circuits in a similar manner to other drugs of abuse, such as nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, although the conditions under which cannabinoids exert their rewarding effects may be more limited. Furthermore, there is evidence on the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of cue- and drug-induced relapsing phenomena in animal models. The aim of this review is to briefly present the available data obtained using diverse behavioral experimental approaches in experimental animals, namely, the intracranial self-stimulation paradigm, the self-administration procedure, the conditioned place preference procedure, and the reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior procedure, to provide a comprehensive picture of the current status of what is known about the endocannabinoid system mechanisms that underlie modification of brain-reward processes. Emphasis is placed on the effects of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor agonists, antagonists, and endocannabinoid modulators. Further, the role of CB1 receptors in reward processes is investigated through presentation of respective genetic ablation studies in mice. The vast majority of studies in the existing literature suggest that the endocannabinoid system plays a major role in modulating motivation and reward processes. However, much remains to be done before we fully understand these interactions. Further research in the future will shed more light on these processes and, thus, could lead to the development of potential pharmacotherapies designed to treat reward-dysfunction-related disorders.

NMDA receptors regulate nicotine-enhanced brain reward function and intravenous nicotine self-administration: role of the ventral tegmental area and central nucleus of the amygdala.

PubMed

Kenny, Paul J; Chartoff, Elena; Roberto, Marisa; Carlezon, William A; Markou, Athina

2009-01-01

Nicotine is considered an important component of tobacco responsible for the smoking habit in humans. Nicotine increases glutamate-mediated transmission throughout brain reward circuitries. This action of nicotine could potentially contribute to its intrinsic rewarding and reward-enhancing properties, which motivate consumption of the drug. Here we show that the competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist LY235959 (0.5-2.5 mg per kg) abolished nicotine-enhanced brain reward function, reflected in blockade of the lowering of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) thresholds usually observed after experimenter-administered (0.25 mg per kg) or intravenously self-administered (0.03 mg per kg per infusion) nicotine injections. The highest LY235959 dose (5 mg per kg) tested reversed the hedonic valence of nicotine from positive to negative, reflected in nicotine-induced elevations of ICSS thresholds. LY235959 doses that reversed nicotine-induced lowering of ICSS thresholds also markedly decreased nicotine self-administration without altering responding for food reinforcement, whereas the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor antagonist NBQX had no effects on nicotine intake. In addition, nicotine self-administration upregulated NMDA receptor subunit expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), suggesting important interactions between nicotine and the NMDA receptor. Furthermore, nicotine (1 microM) increased NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents in rat CeA slices, similar to its previously described effects in the VTA. Finally, infusion of LY235959 (0.1-10 ng per side) into the CeA or VTA decreased nicotine self-administration. Taken together, these data suggest that NMDA receptors, including those in the CeA and VTA, gate the magnitude and valence of the effects of nicotine on brain reward systems, thereby regulating motivation to consume the drug.

Effort-related functions of nucleus accumbens dopamine and associated forebrain circuits.

PubMed

Salamone, J D; Correa, M; Farrar, A; Mingote, S M

2007-04-01

Over the last several years, it has become apparent that there are critical problems with the hypothesis that brain dopamine (DA) systems, particularly in the nucleus accumbens, directly mediate the rewarding or primary motivational characteristics of natural stimuli such as food. Hypotheses related to DA function are undergoing a substantial restructuring, such that the classic emphasis on hedonia and primary reward is giving way to diverse lines of research that focus on aspects of instrumental learning, reward prediction, incentive motivation, and behavioral activation. The present review discusses dopaminergic involvement in behavioral activation and, in particular, emphasizes the effort-related functions of nucleus accumbens DA and associated forebrain circuitry. The effects of accumbens DA depletions on food-seeking behavior are critically dependent upon the work requirements of the task. Lever pressing schedules that have minimal work requirements are largely unaffected by accumbens DA depletions, whereas reinforcement schedules that have high work (e.g., ratio) requirements are substantially impaired by accumbens DA depletions. Moreover, interference with accumbens DA transmission exerts a powerful influence over effort-related decision making. Rats with accumbens DA depletions reallocate their instrumental behavior away from food-reinforced tasks that have high response requirements, and instead, these rats select a less-effortful type of food-seeking behavior. Along with prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, nucleus accumbens is a component of the brain circuitry regulating effort-related functions. Studies of the brain systems regulating effort-based processes may have implications for understanding drug abuse, as well as energy-related disorders such as psychomotor slowing, fatigue, or anergia in depression.

Task preparation processes related to reward prediction precede those related to task-difficulty expectation

PubMed Central

Schevernels, Hanne; Krebs, Ruth M.; Santens, Patrick; Woldorff, Marty G.; Boehler, C. Nico

2013-01-01

Recently, attempts have been made to disentangle the neural underpinnings of preparatory processes related to reward and attention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research showed that neural activity related to the anticipation of reward and to attentional demands invokes neural activity patterns featuring large-scale overlap, along with some differences and interactions. Due to the limited temporal resolution of fMRI, however, the temporal dynamics of these processes remain unclear. Here, we report an event-related potentials (ERP) study in which cued attentional demands and reward prospect were combined in a factorial design. Results showed that reward prediction dominated early cue processing, as well as the early and later parts of the contingent negative variation (CNV) slow-wave ERP component that has been associated with task-preparation processes. Moreover these reward-related electrophysiological effects correlated across participants with response-time speeding on reward-prospect trials. In contrast, cued attentional demands affected only the later part of the CNV, with the highest amplitudes following cues predicting high-difficulty potential-reward targets, thus suggesting maximal task preparation when the task requires it and entails reward prospect. Consequently, we suggest that task-preparation processes triggered by reward can arise earlier, and potentially more directly, than strategic top-down aspects of preparation based on attentional demands. PMID:24064071

Baby schema modulates the brain reward system in nulliparous women.

PubMed

Glocker, Melanie L; Langleben, Daniel D; Ruparel, Kosha; Loughead, James W; Valdez, Jeffrey N; Griffin, Mark D; Sachser, Norbert; Gur, Ruben C

2009-06-02

Ethologist Konrad Lorenz defined the baby schema ("Kindchenschema") as a set of infantile physical features, such as round face and big eyes, that is perceived as cute and motivates caretaking behavior in the human, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival. The neural basis of this fundamental altruistic instinct is not well understood. Prior studies reported a pattern of brain response to pictures of children, but did not dissociate the brain response to baby schema from the response to children. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and controlled manipulation of the baby schema in infant faces, we found that baby schema activates the nucleus accumbens, a key structure of the mesocorticolimbic system mediating reward processing and appetitive motivation, in nulliparous women. Our findings suggest that engagement of the mesocorticolimbic system is the neurophysiologic mechanism by which baby schema promotes human caregiving, regardless of kinship.

Frontal theta and beta synchronizations for monetary reward increase visual working memory capacity.

PubMed

Kawasaki, Masahiro; Yamaguchi, Yoko

2013-06-01

Visual working memory (VWM) capacity is affected by motivational influences; however, little is known about how reward-related brain activities facilitate the VWM systems. To investigate the dynamic relationship between VWM- and reward-related brain activities, we conducted time-frequency analyses using electroencephalograph (EEG) data obtained during a monetary-incentive delayed-response task that required participants to memorize the position of colored disks. In case of a correct answer, participants received a monetary reward (0, 10 or 50 Japanese yen) announced at the beginning of each trial. Behavioral results showed that VWM capacity under high-reward condition significantly increased compared with that under low- or no-reward condition. EEG results showed that frontal theta (6 Hz) amplitudes enhanced during delay periods and positively correlated with VWM capacity, indicating involvement of theta local synchronizations in VWM. Moreover, frontal beta activities (24 Hz) were identified as reward-related activities, because delay-period amplitudes correlated with increases in VWM capacity between high-reward and no-reward conditions. Interestingly, cross-frequency couplings between frontal theta and beta phases were observed only under high-reward conditions. These findings suggest that the functional dynamic linking between VWM-related theta and reward-related beta activities on the frontal regions plays an integral role in facilitating increases in VWM capacity.

A decade of decoding reward-related fMRI signals and where we go from here.

PubMed

Kahnt, Thorsten

2017-06-04

Information about potential rewards in the environment is essential for guiding adaptive behavior, and understanding neural reward processes may provide insights into neuropsychiatric dysfunctions. Over the past 10 years, multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) techniques have been used to study brain areas encoding information about expected and experienced outcomes. These studies have identified reward signals throughout the brain, including the striatum, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and parietal cortex. This review article discusses some of the assumptions and models that are used to interpret results from these studies, and how they relate to findings from animal electrophysiology. The article reviews and summarizes some of the key findings from MVPA studies on reward. In particular, it first focuses on studies that, in addition to mapping out the brain areas that process rewards, have provided novel insights into the coding mechanisms of value and reward. Then, it discusses examples of how multivariate imaging approaches are being used more recently to decode features of expected rewards that go beyond value, such as the identity of an expected outcome or the action required to obtain it. The study of such complex and multifaceted reward representations highlights the key advantage of using representational methods, which are uniquely able to reveal these signals and may narrow the gap between animal and human research. Applied in a clinical context, MVPA may advance our understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders and the development of novel treatment strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Altered reward system reactivity for personalized circumscribed interests in autism.

PubMed

Kohls, Gregor; Antezana, Ligia; Mosner, Maya G; Schultz, Robert T; Yerys, Benjamin E

2018-01-01

Neurobiological research in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has paid little attention on brain mechanisms that cause and maintain restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBIs). Evidence indicates an imbalance in the brain's reward system responsiveness to social and non-social stimuli may contribute to both social deficits and RRBIs. Thus, this study's central aim was to compare brain responsiveness to individual RRBI (i.e., circumscribed interests), with social rewards (i.e., social approval), in youth with ASD relative to typically developing controls (TDCs). We conducted a 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to investigate the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent effect of personalized circumscribed interest rewards versus social rewards in 39 youth with ASD relative to 22 TDC. To probe the reward system, we employed short video clips as reinforcement in an instrumental incentive delay task. This optimization increased the task's ecological validity compared to still pictures that are often used in this line of research. Compared to TDCs, youth with ASD had stronger reward system responses for CIs mostly within the non-social realm (e.g., video games) than social rewards (e.g., approval). Additionally, this imbalance within the caudate nucleus' responsiveness was related to greater social impairment. The current data support the idea of reward system dysfunction that may contribute to enhanced motivation for RRBIs in ASD, accompanied by diminished motivation for social engagement. If a dysregulated reward system indeed supports the emergence and maintenance of social and non-social symptoms of ASD, then strategically targeting the reward system in future treatment endeavors may allow for more efficacious treatment practices that help improve outcomes for individuals with ASD and their families.

Alterations of Brain Functional Architecture Associated with Psychopathic Traits in Male Adolescents with Conduct Disorder.

PubMed

Pu, Weidan; Luo, Qiang; Jiang, Yali; Gao, Yidian; Ming, Qingsen; Yao, Shuqiao

2017-09-12

Psychopathic traits of conduct disorder (CD) have a core callous-unemotional (CU) component and an impulsive-antisocial component. Previous task-driven fMRI studies have suggested that psychopathic traits are associated with dysfunction of several brain areas involved in different cognitive functions (e.g., empathy, reward, and response inhibition etc.), but the relationship between psychopathic traits and intrinsic brain functional architecture has not yet been explored in CD. Using a holistic brain-wide functional connectivity analysis, this study delineated the alterations in brain functional networks in patients with conduct disorder. Compared with matched healthy controls, we found decreased anti-synchronization between the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and default mode network (DMN), and increased intra-network synchronization within the frontothalamic-basal ganglia, right frontoparietal, and temporal/limbic/visual networks in CD patients. Correlation analysis showed that the weakened FPN-DMN interaction was associated with CU traits, while the heightened intra-network functional connectivity was related to impulsivity traits in CD patients. Our findings suggest that decoupling of cognitive control (FPN) with social understanding of others (DMN) is associated with the CU traits, and hyper-functions of the reward and motor inhibition systems elevate impulsiveness in CD.

Food Approach and Food Avoidance in Young Children: Relation with Reward Sensitivity and Punishment Sensitivity

PubMed Central

Vandeweghe, Laura; Vervoort, Leentje; Verbeken, Sandra; Moens, Ellen; Braet, Caroline

2016-01-01

It has recently been suggested that individual differences in Reward Sensitivity and Punishment Sensitivity may determine how children respond to food. These temperamental traits reflect activity in two basic brain systems that respond to rewarding and punishing stimuli, respectively, with approach and avoidance. Via parent-report questionnaires, we investigate the associations of the general motivational temperamental traits Reward Sensitivity and Punishment Sensitivity with Food Approach and Food Avoidance in 98 preschool children. Consistent with the conceptualization of Reward Sensitivity in terms of approach behavior and Punishment Sensitivity in terms of avoidance behavior, Reward Sensitivity was positively related to Food Approach, while Punishment Sensitivity was positively related to Food Avoidance. Future research should integrate these perspectives (i.e., general temperamental traits Reward Sensitivity and Punishment Sensitivity, and Food Approach and Avoidance) to get a better understanding of eating behavior and related body weight. PMID:27445898

Reward-Related Dorsal Striatal Activity Differences between Former and Current Cocaine Dependent Individuals during an Interactive Competitive Game

PubMed Central

Hyatt, Christopher J.; Assaf, Michal; Muska, Christine E.; Rosen, Rivkah I.; Thomas, Andre D.; Johnson, Matthew R.; Hylton, Jennifer L.; Andrews, Melissa M.; Reynolds, Brady A.; Krystal, John H.; Potenza, Marc N.; Pearlson, Godfrey D.

2012-01-01

Cocaine addiction is characterized by impulsivity, impaired social relationships, and abnormal mesocorticolimbic reward processing, but their interrelationships relative to stages of cocaine addiction are unclear. We assessed blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) signal in ventral and dorsal striatum during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in current (CCD; n = 30) and former (FCD; n = 28) cocaine dependent subjects as well as healthy control (HC; n = 31) subjects while playing an interactive competitive Domino game involving risk-taking and reward/punishment processing. Out-of-scanner impulsivity-related measures were also collected. Although both FCD and CCD subjects scored significantly higher on impulsivity-related measures than did HC subjects, only FCD subjects had differences in striatal activation, specifically showing hypoactivation during their response to gains versus losses in right dorsal caudate, a brain region linked to habituation, cocaine craving and addiction maintenance. Right caudate activity in FCD subjects also correlated negatively with impulsivity-related measures of self-reported compulsivity and sensitivity to reward. These findings suggest that remitted cocaine dependence is associated with striatal dysfunction during social reward processing in a manner linked to compulsivity and reward sensitivity measures. Future research should investigate the extent to which such differences might reflect underlying vulnerabilities linked to cocaine-using propensities (e.g., relapses). PMID:22606228

Impaired Feedback Processing for Symbolic Reward in Individuals with Internet Game Overuse

PubMed Central

Kim, Jinhee; Kim, Hackjin; Kang, Eunjoo

2017-01-01

Reward processing, which plays a critical role in adaptive behavior, is impaired in addiction disorders, which are accompanied by functional abnormalities in brain reward circuits. Internet gaming disorder, like substance addiction, is thought to be associated with impaired reward processing, but little is known about how it affects learning, especially when feedback is conveyed by less-salient motivational events. Here, using both monetary (±500 KRW) and symbolic (Chinese characters “right” or “wrong”) rewards and penalties, we investigated whether behavioral performance and feedback-related neural responses are altered in Internet game overuse (IGO) group. Using functional MRI, brain responses for these two types of reward/penalty feedback were compared between young males with problems of IGO (IGOs, n = 18, mean age = 22.2 ± 2.0 years) and age-matched control subjects (Controls, n = 20, mean age = 21.2 ± 2.1) during a visuomotor association task where associations were learned between English letters and one of four responses. No group difference was found in adjustment of error responses following the penalty or in brain responses to penalty, for either monetary or symbolic penalties. The IGO individuals, however, were more likely to fail to choose the response previously reinforced by symbolic (but not monetary) reward. A whole brain two-way ANOVA analysis for reward revealed reduced activations in the IGO group in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in response to both reward types, suggesting impaired reward processing. However, the responses to reward in the inferior parietal region and medial orbitofrontal cortex/vmPFC were affected by the types of reward in the IGO group. Unlike the control group, in the IGO group the reward response was reduced only for symbolic reward, suggesting lower attentional and value processing specific to symbolic reward. Furthermore, the more severe

Immaturities in Reward Processing and Its Influence on Inhibitory Control in Adolescence

PubMed Central

Terwilliger, R.; Teslovich, T.; Velanova, K.; Luna, B.

2010-01-01

The nature of immature reward processing and the influence of rewards on basic elements of cognitive control during adolescence are currently not well understood. Here, during functional magnetic resonance imaging, healthy adolescents and adults performed a modified antisaccade task in which trial-by-trial reward contingencies were manipulated. The use of a novel fast, event-related design enabled developmental differences in brain function underlying temporally distinct stages of reward processing and response inhibition to be assessed. Reward trials compared with neutral trials resulted in faster correct inhibitory responses across ages and in fewer inhibitory errors in adolescents. During reward trials, the blood oxygen level–dependent signal was attenuated in the ventral striatum in adolescents during cue assessment, then overactive during response preparation, suggesting limitations during adolescence in reward assessment and heightened reactivity in anticipation of reward compared with adults. Importantly, heightened activity in the frontal cortex along the precentral sulcus was also observed in adolescents during reward-trial response preparation, suggesting reward modulation of oculomotor control regions supporting correct inhibitory responding. Collectively, this work characterizes specific immaturities in adolescent brain systems that support reward processing and describes the influence of reward on inhibitory control. In sum, our findings suggest mechanisms that may underlie adolescents’ vulnerability to poor decision-making and risk-taking behavior. PMID:19875675

Intranasal insulin modulates intrinsic reward and prefrontal circuitry of the human brain in lean women.

PubMed

Kullmann, Stephanie; Frank, Sabine; Heni, Martin; Ketterer, Caroline; Veit, Ralf; Häring, Hans-Ulrich; Fritsche, Andreas; Preissl, Hubert

2013-01-01

There is accumulating evidence that food consumption is controlled by a wide range of brain circuits outside of the homeostatic system. Activation in these brain circuits may override the homeostatic system and also contribute to the enormous increase of obesity. However, little is known about the influence of hormonal signals on the brain's non-homeostatic system. Thus, selective insulin action in the brain was investigated by using intranasal application. We performed 'resting-state' functional magnetic resonance imaging in 17 healthy lean female subjects to assess intrinsic brain activity by fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) before, 30 and 90 min after application of intranasal insulin. Here, we showed that insulin modulates intrinsic brain activity in the hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex. Furthermore, we could show that the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex response to insulin is associated with body mass index. This demonstrates that hormonal signals as insulin may reduce food intake by modifying the reward and prefrontal circuitry of the human brain, thereby potentially decreasing the rewarding properties of food. Due to the alarming increase in obesity worldwide, it is of great importance to identify neural mechanisms of interaction between the homeostatic and non-homeostatic system to generate new targets for obesity therapy. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Functional changes in the reward circuit in response to gaming-related cues after training with a commercial video game.

PubMed

Gleich, Tobias; Lorenz, Robert C; Gallinat, Jürgen; Kühn, Simone

2017-05-15

In the present longitudinal study, we aimed to investigate video game training associated neuronal changes in reward processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We recruited 48 healthy young participants which were assigned to one of 2 groups: A group in which participants were instructed to play a commercial video game ("Super Mario 64 DS") on a portable Nintendo DS handheld console at least 30minutes a day over a period of two months (video gaming group; VG) or to a matched passive control group (CG). Before and after the training phase, in both groups, fMRI imaging was conducted during passively viewing reward and punishment-related videos sequences recorded from the trained video game. The results show that video game training may lead to reward related decrease in neuronal activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and increase in the hippocampus. Additionally, the decrease in DLPFC activation was associated with gaming related parameters experienced during playing. Specifically, we found that in the VG, gaming related parameters like performance, experienced fun and frustration (assessed during the training period) were correlated to decrease in reward related DLPFC activity. Thus, neuronal changes in terms of video game training seem to be highly related to the appetitive character and reinforcement schedule of the game. Those neuronal changes may also be related to the often reported video game associated improvements in cognitive functions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reward processing and mood-related symptoms: An RDoC and translational neuroscience perspective.

PubMed

Nusslock, Robin; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-07-01

Two objectives of the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative are to identify (a) mechanisms that are common to multiple psychiatric disorders, and (b) mechanisms that are unique to specific psychiatric symptoms, and that reflect markers of differential risk for these symptoms. With respect to these objectives, a brain-behavior dimension that has received considerable attention and that is directly relevant to the Positive Valence Systems domain of the RDoC initiative involves reward processing. The present review paper first examines the relationship between reward processing and mood-related symptoms from an RDoC perspective. We then place this work in a larger context by examining the relationship between reward processing abnormalities and psychiatric symptoms defined broadly, including mood-related symptoms, schizophrenia, and addiction. Our review suggests that reward hyposensitivity relates to a subtype of anhedonia characterized by motivational deficits in unipolar depression, and reward hypersensitivity relates to a cluster of hypo/manic symptoms characterized by excessive approach motivation in the context of bipolar disorder. Integrating this perspective with research on reward processing abnormalities in schizophrenia and addiction, we further argue that the principles of equifinality and multifinality may be preferable to a transdiagnostic perspective for conceptualizing the relationship between reward processing and psychiatric symptoms defined broadly. We propose that vulnerability to either motivational anhedonia or approach-related hypo/manic symptoms involve extreme and opposite profiles of reward processing. We further propose that an equifinality and multifinality perspective may serve as a useful framework for future research on reward processing abnormalities and psychiatric symptoms. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Deep brain stimulation in the central nucleus of the amygdala decreases 'wanting' and 'liking' of food rewards.

PubMed

Ross, Shani E; Lehmann Levin, Emily; Itoga, Christy A; Schoen, Chelsea B; Selmane, Romeissa; Aldridge, J Wayne

2016-10-01

We investigated the potential of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in rats to modulate functional reward mechanisms. The CeA is the major output of the amygdala with direct connections to the hypothalamus and gustatory brainstem, and indirect connections with the nucleus accumbens. Further, the CeA has been shown to be involved in learning, emotional integration, reward processing, and regulation of feeding. We hypothesized that DBS, which is used to treat movement disorders and other brain dysfunctions, might block reward motivation. In rats performing a lever-pressing task to obtain sugar pellet rewards, we stimulated the CeA and control structures, and compared stimulation parameters. During CeA stimulation, animals stopped working for rewards and rejected freely available rewards. Taste reactivity testing during DBS exposed aversive reactions to normally liked sucrose tastes and even more aversive taste reactions to normally disliked quinine tastes. Interestingly, given the opportunity, animals implanted in the CeA would self-stimulate with 500 ms trains of stimulation at the same frequency and current parameters as continuous stimulation that would stop reward acquisition. Neural recordings during DBS showed that CeA neurons were still active and uncovered inhibitory-excitatory patterns after each stimulus pulse indicating possible entrainment of the neural firing with DBS. In summary, DBS modulation of CeA may effectively usurp normal neural activity patterns to create an 'information lesion' that not only decreased motivational 'wanting' of food rewards, but also blocked 'liking' of rewards. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The brain correlates of the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation.

PubMed

Albrecht, Konstanze; Abeler, Johannes; Weber, Bernd; Falk, Armin

2014-01-01

Apart from everyday duties, such as doing the laundry or cleaning the house, there are tasks we do for pleasure and enjoyment. We do such tasks, like solving crossword puzzles or reading novels, without any external pressure or force; instead, we are intrinsically motivated: we do the tasks because we enjoy doing them. Previous studies suggest that external rewards, i.e., rewards from the outside, affect the intrinsic motivation to engage in a task: while performance-based monetary rewards are perceived as controlling and induce a business-contract framing, verbal rewards praising one's competence can enhance the perceived self-determination. Accordingly, the former have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas the latter have been shown to increase intrinsic motivation. The present study investigated the neural processes underlying the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation in a group of 64 subjects applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that, when participants received positive performance feedback, activation in the anterior striatum and midbrain was affected by the nature of the reward; compared to a non-rewarded control group, activation was higher while monetary rewards were administered. However, we did not find a decrease in activation after reward withdrawal. In contrast, we found an increase in activation for verbal rewards: after verbal rewards had been withdrawn, participants showed a higher activation in the aforementioned brain areas when they received success compared to failure feedback. We further found that, while participants worked on the task, activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex was enhanced after the verbal rewards were administered and withdrawn.

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus modulates reward processing and action selection in Parkinson patients.

PubMed

Wagenbreth, Caroline; Zaehle, Tino; Galazky, Imke; Voges, Jürgen; Guitart-Masip, Marc; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Düzel, Emrah

2015-06-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for motor impairments in Parkinson's disease (PD) but its effect on the motivational regulation of action control is still not fully understood. We investigated whether DBS of the STN influences the ability of PD patients to act for anticipated reward or loss, or whether DBS improves action execution independent of motivational valence. 16 PD patients (12 male, mean age = 58.5 ± 10.17 years) treated with bilateral STN-DBS and an age- and gender-matched group of healthy controls (HC) performed a go/no-go task whose contingencies explicitly decouple valence and action. Patients were tested with (ON) and without (OFF) active STN stimulation. For HC, there was a benefit in performing rewarded actions when compared to actions that avoided punishment. PD patients showed such a benefit reliably only when STN stimulation was ON. In fact, the relative behavioral benefit for go for reward over go to avoid losing was stronger in the PD patients under DBS ON than in HC. In PD patients, rather than generally improving motor functions independent of motivational valence, modulation of the STN by DBS improves action execution specifically when rewards are anticipated. Thus, STN-DBS establishes a reliable congruency between action and reward ("Pavlovian congruency") and remarkably enhances it over the level observed in HC.

Changes in reward-induced brain activation in opiate addicts.

PubMed

Martin-Soelch, C; Chevalley, A F; Künig, G; Missimer, J; Magyar, S; Mino, A; Schultz, W; Leenders, K L

2001-10-01

Many studies indicate a role of the cerebral dopaminergic reward system in addiction. Motivated by these findings, we examined in opiate addicts whether brain regions involved in the reward circuitry also react to human prototypical rewards. We measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography (PET) during a visuo-spatial recognition task with delayed response in control subjects and in opiate addicts participating in a methadone program. Three conditions were defined by the types of feedback: nonsense feedback; nonmonetary reinforcement; or monetary reward, received by the subjects for a correct response. We found in the control subjects rCBF increases in regions associated with the meso-striatal and meso-corticolimbic circuits in response to both monetary reward and nonmonetary reinforcement. In opiate addicts, these regions were activated only in response to monetary reward. Furthermore, nonmonetary reinforcement elicited rCBF increases in limbic regions of the opiate addicts that were not activated in the control subjects. Because psychoactive drugs serve as rewards and directly affect regions of the dopaminergic system like the striatum, we conclude that the differences in rCBF increases between controls and addicts can be attributed to an adaptive consequence of the addiction process.

[Adolescence, addictive disorders and psychopathology. Between the brain systems of reward and the self-regulation].

PubMed

Ortiz-Frágola, Alfredo

2017-05-01

The author analyzes certain aspects of the psychopathology of addictions in adolescence, from a psychoanalytical and neurobiological point of view. Within the feld of present psychopathology we frequently fnd problems related with use and abuse of substances, particularly in adolescent therapy. Impulsivity, violence, marginalization, and primitive phantasies appear in the setting along with the functioning of the "addictive brain". Several aspects of vulnerability in adolescence, like depressive symptoms or narcissistic unbalance are connected with two basic principles in addiction: 1) drugs as a mean of obtaining pleasure, and 2) drugs as self regulators. The paper also describes the brain reward systems and the effect of drugs as neurotransmitters within the framework of intersubjectivity. A social approach completes the interdisciplinary work and enables us to use different explanatory models.

Frontal theta and beta synchronizations for monetary reward increase visual working memory capacity

PubMed Central

Yamaguchi, Yoko

2013-01-01

Visual working memory (VWM) capacity is affected by motivational influences; however, little is known about how reward-related brain activities facilitate the VWM systems. To investigate the dynamic relationship between VWM- and reward-related brain activities, we conducted time–frequency analyses using electroencephalograph (EEG) data obtained during a monetary-incentive delayed-response task that required participants to memorize the position of colored disks. In case of a correct answer, participants received a monetary reward (0, 10 or 50 Japanese yen) announced at the beginning of each trial. Behavioral results showed that VWM capacity under high-reward condition significantly increased compared with that under low- or no-reward condition. EEG results showed that frontal theta (6 Hz) amplitudes enhanced during delay periods and positively correlated with VWM capacity, indicating involvement of theta local synchronizations in VWM. Moreover, frontal beta activities (24 Hz) were identified as reward-related activities, because delay-period amplitudes correlated with increases in VWM capacity between high-reward and no-reward conditions. Interestingly, cross-frequency couplings between frontal theta and beta phases were observed only under high-reward conditions. These findings suggest that the functional dynamic linking between VWM-related theta and reward-related beta activities on the frontal regions plays an integral role in facilitating increases in VWM capacity. PMID:22349800

Dissociated roles of the anterior cingulate cortex in reward and conflict processing as revealed by the feedback error-related negativity and N200.

PubMed

Baker, Travis E; Holroyd, Clay B

2011-04-01

The reinforcement learning theory of the error-related negativity (ERN) holds that the impact of reward signals carried by the midbrain dopamine system modulates activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), alternatively disinhibiting and inhibiting the ACC following unpredicted error and reward events, respectively. According to a recent formulation of the theory, activity that is intrinsic to the ACC produces a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) called the N200, and following unpredicted rewards, the N200 is suppressed by extrinsically applied positive dopamine reward signals, resulting in an ERP component called the feedback-ERN (fERN). Here we demonstrate that, despite extensive spatial and temporal overlap between the two ERP components, the functional processes indexed by the N200 (conflict) and the fERN (reward) are dissociable. These results point toward avenues for future investigation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The roles of valuation and reward processing in cognitive function and psychiatric disorders

PubMed Central

Hélie, Sébastien; Shamloo, Farzin; Novak, Keisha; Foti, Dan

2017-01-01

In neuroeconomics, valuation refers to the process of assigning values to states and actions based on the animal’s current representation of the environment while reward processing corresponds to processing the feedback received from the environment to update the values of states and actions. In this article, we review the brain circuits associated with valuation and reward processing and argue that these are fundamental processes critical in many cognitive functions. Specifically, we focus on the role of valuation and reward processing in attention, memory, decision–making, and learning. Next, the extant neuroimaging literature on a number of psychiatric disorders is reviewed (i.e., addiction, pathological gambling, schizophrenia, and mood disorders), and an argument is made that associated deficits in cognitive functions can be explained in terms of abnormal valuation and reward processing. The review concludes with the impact of this framework in clinical settings and prescriptions for future research, in particular with regards to the conversions of qualitatively different valuation systems into a system of common currency. PMID:28415138

Visual Sexual Stimuli—Cue or Reward? A Perspective for Interpreting Brain Imaging Findings on Human Sexual Behaviors

PubMed Central

Gola, Mateusz; Wordecha, Małgorzata; Marchewka, Artur; Sescousse, Guillaume

2016-01-01

There is an increasing number of neuroimaging studies using visual sexual stimuli (VSS), especially within the emerging field of research on compulsive sexual behaviors (CSB). A central question in this field is whether behaviors such as excessive pornography consumption share common brain mechanisms with widely studied substance and behavioral addictions. Depending on how VSS are conceptualized, different predictions can be formulated within the frameworks of Reinforcement Learning or Incentive Salience Theory, where a crucial distinction is made between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (related to reward anticipation vs. reward consumption, respectively). Surveying 40 recent human neuroimaging studies we show existing ambiguity about the conceptualization of VSS. Therefore, we feel that it is important to address the question of whether VSS should be considered as conditioned stimuli (cue) or unconditioned stimuli (reward). Here we present our own perspective, which is that in most laboratory settings VSS play a role of reward, as evidenced by: (1) experience of pleasure while watching VSS, possibly accompanied by genital reaction; (2) reward-related brain activity correlated with these pleasurable feelings in response to VSS; (3) a willingness to exert effort to view VSS similarly as for other rewarding stimuli such as money; and (4) conditioning for cues predictive of VSS. We hope that this perspective article will initiate a scientific discussion on this important and overlooked topic and increase attention for appropriate interpretations of results of human neuroimaging studies using VSS. PMID:27574507

Visual Sexual Stimuli-Cue or Reward? A Perspective for Interpreting Brain Imaging Findings on Human Sexual Behaviors.

PubMed

Gola, Mateusz; Wordecha, Małgorzata; Marchewka, Artur; Sescousse, Guillaume

2016-01-01

There is an increasing number of neuroimaging studies using visual sexual stimuli (VSS), especially within the emerging field of research on compulsive sexual behaviors (CSB). A central question in this field is whether behaviors such as excessive pornography consumption share common brain mechanisms with widely studied substance and behavioral addictions. Depending on how VSS are conceptualized, different predictions can be formulated within the frameworks of Reinforcement Learning or Incentive Salience Theory, where a crucial distinction is made between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (related to reward anticipation vs. reward consumption, respectively). Surveying 40 recent human neuroimaging studies we show existing ambiguity about the conceptualization of VSS. Therefore, we feel that it is important to address the question of whether VSS should be considered as conditioned stimuli (cue) or unconditioned stimuli (reward). Here we present our own perspective, which is that in most laboratory settings VSS play a role of reward, as evidenced by: (1) experience of pleasure while watching VSS, possibly accompanied by genital reaction; (2) reward-related brain activity correlated with these pleasurable feelings in response to VSS; (3) a willingness to exert effort to view VSS similarly as for other rewarding stimuli such as money; and (4) conditioning for cues predictive of VSS. We hope that this perspective article will initiate a scientific discussion on this important and overlooked topic and increase attention for appropriate interpretations of results of human neuroimaging studies using VSS.

The alcoholic brain: neural bases of impaired reward-based decision-making in alcohol use disorders.

PubMed

Galandra, Caterina; Basso, Gianpaolo; Cappa, Stefano; Canessa, Nicola

2018-03-01

Neuroeconomics is providing insights into the neural bases of decision-making in normal and pathological conditions. In the neuropsychiatric domain, this discipline investigates how abnormal functioning of neural systems associated with reward processing and cognitive control promotes different disorders, and whether such evidence may inform treatments. This endeavor is crucial when studying different types of addiction, which share a core promoting mechanism in the imbalance between impulsive subcortical neural signals associated with immediate pleasurable outcomes and inhibitory signals mediated by a prefrontal reflective system. The resulting impairment in behavioral control represents a hallmark of alcohol use disorders (AUDs), a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by excessive alcohol consumption despite devastating consequences. This review aims to summarize available magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evidence on reward-related decision-making alterations in AUDs, and to envision possible future research directions. We review functional MRI (fMRI) studies using tasks involving monetary rewards, as well as MRI studies relating decision-making parameters to neurostructural gray- or white-matter metrics. The available data suggest that excessive alcohol exposure affects neural signaling within brain networks underlying adaptive behavioral learning via the implementation of prediction errors. Namely, weaker ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity and altered connectivity between ventral striatum and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex likely underpin a shift from goal-directed to habitual actions which, in turn, might underpin compulsive alcohol consumption and relapsing episodes despite adverse consequences. Overall, these data highlight abnormal fronto-striatal connectivity as a candidate neurobiological marker of impaired choice in AUDs. Further studies are needed, however, to unveil its implications in the multiple facets of decision-making.

Effects of anabolic-androgens on brain reward function

PubMed Central

Mhillaj, Emanuela; Morgese, Maria G.; Tucci, Paolo; Bove, Maria; Schiavone, Stefania; Trabace, Luigia

2015-01-01

Androgens are mainly prescribed to treat several diseases caused by testosterone deficiency. However, athletes try to promote muscle growth by manipulating testosterone levels or assuming androgen anabolic steroids (AAS). These substances were originally synthesized to obtain anabolic effects greater than testosterone. Although AAS are rarely prescribed compared to testosterone, their off-label utilization is very wide. Furthermore, combinations of different steroids and doses generally higher than those used in therapy are common. Symptoms of the chronic use of supra-therapeutic doses of AAS include anxiety, depression, aggression, paranoia, distractibility, confusion, amnesia. Interestingly, some studies have shown that AAS elicited electroencephalographic changes similar to those observed with amphetamine abuse. The frequency of side effects is higher among AAS abusers, with psychiatric complications such as labile mood, lack of impulse control and high violence. On the other hand, AAS addiction studies are complex because data collection is very difficult due to the subjects' reticence and can be biased by many variables, including physical exercise, that alter the reward system. Moreover, it has been reported that AAS may imbalance neurotransmitter systems involved in the reward process, leading to increased sensitivity toward opioid narcotics and central stimulants. The goal of this article is to review the literature on steroid abuse and changes to the reward system in preclinical and clinical studies. PMID:26379484

Effects of anabolic-androgens on brain reward function.

PubMed

Mhillaj, Emanuela; Morgese, Maria G; Tucci, Paolo; Bove, Maria; Schiavone, Stefania; Trabace, Luigia

2015-01-01

Androgens are mainly prescribed to treat several diseases caused by testosterone deficiency. However, athletes try to promote muscle growth by manipulating testosterone levels or assuming androgen anabolic steroids (AAS). These substances were originally synthesized to obtain anabolic effects greater than testosterone. Although AAS are rarely prescribed compared to testosterone, their off-label utilization is very wide. Furthermore, combinations of different steroids and doses generally higher than those used in therapy are common. Symptoms of the chronic use of supra-therapeutic doses of AAS include anxiety, depression, aggression, paranoia, distractibility, confusion, amnesia. Interestingly, some studies have shown that AAS elicited electroencephalographic changes similar to those observed with amphetamine abuse. The frequency of side effects is higher among AAS abusers, with psychiatric complications such as labile mood, lack of impulse control and high violence. On the other hand, AAS addiction studies are complex because data collection is very difficult due to the subjects' reticence and can be biased by many variables, including physical exercise, that alter the reward system. Moreover, it has been reported that AAS may imbalance neurotransmitter systems involved in the reward process, leading to increased sensitivity toward opioid narcotics and central stimulants. The goal of this article is to review the literature on steroid abuse and changes to the reward system in preclinical and clinical studies.

Higher resting-state activity in reward-related brain circuits in obese versus normal-weight females independent of food intake.

PubMed

Hogenkamp, P S; Zhou, W; Dahlberg, L S; Stark, J; Larsen, A L; Olivo, G; Wiemerslage, L; Larsson, E-M; Sundbom, M; Benedict, C; Schiöth, H B

2016-11-01

In response to food cues, obese vs normal-weight individuals show greater activation in brain regions involved in the regulation of food intake under both fasted and sated conditions. Putative effects of obesity on task-independent low-frequency blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signals-that is, resting-state brain activity-in the context of food intake are, however, less well studied. To compare eyes closed, whole-brain low-frequency BOLD signals between severely obese and normal-weight females, as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations were measured in the morning following an overnight fast in 17 obese (age: 39±11 years, body mass index (BMI): 42.3±4.8 kg m - 2 ) and 12 normal-weight females (age: 36±12 years, BMI: 22.7±1.8 kg m - 2 ), both before and 30 min after consumption of a standardized meal (~260 kcal). Compared with normal-weight controls, obese females had increased low-frequency activity in clusters located in the putamen, claustrum and insula (P<0.05). This group difference was not altered by food intake. Self-reported hunger dropped and plasma glucose concentrations increased after food intake (P<0.05); however, these changes did not differ between the BMI groups. Reward-related brain regions are more active under resting-state conditions in obese than in normal-weight females. This difference was independent of food intake under the experimental settings applied in the current study. Future studies involving males and females, as well as utilizing repeated post-prandial resting-state fMRI scans and various types of meals are needed to further investigate how food intake alters resting-state brain activity in obese humans.

The brain correlates of the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation

PubMed Central

Albrecht, Konstanze; Abeler, Johannes; Weber, Bernd; Falk, Armin

2014-01-01

Apart from everyday duties, such as doing the laundry or cleaning the house, there are tasks we do for pleasure and enjoyment. We do such tasks, like solving crossword puzzles or reading novels, without any external pressure or force; instead, we are intrinsically motivated: we do the tasks because we enjoy doing them. Previous studies suggest that external rewards, i.e., rewards from the outside, affect the intrinsic motivation to engage in a task: while performance-based monetary rewards are perceived as controlling and induce a business-contract framing, verbal rewards praising one's competence can enhance the perceived self-determination. Accordingly, the former have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas the latter have been shown to increase intrinsic motivation. The present study investigated the neural processes underlying the effects of monetary and verbal rewards on intrinsic motivation in a group of 64 subjects applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that, when participants received positive performance feedback, activation in the anterior striatum and midbrain was affected by the nature of the reward; compared to a non-rewarded control group, activation was higher while monetary rewards were administered. However, we did not find a decrease in activation after reward withdrawal. In contrast, we found an increase in activation for verbal rewards: after verbal rewards had been withdrawn, participants showed a higher activation in the aforementioned brain areas when they received success compared to failure feedback. We further found that, while participants worked on the task, activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex was enhanced after the verbal rewards were administered and withdrawn. PMID:25278834

High and low sensation seeking adolescents show distinct patterns of brain activity during reward processing

PubMed Central

Cservenka, Anita; Herting, Megan M.; Seghete, Kristen L. Mackiewicz; Hudson, Karen A.; Nagel, Bonnie J.

2012-01-01

Previous research has shown that personality characteristics, such as sensation seeking (SS), are strong predictors of risk-taking behavior during adolescence. However, the relationship between levels of SS and brain response has not been studied during this time period. Given the prevalence of risky behavior during adolescence, it is important to understand neurobiological differences in reward sensitivity between youth with high and low SS personalities. To this end, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine differences in brain activity in an adolescent sample that included 27 high (HSS) and 27 low sensation seekers (LSS), defined by the Impulsive Sensation Seeking scale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (Zuckerman et al., 1993). In the scanner, participants played a modified Wheel of Fortune decision-making task (Cservenka and Nagel, 2012) that resulted in trials with monetary Wins or No Wins. We compared age- and sex-matched adolescent HSS and LSS (mean age = 13.94 ± 1.05) on brain activity by contrasting Win versus No Win trials. Our findings indicate that HSS show greater bilateral insular and prefrontal cortex (PFC) brain response on Win vs. No Win compared to LSS. Analysis of simple effects showed that while LSS showed comparable brain activity in these areas during Wins and No Wins, HSS showed significant differences in brain response to winning (activation) versus not winning (deactivation), with between-group comparison suggesting significant differences in brain response, largely to reward absence. Group differences in insular activation between reward receipt and absence may suggest weak autonomic arousal to negative outcomes in HSS compared with LSS. Additionally, since the PFC is important for goal-directed behavior and attention, the current results may reflect that HSS allocate fewer attentional resources to negative outcomes than LSS. This insensitivity to reward absence in HSS may lead to a greater

Comparing Apples and Oranges: Using Reward-Specific and Reward-General Subjective Value Representation in the Brain

PubMed Central

Glimcher, Paul W.

2011-01-01

The ability of human subjects to choose between disparate kinds of rewards suggests that the neural circuits for valuing different reward types must converge. Economic theory suggests that these convergence points represent the subjective values (SVs) of different reward types on a common scale for comparison. To examine these hypotheses and to map the neural circuits for reward valuation we had food and water-deprived subjects make risky choices for money, food, and water both in and out of a brain scanner. We found that risk preferences across reward types were highly correlated; the level of risk aversion an individual showed when choosing among monetary lotteries predicted their risk aversion toward food and water. We also found that partially distinct neural networks represent the SVs of monetary and food rewards and that these distinct networks showed specific convergence points. The hypothalamic region mainly represented the SV for food, and the posterior cingulate cortex mainly represented the SV for money. In both the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and striatum there was a common area representing the SV of both reward types, but only the vmPFC significantly represented the SVs of money and food on a common scale appropriate for choice in our data set. A correlation analysis demonstrated interactions across money and food valuation areas and the common areas in the vmPFC and striatum. This may suggest that partially distinct valuation networks for different reward types converge on a unified valuation network, which enables a direct comparison between different reward types and hence guides valuation and choice. PMID:21994386

Caudate responses to reward anticipation associated with delay discounting behavior in healthy youth

PubMed Central

Benningfield, Margaret M.; Blackford, Jennifer U.; Ellsworth, Melissa E.; Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R.; Martin, Peter R.; Cowan, Ronald L.; Zald, David H.

2014-01-01

Background Choices requiring delay of gratification made during adolescence can have significant impact on life trajectory. Willingness to delay gratification can be measured using delay discounting tasks that require a choice between a smaller immediate reward and a larger delayed reward. Individual differences in the subjective value of delayed rewards are associated with risk for development of psychopathology including substance abuse. The neurobiological underpinnings related to these individual differences early in life are not fully understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested the hypothesis that individual differences in delay discounting behavior in healthy youth are related to differences in responsiveness to potential reward. Method Nineteen 10 to 14 year-olds performed a monetary incentive delay task to assess neural sensitivity to potential reward and a questionnaire to measure discounting of future monetary rewards. Results Left ventromedial caudate activation during anticipation of potential reward was negatively correlated with delay discounting behavior. There were no regions where brain responses during notification of reward outcome were associated with discounting behavior. Conclusions Brain activation during anticipation of potential reward may serve as a marker for individual differences in ability or willingness to delay gratification in healthy youth. PMID:24309299

Reward system dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

PubMed Central

Schulte-Rüther, Martin; Nehrkorn, Barbara; Müller, Kristin; Fink, Gereon R.; Kamp-Becker, Inge; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Schultz, Robert T.; Konrad, Kerstin

2013-01-01

Although it has been suggested that social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are related to reward circuitry dysfunction, very little is known about the neural reward mechanisms in ASD. In the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated brain activations in response to both social and monetary reward in a group of children with ASD, relative to matched controls. Participants with ASD showed the expected hypoactivation in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry in response to both reward types. In particular, diminished activation in the nucleus accumbens was observed when money, but not when social reward, was at stake, whereas the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex were hypoactivated within the ASD group in response to both rewards. These data indicate that the reward circuitry is compromised in ASD in social as well as in non-social, i.e. monetary conditions, which likely contributes to atypical motivated behaviour. Taken together, with incentives used in this study sample, there is evidence for a general reward dysfunction in ASD. However, more ecologically valid social reward paradigms are needed to fully understand, whether there is any domain specificity to the reward deficit that appears evident in ASD, which would be most consistent with the ASD social phenotype. PMID:22419119

A simple solution for model comparison in bold imaging: the special case of reward prediction error and reward outcomes.

PubMed

Erdeniz, Burak; Rohe, Tim; Done, John; Seidler, Rachael D

2013-01-01

Conventional neuroimaging techniques provide information about condition-related changes of the BOLD (blood-oxygen-level dependent) signal, indicating only where and when the underlying cognitive processes occur. Recently, with the help of a new approach called "model-based" functional neuroimaging (fMRI), researchers are able to visualize changes in the internal variables of a time varying learning process, such as the reward prediction error or the predicted reward value of a conditional stimulus. However, despite being extremely beneficial to the imaging community in understanding the neural correlates of decision variables, a model-based approach to brain imaging data is also methodologically challenging due to the multicollinearity problem in statistical analysis. There are multiple sources of multicollinearity in functional neuroimaging including investigations of closely related variables and/or experimental designs that do not account for this. The source of multicollinearity discussed in this paper occurs due to correlation between different subjective variables that are calculated very close in time. Here, we review methodological approaches to analyzing such data by discussing the special case of separating the reward prediction error signal from reward outcomes.

Adaptive scaling of reward in episodic memory: a replication study.

PubMed

Mason, Alice; Ludwig, Casimir; Farrell, Simon

2017-11-01

Reward is thought to enhance episodic memory formation via dopaminergic consolidation. Bunzeck, Dayan, Dolan, and Duzel [(2010). A common mechanism for adaptive scaling of reward and novelty. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 1380-1394] provided functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioural evidence that reward and episodic memory systems are sensitive to the contextual value of a reward-whether it is relatively higher or lower-as opposed to absolute value or prediction error. We carried out a direct replication of their behavioural study and did not replicate their finding that memory performance associated with reward follows this pattern of adaptive scaling. An effect of reward outcome was in the opposite direction to that in the original study, with lower reward outcomes leading to better memory than higher outcomes. There was a marginal effect of reward context, suggesting that expected value affected memory performance. We discuss the robustness of the reward memory relationship to variations in reward context, and whether other reward-related factors have a more reliable influence on episodic memory.

Orbitofrontal cortex mediates pain inhibition by monetary reward.

PubMed

Becker, Susanne; Gandhi, Wiebke; Pomares, Florence; Wager, Tor D; Schweinhardt, Petra

2017-04-01

Pleasurable stimuli, including reward, inhibit pain, but the level of the neuraxis at which they do so and the cerebral processes involved are unknown. Here, we characterized a brain circuitry mediating pain inhibition by reward. Twenty-four healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while playing a wheel of fortune game with simultaneous thermal pain stimuli and monetary wins or losses. As expected, winning decreased pain perception compared to losing. Inter-individual differences in pain modulation by monetary wins relative to losses correlated with activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). When pain and reward occured simultaneously, mOFCs functional connectivity changed: the signal time course in the mOFC condition-dependent correlated negatively with the signal time courses in the rostral anterior insula, anterior-dorsal cingulate cortex and primary somatosensory cortex, which might signify moment-to-moment down-regulation of these regions by the mOFC. Monetary wins and losses did not change the magnitude of pain-related activation, including in regions that code perceived pain intensity when nociceptive input varies and/or receive direct nociceptive input. Pain inhibition by reward appears to involve brain regions not typically involved in nociceptive intensity coding but likely mediate changes in the significance and/or value of pain. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Electrophysiological indices of anterior cingulate cortex function reveal changing levels of cognitive effort and reward valuation that sustain task performance.

PubMed

Umemoto, Akina; Inzlicht, Michael; Holroyd, Clay B

2018-06-21

Successful execution of goal-directed behaviors often requires the deployment of cognitive control, which is thought to require cognitive effort. Recent theories have proposed that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regulates control levels by weighing the reward-related benefits of control against its effort-related costs. However, given that the sensations of cognitive effort and reward valuation are available only to introspection, this hypothesis is difficult to investigate empirically. We have proposed that two electrophysiological indices of ACC function, frontal midline theta and the reward positivity (RewP), provide objective measures of these functions. To explore this issue, we recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG) from participants engaged in an extended, cognitively-demanding task. Participants performed a time estimation task for 2 h in which they received reward and error feedback according to their task performance. We observed that the amplitude of the RewP, a feedback-locked component of the event related brain potential associated with reward processing, decreased with time-on-task. Conversely, frontal midline theta power, which consists of 4-8 Hz EEG oscillations associated with cognitive effort, increased with time-on-task. We also explored how these phenomena changed over time by conducting within-participant multi-level modeling analyses. Our results suggest that extended execution of a cognitively-demanding task is characterized by an early phase in which high control levels foster rapid improvements in task performance, and a later phase in which high control levels were necessary to maintain stable task performance, perhaps counteracting waning reward valuation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress and reward processing in bipolar disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Berghorst, Lisa H; Kumar, Poornima; Greve, Doug N; Deckersbach, Thilo; Ongur, Dost; Dutra, Sunny J; Pizzagalli, Diego A

2016-11-01

A link between negative life stress and the onset of mood episodes in bipolar disorder (BD) has been established, but processes underlying such a link remain unclear. Growing evidence suggests that stress can negatively affect reward processing and related neurobiological substrates, indicating that a dysregulated reward system may provide a partial explanation. The aim of this study was to test the impact of stress on reward-related neural functioning in BD. Thirteen euthymic or mildly depressed individuals with BD and 15 controls performed a Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging during no-stress and stress (negative psychosocial stressor involving poor performance feedback and threat of monetary deductions) conditions. In hypothesis-driven region-of-interest analyses, a significant group-by-condition interaction emerged in the amygdala during reward anticipation. Relative to controls, while anticipating a potential reward, subjects with BD were characterized by amygdalar hyperactivation in the no-stress condition but hypoactivation during stress. Moreover, relative to controls, subjects with BD had significantly larger amygdala volumes. After controlling for structural differences, the effects of stress on amygdalar function remained, whereas groups no longer differed during the no-stress condition. During reward consumption, a group-by-condition interaction emerged in the putamen due to increased putamen activation in response to rewards in participants with BD during stress, but an opposite pattern in controls. Overall, findings highlight possible impairments in using reward-predicting cues to adaptively engage in goal-directed actions in BD, combined with stress-induced hypersensitivity to reward consumption. Potential clinical implications are discussed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Winning and losing: differences in reward and punishment sensitivity between smokers and nonsmokers.

PubMed

Martin, Laura E; Cox, Lisa S; Brooks, William M; Savage, Cary R

2014-01-01

Smokers show increased brain activation in reward processing regions in response to smoking-related cues, yet few studies have examined secondary rewards not associated with smoking (i.e., money). Inconsistencies exist in the studies that do examine secondary rewards with some studies showing increased brain activation in reward processing brain regions, while others show decreased activation or no difference in activation between smokers and nonsmokers. The goal of the current study is to see if smokers process the evaluation and delivery of equally salient real world rewards similarly or differently than nonsmokers. The current study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain responses in smokers and nonsmokers during the evaluation and delivery of monetary gains and losses. In comparison to nonsmokers, smokers showed increased activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to the evaluation of anticipated monetary losses and the brain response. Moreover, smokers compared to nonsmokers showed decreased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus to the delivery of expected monetary gains. Brain activations to both the evaluation of anticipated monetary losses and the delivery of expected monetary gains correlated with increased self-reported smoking craving to relieve negative withdrawal symptoms and craving related to positive aspects of smoking, respectively. Together these results indicate that smokers are hyperresponsive to the evaluation of anticipated punishment and hyporesponsive to the delivery of expected rewards. Although further research is needed, this hypersensitivity to punishments coupled with increased craving may negatively impact quit attempts as smokers anticipate the negative withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting.

The endocannabinoid system and nondrug rewarding behaviours.

PubMed

Fattore, Liana; Melis, Miriam; Fadda, Paola; Pistis, Marco; Fratta, Walter

2010-07-01

Rewarding behaviours such as sexual activity, eating, nursing, parenting, social interactions, and play activity are conserved strongly in evolution, and they are essential for development and survival. All of these behaviours are enjoyable and represent pleasant experiences with a high reward value. Remarkably, rewarding behaviours activate the same brain circuits that mediate the positive reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse and of other forms of addiction, such as gambling and food addiction. Given the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in a variety of physiological functions of the nervous system, it is not surprising that it takes part in the complex machinery that regulates gratification and perception of pleasure. In this review, we focus first on the role of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of neural activity and synaptic functions in brain regions that are involved in natural and nonnatural rewards (namely, the ventral tegmental area, striatum, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex). Then, we examine the role of the endocannabinoid system in modulating behaviours that directly or indirectly activate these brain reward pathways. More specifically, current knowledge of the effects of the pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid system on natural (eating, sexual behaviour, parenting, and social play) and pathological (gambling) rewarding behaviours is summarised and discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of graded monetary reward on cognitive event-related potentials and behavior in young healthy adults

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Rita Z.; Cottone, Lisa A.; Jia, Zhiru; Maloney, Thomas; Volkow, Nora D.; Squires, Nancy K.

2008-01-01

Temporal correlates of the brain circuit underlying reward processing in healthy adults remain unclear. The current study investigated the P3 and contingent negative variation (CNV) as putative reward-related temporal markers. The effect of sustained monetary reward on these event-related potentials and on behavior was assessed using a warned reaction-time paradigm in 16 young healthy subjects. Monetary reward (0, 1 and 45 cents) varied across blocks of trials. While the CNV was unaffected by money, P3 amplitude was significantly larger for 45 than the 1 and 0 cent conditions. This effect corresponded to the monotonically positive subjective ratings of interest and excitement on the task (45>1>0). These findings suggest a difference between the P3 and CNV; the P3 is sensitive to the sustained effect of relative reward value while the CNV does not vary with reward magnitude. PMID:16876894

Serotonergic modulation of reward and punishment: evidence from pharmacological fMRI studies.

PubMed

Macoveanu, Julian

2014-03-27

Until recently, the bulk of research on the human reward system was focused on studying the dopaminergic and opioid neurotransmitter systems. However, extending the initial data from animal studies on reward, recent pharmacological brain imaging studies on human participants bring a new line of evidence on the key role serotonin plays in reward processing. The reviewed research has revealed how central serotonin availability and receptor specific transmission modulates the neural response to both appetitive (rewarding) and aversive (punishing) stimuli in putative reward-related brain regions. Thus, serotonin is suggested to be involved in behavioral control when there is a prospect of reward or punishment. The new findings may have implications in understanding psychiatric disorders such as major depression which is characterized by abnormal serotonergic function and reward-related processing and may also provide a neural correlated for the emotional blunting observed in the clinical treatment of psychiatric disorders with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Given the unique profile of action of each serotonergic receptor subtype, future pharmacological studies may favor receptor specific investigations to complement present research mainly focused on global serotonergic manipulations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neurogenetics and Nutrigenomics of Neuro-Nutrient Therapy for Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Clinical Ramifications as a Function of Molecular Neurobiological Mechanisms

PubMed Central

Blum, Kenneth; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Stuller, Elizabeth; Miller, David; Giordano, John; Morse, Siobhan; McCormick, Lee; Downs, William B; Waite, Roger L; Barh, Debmalya; Neal, Dennis; Braverman, Eric R; Lohmann, Raquel; Borsten, Joan; Hauser, Mary; Han, David; Liu, Yijun; Helman, Manya; Simpatico, Thomas

2013-01-01

In accord with the new definition of addiction published by American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) it is well-known that individuals who present to a treatment center involved in chemical dependency or other documented reward dependence behaviors have impaired brain reward circuitry. They have hypodopaminergic function due to genetic and/or environmental negative pressures upon the reward neuro-circuitry. This impairment leads to aberrant craving behavior and other behaviors such as Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Neurogenetic research in both animal and humans revealed that there is a well-defined cascade in the reward site of the brain that leads to normal dopamine release. This cascade has been termed the “Brain Reward Cascade” (BRC). Any impairment due to either genetics or environmental influences on this cascade will result in a reduced amount of dopamine release in the brain reward site. Manipulation of the BRC has been successfully achieved with neuro-nutrient therapy utilizing nutrigenomic principles. After over four decades of development, neuro-nutrient therapy has provided important clinical benefits when appropriately utilized. This is a review, with some illustrative case histories from a number of addiction professionals, of certain molecular neurobiological mechanisms which if ignored may lead to clinical complications. PMID:23926462

Adolescent neural response to reward is related to participant sex and task motivation

PubMed Central

Alarcón, Gabriela; Cservenka, Anita; Nagel, Bonnie J.

2017-01-01

Risky decision making is prominent during adolescence, perhaps contributed to by heightened sensation seeking and ongoing maturation of reward and dopamine systems in the brain, which are, in part, modulated by sex hormones. In this study, we examined sex differences in the neural substrates of reward sensitivity during a risky decision-making task and hypothesized that compared with girls, boys would show heightened brain activation in reward-relevant regions, particularly the nucleus accumbens, during reward receipt. Further, we hypothesized that testosterone and estradiol levels would mediate this sex difference. Moreover, we predicted boys would make more risky choices on the task. While boys showed increased nucleus accumbens blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response relative to girls, sex hormones did not mediate this effect. As predicted, boys made a higher percentage of risky decisions during the task. Interestingly, boys also self-reported more motivation to perform well and earn money on the task, while girls self-reported higher state anxiety prior to the scan session. Motivation to earn money partially mediated the effect of sex on nucleus accumbens activity during reward. Previous research shows that increased motivation and salience of reinforcers is linked with more robust striatal BOLD response, therefore psychosocial factors, in addition to sex, may play an important role in reward sensitivity. Elucidating neurobiological mechanisms that support adolescent sex differences in risky decision making has important implications for understanding individual differences that lead to advantageous and adverse behaviors that affect health outcomes. PMID:27816780

Reciprocal Inhibitory Interactions Between the Reward-Related Effects of Leptin and Cocaine.

PubMed

You, Zhi-Bing; Wang, Bin; Liu, Qing-Rong; Wu, Yan; Otvos, Laszlo; Wise, Roy A

2016-03-01

Cocaine is habit-forming because of its ability to enhance dopaminergic neurotransmission in the forebrain. In addition to neuronal inputs, forebrain dopamine circuits are modulated by hormonal influences; one of these is leptin, an adipose-derived hormone that attenuates the rewarding effects of food- and hunger-associated brain stimulation reward. Here we report reciprocal inhibition between the reward-related effects of leptin and the reward-related effects of cocaine in rats. First, we report that cocaine and the expectancy of cocaine each depresses plasma leptin levels. Second, we report that exogenous leptin, given systemically or directly into the ventral tegmental area, attenuates the ability of cocaine to elevate dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, the ability of cocaine to establish a conditioned place preference, and the ability of cocaine-predictive stimuli to prolong responding in extinction of cocaine-seeking. Thus, whereas leptin represents an endogenous antagonist of the habit-forming and habit-sustaining effects of cocaine, this antagonism is attenuated by cocaine and comes to be attenuated by the expectancy of cocaine.

Reward Abnormalities Among Women with Full and Subthreshold Bulimia Nervosa: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

PubMed Central

Bohon, Cara; Stice, Eric

2010-01-01

Objective To test the hypothesis that women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa show abnormal neural activation in response to food intake and anticipated food intake relative to healthy control women. Method Females with and without full/subthreshold bulimia nervosa recruited from the community (N = 26) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless control solution. Results Women with bulimia nervosa showed trends for less activation than healthy controls in the right anterior insula in response to anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake (versus tasteless solution) and in the left middle frontal gyrus, right posterior insula, right precentral gyrus, and right mid dorsal insula in response to consumptions of milkshake (versus tasteless solution). Discussion Bulimia nervosa may be related to potential hypo-functioning of the brain reward system, which may lead these individuals to binge eat to compensate for this reward deficit, though the hypo-responsivity might be a result of a history of binge eating highly palatable foods. PMID:21997421

Greater reward-related neuronal response to hedonic foods in women compared to men

PubMed Central

Legget, Kristina T.; Cornier, Marc-Andre; Bessesen, Daniel H.; Mohl, Brianne; Thomas, Elizabeth A.; Tregellas, Jason R.

2017-01-01

Objective The current study aimed to identify how sex influences neurobiological responses to food cues, particularly those related to hedonic eating, and how this relates to obesity propensity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Methods Adult men and women who were either obesity-resistant (OR) or obesity-prone (OP) underwent fMRI while viewing visual food cues (hedonic foods, neutral foods, and non-food objects) in both fasted and fed states. Results When fasted, a significant sex effect on the response to hedonic vs. neutral foods was observed, with greater responses in women than men in the nucleus accumbens (p=0.0002) and insula (p=0.010). Sex-based differences were not observed in the fed state. No significant group effects (OP vs. OR) or group by sex interactions were observed in fasted or fed states. Conclusions Greater fasted responses to hedonic food cues in reward-related brain regions were observed in women compared to men, suggesting that women may be more sensitive to reward value of hedonic foods than men when fasted. This may indicate sex-dependent neurophysiology underlying eating behaviors. PMID:29239138

Ventral striatal activity links adversity and reward processing in children.

PubMed

Kamkar, Niki H; Lewis, Daniel J; van den Bos, Wouter; Morton, J Bruce

2017-08-01

Adversity impacts many aspects of psychological and physical development including reward-based learning and decision-making. Mechanisms relating adversity and reward processing in children, however, remain unclear. Here, we show that adversity is associated with potentiated learning from positive outcomes and impulsive decision-making, but unrelated to learning from negative outcomes. We then show via functional magnetic resonance imaging that the link between adversity and reward processing is partially mediated by differences in ventral striatal response to rewards. The findings suggest that early-life adversity is associated with alterations in the brain's sensitivity to rewards accounting, in part, for the link between adversity and altered reward processing in children. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Affective neuroscience of pleasure: reward in humans and animals

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Introduction Pleasure and reward are generated by brain circuits that are largely shared between humans and other animals. Discussion Here, we survey some fundamental topics regarding pleasure mechanisms and explicitly compare humans and animals. Conclusion Topics surveyed include liking, wanting, and learning components of reward; brain coding versus brain causing of reward; subjective pleasure versus objective hedonic reactions; roles of orbitofrontal cortex and related cortex regions; subcortical hedonic hotspots for pleasure generation; reappraisals of dopamine and pleasure-electrode controversies; and the relation of pleasure to happiness. PMID:18311558

Medial orbitofrontal cortex codes relative rather than absolute value of financial rewards in humans.

PubMed

Elliott, R; Agnew, Z; Deakin, J F W

2008-05-01

Functional imaging studies in recent years have confirmed the involvement of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in human reward processing and have suggested that OFC responses are context-dependent. A seminal electrophysiological experiment in primates taught animals to associate abstract visual stimuli with differently valuable food rewards. Subsequently, pairs of these learned abstract stimuli were presented and firing of OFC neurons to the medium-value stimulus was measured. OFC firing was shown to depend on the relative value context. In this study, we developed a human analogue of this paradigm and scanned subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The analysis compared neuronal responses to two superficially identical events, which differed only in terms of the preceding context. Medial OFC response to the same perceptual stimulus was greater when the stimulus predicted the more valuable of two rewards than when it predicted the less valuable. Additional responses were observed in other components of reward circuitry, the amygdala and ventral striatum. The central finding is consistent with the primate results and suggests that OFC neurons code relative rather than absolute reward value. Amygdala and striatal involvement in coding reward value is also consistent with recent functional imaging data. By using a simpler and less confounded paradigm than many functional imaging studies, we are able to demonstrate that relative financial reward value per se is coded in distinct subregions of an extended reward and decision-making network.

Positive mood enhances reward-related neural activity

PubMed Central

Nusslock, Robin

2016-01-01

Although behavioral research has shown that positive mood leads to desired outcomes in nearly every major life domain, no studies have directly examined the effects of positive mood on the neural processes underlying reward-related affect and goal-directed behavior. To address this gap, participants in the present fMRI study experienced either a positive (n = 20) or neutral (n = 20) mood induction and subsequently completed a monetary incentive delay task that assessed reward and loss processing. Consistent with prediction, positive mood elevated activity specifically during reward anticipation in corticostriatal neural regions that have been implicated in reward processing and goal-directed behavior, including the nucleus accumbens, caudate, lateral orbitofrontal cortex and putamen, as well as related paralimbic regions, including the anterior insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These effects were not observed during reward outcome, loss anticipation or loss outcome. Critically, this is the first study to report that positive mood enhances reward-related neural activity. Our findings have implications for uncovering the neural mechanisms by which positive mood enhances goal-directed behavior, understanding the malleability of reward-related neural activity, and developing targeted treatments for psychiatric disorders characterized by deficits in reward processing. PMID:26833919

Advances in studying phasic dopamine signaling in brain reward mechanisms

PubMed Central

Wickham, Robert J.; Solecki, Wojciech; Rathbun, Liza R.; Neugebauer, Nichole M.; Wightman, R. Mark; Addy, Nii A.

2013-01-01

The last sixty years of research have provided extraordinary advances of our knowledge of the reward system. Since its initial discovery as a neurotransmitter by Carlsson and colleagues (Carlsson et al., 1957), dopamine (DA) has emerged as an important mediator of reward processing. As a result, a number of electrochemical techniques have been developed to directly measure DA levels in the brain using various preparations. Many of these techniques and preparations differ in the types of questions that they can address. Together, these techniques have begun to elucidate the complex roles of tonic and phasic DA signaling in reward processing and in addiction. In this review, we will first provide a guide for the most commonly used electrochemical methods for DA detection and describe their utility in furthering our knowledge about DA's role in reward and addiction. Second, we will review the value of common in vitro and in vivo preparations and describe their ability to address different types of questions. Last, we will review recent data that has provided new insight of the mechanisms of in vivo phasic DA signaling and its role in reward processing and reward-mediated behavior. PMID:23747914

Gustatory and reward brain circuits in the control of food intake

PubMed Central

Oliveira-Maia, Albino J.; Roberts, Craig D.; Simon, Sidney A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A.L.

2012-01-01

Gustation is a multisensory process allowing for the selection of nutrients and the rejection of irritating and/or toxic compounds. Since obesity is a highly prevalent condition that is critically dependent on food intake and energy expenditure, a deeper understanding of gustatory processing is an important objective in biomedical research. Recent findings have provided evidence that central gustatory processes are distributed across several cortical and sub-cortical brain areas. Furthermore, these gustatory sensory circuits are closely related to the circuits that process reward. Here, we present an overview of the activation and connectivity between central gustatory and reward areas. Moreover, and given the limitations in number and effectiveness of treatments currently available for overweight patients, we discuss the possibility of modulating neuronal activity in these circuits as an alternative in the treatment of obesity. PMID:21197607

Reward from bugs to bipeds: a comparative approach to understanding how reward circuits function

PubMed Central

Scaplen, Kristin M.; Kaun, Karla R.

2016-01-01

Abstract In a complex environment, animals learn from their responses to stimuli and events. Appropriate response to reward and punishment can promote survival, reproduction and increase evolutionary fitness. Interestingly, the neural processes underlying these responses are remarkably similar across phyla. In all species, dopamine is central to encoding reward and directing motivated behaviors, however, a comprehensive understanding of how circuits encode reward and direct motivated behaviors is still lacking. In part, this is a result of the sheer diversity of neurons, the heterogeneity of their responses and the complexity of neural circuits within which they are found. We argue that general features of reward circuitry are common across model organisms, and thus principles learned from invertebrate model organisms can inform research across species. In particular, we discuss circuit motifs that appear to be functionally equivalent from flies to primates. We argue that a comparative approach to studying and understanding reward circuit function provides a more comprehensive understanding of reward circuitry, and informs disorders that affect the brain’s reward circuitry. PMID:27328845

Reactivation of Reward-Related Patterns from Single Past Episodes Supports Memory-Based Decision Making.

PubMed

Wimmer, G Elliott; Büchel, Christian

2016-03-09

Rewarding experiences exert a strong influence on later decision making. While decades of neuroscience research have shown how reinforcement gradually shapes preferences, decisions are often influenced by single past experiences. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the influence of single learning episodes. Although recent work has proposed a role for episodes in decision making, it is largely unknown whether and how episodic experiences contribute to value-based decision making and how the values of single episodes are represented in the brain. In multiple behavioral experiments and an fMRI experiment, we tested whether and how rewarding episodes could support later decision making. Participants experienced episodes of high reward or low reward in conjunction with incidental, trial-unique neutral pictures. In a surprise test phase, we found that participants could indeed remember the associated level of reward, as evidenced by accurate source memory for value and preferences to re-engage with rewarded objects. Further, in a separate experiment, we found that high-reward objects shown as primes before a gambling task increased financial risk taking. Neurally, re-exposure to objects in the test phase led to significant reactivation of reward-related patterns. Importantly, individual variability in the strength of reactivation predicted value memory performance. Our results provide a novel demonstration that affect-related neural patterns are reactivated during later experience. Reactivation of value information represents a mechanism by which memory can guide decision making. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/362868-13$15.00/0.

A Free-Choice High-Fat High-Sugar Diet Alters Day-Night Per2 Gene Expression in Reward-Related Brain Areas in Rats.

PubMed

Blancas-Velazquez, Aurea Susana; Unmehopa, Unga A; Eggels, Leslie; Koekkoek, Laura; Kalsbeek, Andries; Mendoza, Jorge; la Fleur, Susanne E

2018-01-01

Under normal light-dark conditions, nocturnal rodents consume most of their food during the dark period. Diets high in fat and sugar, however, may affect the day-night feeding rhythm resulting in a higher light phase intake. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that nutrients affect clock-gene expression. We therefore hypothesized that overconsuming fat and sugar alters clock-gene expression in brain structures important for feeding behavior. We determined the effects of a free-choice high-fat high-sugar (fcHFHS) diet on clock-gene expression in rat brain areas related to feeding and reward and compared them with chow-fed rats. Consuming a fcHFHS diet for 6 weeks disrupted day-night differences in Per2 mRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and lateral hypothalamus but not in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, habenula, and ventral tegmental area. Furthermore, short-term sugar drinking, but not fat feeding, upregulates Per2 mRNA expression in the NAc. The disruptions in day-night differences in NAc Per2 gene expression were not accompanied by altered day-night differences in the mRNA expression of peptides related to food intake. We conclude that the fcHFHS diet and acute sugar drinking affect Per2 gene expression in areas involved in food reward; however, this is not sufficient to alter the day-night pattern of food intake.

A Free-Choice High-Fat High-Sugar Diet Alters Day–Night Per2 Gene Expression in Reward-Related Brain Areas in Rats

PubMed Central

Blancas-Velazquez, Aurea Susana; Unmehopa, Unga A.; Eggels, Leslie; Koekkoek, Laura; Kalsbeek, Andries; Mendoza, Jorge; la Fleur, Susanne E.

2018-01-01

Under normal light–dark conditions, nocturnal rodents consume most of their food during the dark period. Diets high in fat and sugar, however, may affect the day–night feeding rhythm resulting in a higher light phase intake. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that nutrients affect clock-gene expression. We therefore hypothesized that overconsuming fat and sugar alters clock-gene expression in brain structures important for feeding behavior. We determined the effects of a free-choice high-fat high-sugar (fcHFHS) diet on clock-gene expression in rat brain areas related to feeding and reward and compared them with chow-fed rats. Consuming a fcHFHS diet for 6 weeks disrupted day–night differences in Per2 mRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and lateral hypothalamus but not in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, habenula, and ventral tegmental area. Furthermore, short-term sugar drinking, but not fat feeding, upregulates Per2 mRNA expression in the NAc. The disruptions in day–night differences in NAc Per2 gene expression were not accompanied by altered day–night differences in the mRNA expression of peptides related to food intake. We conclude that the fcHFHS diet and acute sugar drinking affect Per2 gene expression in areas involved in food reward; however, this is not sufficient to alter the day–night pattern of food intake. PMID:29686649

Adolescent neural response to reward is related to participant sex and task motivation.

PubMed

Alarcón, Gabriela; Cservenka, Anita; Nagel, Bonnie J

2017-02-01

Risky decision making is prominent during adolescence, perhaps contributed to by heightened sensation seeking and ongoing maturation of reward and dopamine systems in the brain, which are, in part, modulated by sex hormones. In this study, we examined sex differences in the neural substrates of reward sensitivity during a risky decision-making task and hypothesized that compared with girls, boys would show heightened brain activation in reward-relevant regions, particularly the nucleus accumbens, during reward receipt. Further, we hypothesized that testosterone and estradiol levels would mediate this sex difference. Moreover, we predicted boys would make more risky choices on the task. While boys showed increased nucleus accumbens blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response relative to girls, sex hormones did not mediate this effect. As predicted, boys made a higher percentage of risky decisions during the task. Interestingly, boys also self-reported more motivation to perform well and earn money on the task, while girls self-reported higher state anxiety prior to the scan session. Motivation to earn money partially mediated the effect of sex on nucleus accumbens activity during reward. Previous research shows that increased motivation and salience of reinforcers is linked with more robust striatal BOLD response, therefore psychosocial factors, in addition to sex, may play an important role in reward sensitivity. Elucidating neurobiological mechanisms that support adolescent sex differences in risky decision making has important implications for understanding individual differences that lead to advantageous and adverse behaviors that affect health outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Encoding of reward expectation by monkey anterior insular neurons

PubMed Central

Mizuhiki, Takashi; Richmond, Barry J.

2012-01-01

The insula, a cortical brain region that is known to encode information about autonomic, visceral, and olfactory functions, has recently been shown to encode information during reward-seeking tasks in both single neuronal recording and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. To examine the reward-related activation, we recorded from 170 single neurons in anterior insula of 2 monkeys during a multitrial reward schedule task, where the monkeys had to complete a schedule of 1, 2, 3, or 4 trials to earn a reward. In one block of trials a visual cue indicated whether a reward would or would not be delivered in the current trial after the monkey successfully detected that a red spot turned green, and in other blocks the visual cue was random with respect to reward delivery. Over one-quarter of 131 responsive neurons were activated when the current trial would (certain or uncertain) be rewarded if performed correctly. These same neurons failed to respond in trials that were certain, as indicated by the cue, to be unrewarded. Another group of neurons responded when the reward was delivered, similar to results reported previously. The dynamics of population activity in anterior insula also showed strong signals related to knowing when a reward is coming. The most parsimonious explanation is that this activity codes for a type of expected outcome, where the expectation encompasses both certain and uncertain rewards. PMID:22402653

Hyperresponsivity and impaired prefrontal control of the mesolimbic reward system in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Richter, Anja; Petrovic, Aleksandra; Diekhof, Esther K; Trost, Sarah; Wolter, Sarah; Gruber, Oliver

2015-12-01

Schizophrenia is characterized by substantial dysfunctions of reward processing, leading to detrimental consequences for decision-making. The neurotransmitter dopamine is responsible for the transmission of reward signals and also known to be involved in the mechanism of psychosis. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), sixteen medicated patients with schizophrenia and sixteen healthy controls performed the 'desire-reason dilemma' (DRD) paradigm. This paradigm allowed us to directly investigate reward-related brain activations depending on the interaction of bottom-up and top-down mechanisms, when a previously conditioned reward stimulus had to be rejected to achieve a superordinate long-term goal. Both patients and controls showed significant activations in the mesolimbic reward system. In patients with schizophrenia, however, we found a significant hyperactivation of the left ventral striatum (vStr) when they were allowed to accept the conditioned reward stimuli, and a reduced top-down regulation of activation in the ventral striatum (vStr) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) while having to reject the immediate reward to pursue the superordinate task-goal. Moreover, while healthy subjects exhibited a negative functional coupling of the vStr with both the anteroventral prefrontal cortex (avPFC) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) in the dilemma situation, this functional coupling was significantly impaired in the patient group. These findings provide evidence for an increased ventral striatal activation to reward stimuli and an impaired top-down control of reward signals by prefrontal brain regions in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner.

PubMed

Scheele, Dirk; Wille, Andrea; Kendrick, Keith M; Stoffel-Wagner, Birgit; Becker, Benjamin; Güntürkün, Onur; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

2013-12-10

The biological mechanisms underlying long-term partner bonds in humans are unclear. The evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is associated with the formation of partner bonds in some species via interactions with brain dopamine reward systems. However, whether it plays a similar role in humans has as yet not been established. Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers. In both experiments, intranasal OXT treatment (24 IU) made subjects perceive their female partner's face as more attractive compared with unfamiliar women but had no effect on the attractiveness of other familiar women. This enhanced positive partner bias was paralleled by an increased response to partner stimuli compared with unfamiliar women in brain reward regions including the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In the left NAcc, OXT even augmented the neural response to the partner compared with a familiar woman, indicating that this finding is partner-bond specific rather than due to familiarity. Taken together, our results suggest that OXT could contribute to romantic bonds in men by enhancing their partner's attractiveness and reward value compared with other women.

Oxytocin enhances brain reward system responses in men viewing the face of their female partner

PubMed Central

Scheele, Dirk; Wille, Andrea; Kendrick, Keith M.; Stoffel-Wagner, Birgit; Becker, Benjamin; Güntürkün, Onur; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

2013-01-01

The biological mechanisms underlying long-term partner bonds in humans are unclear. The evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is associated with the formation of partner bonds in some species via interactions with brain dopamine reward systems. However, whether it plays a similar role in humans has as yet not been established. Here, we report the results of a discovery and a replication study, each involving a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, pharmaco-functional MRI experiment with 20 heterosexual pair-bonded male volunteers. In both experiments, intranasal OXT treatment (24 IU) made subjects perceive their female partner's face as more attractive compared with unfamiliar women but had no effect on the attractiveness of other familiar women. This enhanced positive partner bias was paralleled by an increased response to partner stimuli compared with unfamiliar women in brain reward regions including the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In the left NAcc, OXT even augmented the neural response to the partner compared with a familiar woman, indicating that this finding is partner-bond specific rather than due to familiarity. Taken together, our results suggest that OXT could contribute to romantic bonds in men by enhancing their partner's attractiveness and reward value compared with other women. PMID:24277856

Striatal Activity and Reward Relativity: Neural Signals Encoding Dynamic Outcome Valuation

PubMed Central

Webber, Emily S.; Mankin, David E.

2016-01-01

Abstract The striatum is a key brain region involved in reward processing. Striatal activity has been linked to encoding reward magnitude and integrating diverse reward outcome information. Recent work has supported the involvement of striatum in the valuation of outcomes. The present work extends this idea by examining striatal activity during dynamic shifts in value that include different levels and directions of magnitude disparity. A novel task was used to produce diverse relative reward effects on a chain of instrumental action. Rats (Rattus norvegicus) were trained to respond to cues associated with specific outcomes varying by food pellet magnitude. Animals were exposed to single-outcome sessions followed by mixed-outcome sessions, and neural activity was compared among identical outcome trials from the different behavioral contexts. Results recording striatal activity show that neural responses to different task elements reflect incentive contrast as well as other relative effects that involve generalization between outcomes or possible influences of outcome variety. The activity that was most prevalent was linked to food consumption and post-food consumption periods. Relative encoding was sensitive to magnitude disparity. A within-session analysis showed strong contrast effects that were dependent upon the outcome received in the immediately preceding trial. Significantly higher numbers of responses were found in ventral striatum linked to relative outcome effects. Our results support the idea that relative value can incorporate diverse relationships, including comparisons from specific individual outcomes to general behavioral contexts. The striatum contains these diverse relative processes, possibly enabling both a higher information yield concerning value shifts and a greater behavioral flexibility. PMID:27822506

Striatal Activity and Reward Relativity: Neural Signals Encoding Dynamic Outcome Valuation.

PubMed

Webber, Emily S; Mankin, David E; Cromwell, Howard C

2016-01-01

The striatum is a key brain region involved in reward processing. Striatal activity has been linked to encoding reward magnitude and integrating diverse reward outcome information. Recent work has supported the involvement of striatum in the valuation of outcomes. The present work extends this idea by examining striatal activity during dynamic shifts in value that include different levels and directions of magnitude disparity. A novel task was used to produce diverse relative reward effects on a chain of instrumental action. Rats ( Rattus norvegicus ) were trained to respond to cues associated with specific outcomes varying by food pellet magnitude. Animals were exposed to single-outcome sessions followed by mixed-outcome sessions, and neural activity was compared among identical outcome trials from the different behavioral contexts. Results recording striatal activity show that neural responses to different task elements reflect incentive contrast as well as other relative effects that involve generalization between outcomes or possible influences of outcome variety. The activity that was most prevalent was linked to food consumption and post-food consumption periods. Relative encoding was sensitive to magnitude disparity. A within-session analysis showed strong contrast effects that were dependent upon the outcome received in the immediately preceding trial. Significantly higher numbers of responses were found in ventral striatum linked to relative outcome effects. Our results support the idea that relative value can incorporate diverse relationships, including comparisons from specific individual outcomes to general behavioral contexts. The striatum contains these diverse relative processes, possibly enabling both a higher information yield concerning value shifts and a greater behavioral flexibility.

Reward for food odors: an fMRI study of liking and wanting as a function of metabolic state and BMI

PubMed Central

Jiang, Tao; Soussignan, Robert; Schaal, Benoist

2015-01-01

Brain reward systems mediate liking and wanting for food reward. Here, we explore the differential involvement of the following structures for these two components: the ventral and dorsal striatopallidal area, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior insula and anterior cingulate. Twelve healthy female participants were asked to rate pleasantness (liking of food and non-food odors) and the desire to eat (wanting of odor-evoked food) during event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The subjective ratings and fMRI were performed in hunger and satiety states. Activations of regions of interest were compared as a function of task (liking vs wanting), odor category (food vs non-food) and metabolic state (hunger vs satiety). We found that the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum were differentially involved in liking or wanting during the hunger state, which suggests a reciprocal inhibitory influence between these structures. Neural activation of OFC subregions was correlated with either liking or wanting ratings, suggesting an OFC role in reward processing magnitude. Finally, during the hunger state, participants with a high body mass index exhibited less activation in neural structures underlying food reward processing. Our results suggest that food liking and wanting are two separable psychological constructs and may be functionally segregated within the cortico-striatopallidal circuit. PMID:24948157

Processing of social and monetary rewards in the human striatum.

PubMed

Izuma, Keise; Saito, Daisuke N; Sadato, Norihiro

2008-04-24

Despite an increasing focus on the neural basis of human decision making in neuroscience, relatively little attention has been paid to decision making in social settings. Moreover, although human social decision making has been explored in a social psychology context, few neural explanations for the observed findings have been considered. To bridge this gap and improve models of human social decision making, we investigated whether acquiring a good reputation, which is an important incentive in human social behaviors, activates the same reward circuitry as monetary rewards. In total, 19 subjects participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments involving monetary and social rewards. The acquisition of one's good reputation robustly activated reward-related brain areas, notably the striatum, and these overlapped with the areas activated by monetary rewards. Our findings support the idea of a "common neural currency" for rewards and represent an important first step toward a neural explanation for complex human social behaviors.

Motivational orientation modulates the neural response to reward.

PubMed

Linke, Julia; Kirsch, Peter; King, Andrea V; Gass, Achim; Hennerici, Michael G; Bongers, André; Wessa, Michèle

2010-02-01

Motivational orientation defines the source of motivation for an individual to perform a particular action and can either originate from internal desires (e.g., interest) or external compensation (e.g., money). To this end, motivational orientation should influence the way positive or negative feedback is processed during learning situations and this might in turn have an impact on the learning process. In the present study, we thus investigated whether motivational orientation, i.e., extrinsic and intrinsic motivation modulates the neural response to reward and punishment as well as learning from reward and punishment in 33 healthy individuals. To assess neural responses to reward, punishment and learning of reward contingencies we employed a probabilistic reversal learning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were assessed with a self-report questionnaire. Rewarding trials fostered activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) as well as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, whereas for punishment an increased neural response was observed in the medial and inferior prefrontal cortex, the superior parietal cortex and the insula. High extrinsic motivation was positively correlated to increased neural responses to reward in the ACC, amygdala and putamen, whereas a negative relationship between intrinsic motivation and brain activation in these brain regions was observed. These findings show that motivational orientation indeed modulates the responsiveness to reward delivery in major components of the human reward system and therefore extends previous results showing a significant influence of individual differences in reward-related personality traits on the neural processing of reward. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in regulatory focus predict neural response to reward.

PubMed

Scult, Matthew A; Knodt, Annchen R; Hanson, Jamie L; Ryoo, Minyoung; Adcock, R Alison; Hariri, Ahmad R; Strauman, Timothy J

2017-08-01

Although goal pursuit is related to both functioning of the brain's reward circuits and psychological factors, the literatures surrounding these concepts have often been separate. Here, we use the psychological construct of regulatory focus to investigate individual differences in neural response to reward. Regulatory focus theory proposes two motivational orientations for personal goal pursuit: (1) promotion, associated with sensitivity to potential gain, and (2) prevention, associated with sensitivity to potential loss. The monetary incentive delay task was used to manipulate reward circuit function, along with instructional framing corresponding to promotion and prevention in a within-subject design. We observed that the more promotion oriented an individual was, the lower their ventral striatum response to gain cues. Follow-up analyses revealed that greater promotion orientation was associated with decreased ventral striatum response even to no-value cues, suggesting that promotion orientation may be associated with relatively hypoactive reward system function. The findings are also likely to represent an interaction between the cognitive and motivational characteristics of the promotion system with the task demands. Prevention orientation did not correlate with ventral striatum response to gain cues, supporting the discriminant validity of regulatory focus theory. The results highlight a dynamic association between individual differences in self-regulation and reward system function.

Opposite modulation of brain stimulation reward by NMDA and AMPA receptors in the ventral tegmental area

PubMed Central

Ducrot, Charles; Fortier, Emmanuel; Bouchard, Claude; Rompré, Pierre-Paul

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown that blockade of ventral tegmental area (VTA) glutamate N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptors induces reward, stimulates forward locomotion and enhances brain stimulation reward. Glutamate induces two types of excitatory response on VTA neurons, a fast and short lasting depolarization mediated by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors and a longer lasting depolarization mediated by NMDA receptors. A role for the two glutamate receptors in modulation of VTA neuronal activity is evidenced by the functional change in AMPA and NMDA synaptic responses that result from repeated exposure to reward. Since both receptors contribute to the action of glutamate on VTA neuronal activity, we studied the effects of VTA AMPA and NMDA receptor blockade on reward induced by electrical brain stimulation. Experiments were performed on rats trained to self-administer electrical pulses in the medial posterior mesencephalon. Reward thresholds were measured with the curve-shift paradigm before and for 2 h after bilateral VTA microinjections of the AMPA antagonist, NBQX (2,3,-Dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo(f)quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide, 0, 80, and 800 pmol/0.5 μl/side) and of a single dose (0.825 nmol/0.5 μl/side) of the NMDA antagonist, PPPA (2R,4S)-4-(3-Phosphonopropyl)-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid). NBQX produced a dose-dependent increase in reward threshold with no significant change in maximum rate of responding. Whereas PPPA injected at the same VTA sites produced a significant time dependent decrease in reward threshold and increase in maximum rate of responding. We found a negative correlation between the magnitude of the attenuation effect of NBQX and the enhancement effect of PPPA; moreover, NBQX and PPPA were most effective when injected, respectively, into the anterior and posterior VTA. These results suggest that glutamate acts on different receptor sub-types, most likely located on different VTA neurons, to

Opposite modulation of brain stimulation reward by NMDA and AMPA receptors in the ventral tegmental area.

PubMed

Ducrot, Charles; Fortier, Emmanuel; Bouchard, Claude; Rompré, Pierre-Paul

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown that blockade of ventral tegmental area (VTA) glutamate N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptors induces reward, stimulates forward locomotion and enhances brain stimulation reward. Glutamate induces two types of excitatory response on VTA neurons, a fast and short lasting depolarization mediated by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors and a longer lasting depolarization mediated by NMDA receptors. A role for the two glutamate receptors in modulation of VTA neuronal activity is evidenced by the functional change in AMPA and NMDA synaptic responses that result from repeated exposure to reward. Since both receptors contribute to the action of glutamate on VTA neuronal activity, we studied the effects of VTA AMPA and NMDA receptor blockade on reward induced by electrical brain stimulation. Experiments were performed on rats trained to self-administer electrical pulses in the medial posterior mesencephalon. Reward thresholds were measured with the curve-shift paradigm before and for 2 h after bilateral VTA microinjections of the AMPA antagonist, NBQX (2,3,-Dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo(f)quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide, 0, 80, and 800 pmol/0.5 μl/side) and of a single dose (0.825 nmol/0.5 μl/side) of the NMDA antagonist, PPPA (2R,4S)-4-(3-Phosphonopropyl)-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid). NBQX produced a dose-dependent increase in reward threshold with no significant change in maximum rate of responding. Whereas PPPA injected at the same VTA sites produced a significant time dependent decrease in reward threshold and increase in maximum rate of responding. We found a negative correlation between the magnitude of the attenuation effect of NBQX and the enhancement effect of PPPA; moreover, NBQX and PPPA were most effective when injected, respectively, into the anterior and posterior VTA. These results suggest that glutamate acts on different receptor sub-types, most likely located on different VTA neurons, to

Activity of striatal neurons reflects social action and own reward.

PubMed

Báez-Mendoza, Raymundo; Harris, Christopher J; Schultz, Wolfram

2013-10-08

Social interactions provide agents with the opportunity to earn higher benefits than when acting alone and contribute to evolutionary stable strategies. A basic requirement for engaging in beneficial social interactions is to recognize the actor whose movement results in reward. Despite the recent interest in the neural basis of social interactions, the neurophysiological mechanisms identifying the actor in social reward situations are unknown. A brain structure well suited for exploring this issue is the striatum, which plays a role in movement, reward, and goal-directed behavior. In humans, the striatum is involved in social processes related to reward inequity, donations to charity, and observational learning. We studied the neurophysiology of social action for reward in rhesus monkeys performing a reward-giving task. The behavioral data showed that the animals distinguished between their own and the conspecific's reward and knew which individual acted. Striatal neurons coded primarily own reward but rarely other's reward. Importantly, the activations occurred preferentially, and in approximately similar fractions, when either the own or the conspecific's action was followed by own reward. Other striatal neurons showed social action coding without reward. Some of the social action coding disappeared when the conspecific's role was simulated by a computer, confirming a social rather than observational relationship. These findings demonstrate a role of striatal neurons in identifying the social actor and own reward in a social setting. These processes may provide basic building blocks underlying the brain's function in social interactions.

Fifty Years in the Development of a Glutaminergic-Dopaminergic Optimization Complex (KB220) to Balance Brain Reward Circuitry in Reward Deficiency Syndrome: A Pictorial

PubMed Central

Blum, K; Febo, M; Badgaiyan, RD

2016-01-01

Dopamine along with other chemical messengers like serotonin, cannabinoids, endorphins and glutamine, play significant roles in brain reward processing. There is a devastating opiate/opioid epidemicin the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 127 people, young and old, are dying every day due to narcotic overdose and alarmingly heroin overdose is on the rise. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some Medication-Assisted Treatments (MATs) for alcoholism, opiate and nicotine dependence, but nothing for psychostimulant and cannabis abuse. While these pharmaceuticals are essential for the short-term induction of “psychological extinction,” in the long-term caution is necessary because their use favors blocking dopaminergic function indispensable for achieving normal satisfaction in life. The two institutions devoted to alcoholism and drug dependence (NIAAA & NIDA) realize that MATs are not optimal and continue to seek better treatment options. We review, herein, the history of the development of a glutaminergic-dopaminergic optimization complex called KB220 to provide for the possible eventual balancing of the brain reward system and the induction of “dopamine homeostasis.” This complex may provide substantial clinical benefit to the victims of Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) and assist in recovery from iatrogenically induced addiction to unwanted opiates/opioids and other addictive behaviors. PMID:27840857

Favorite brands as cultural objects modulate reward circuit.

PubMed

Schaefer, Michael; Rotte, Michael

2007-01-22

On the basis of the hypothesis that brands may function as reward stimuli, we investigated brain responses to favorite brands. Participants viewed brand logos while we measured cortical activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results revealed activity in the striatum for favorite brands that positively correlated with sports and luxury characteristics, but negatively with attributions to a brand of rational choice. Reduced activation of a single region in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was demonstrated when viewing the most beloved brand, possibly suggesting reduced strategic reasoning on the basis of affect. The results propose that brands that have been associated with appetitive stimuli owing to marketing efforts engage brain networks similar to those engaged by artificially associated reward stimuli. Moreover, social stimuli may function as secondary inducers of reward mechanisms.

Brain reward-system activation in response to anticipation and consumption of palatable food is altered by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor activation in humans.

PubMed

van Bloemendaal, L; Veltman, D J; Ten Kulve, J S; Groot, P F C; Ruhé, H G; Barkhof, F; Sloan, J H; Diamant, M; Ijzerman, R G

2015-09-01

To test the hypothesis that food intake reduction after glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor activation is mediated through brain areas regulating anticipatory and consummatory food reward. As part of a larger study, we determined the effects of GLP-1 receptor activation on brain responses to anticipation and receipt of chocolate milk versus a tasteless solution, using functional MRI (fMRI). Obese subjects with type 2 diabetes, and obese and lean subjects with normoglycaemia (n = 48) underwent three fMRI sessions at separate visits with intravenous infusion of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide, exenatide with prior GLP-1 receptor blockade by exendin-9-39 or placebo, during somatostatin pituitary-pancreatic clamps. Body mass index negatively correlated with brain responses to receipt of chocolate milk and positively correlated with anticipation of receipt of chocolate milk in brain areas regulating reward, appetite and motivation. Exenatide increased brain responses to receipt of chocolate milk and decreased anticipation of receipt of chocolate milk compared with placebo, paralleled by reductions in food intake. Exendin-9-39 largely prevented these effects. Our findings show that GLP-1 receptor activation decreases anticipatory food reward, which may reduce cravings for food and increases consummatory food reward, which may prevent overeating. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Caloric Deprivation Increases Responsivity of Attention and Reward Brain Regions to Intake, Anticipated Intake, and Images of Palatable Foods

PubMed Central

Stice, Eric; Burger, Kyle; Yokum, Sonja

2013-01-01

Dietary restraint theoretically increases risk for binge eating, but prospective and experimental studies have produced contradictory findings, apparently because dietary restraint scales do not identify individuals who are reducing caloric intake. Yet, experimentally manipulated caloric deprivation increases responsivity of brain regions implicated in attention and reward to food images, which may contribute to binge eating. We tested whether self-imposed acute and longer-term caloric restriction increases responsivity of attention and reward regions to images, anticipated receipt, and receipt of palatable food using functional magnetic resonance imaging among female and male adolescents (Study 1 N = 34; Study 2 N = 51/81). Duration of acute caloric deprivation correlated positively with activation in regions implicated in attention, reward, and motivation in response to images, anticipated receipt, and receipt of palatable food (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, putamen, and precentral gyrus respectively). Youth in a longer-term negative energy balance likewise showed greater activation in attention (anterior cingulate cortex, ventral medial prefrontal cortex), visual processing (superior visual cortex), reward (caudate) and memory (hippocampus) regions in response to receipt and anticipated receipt of palatable food relative to those in neutral or positive energy balance. Results confirm that self-imposed caloric deprivation increases responsivity of attention, reward, and motivation regions to food, which may explain why caloric deprivation weight loss diets typically do not produce lasting weight loss. PMID:23201365

A target sample of adolescents and reward processing: same neural and behavioral correlates engaged in common paradigms?

PubMed

Nees, Frauke; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Steiner, Sabina; Mann, Karl; Poustka, Luise; Banaschewski, Tobias; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia J; Garavan, Hugh; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Artiges, Eric; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Rietschel, Marcella; Smolka, Michael N; Struve, Maren; Loth, Eva; Schumann, Gunter; Flor, Herta

2012-11-01

Adolescence is a transition period that is assumed to be characterized by increased sensitivity to reward. While there is growing research on reward processing in adolescents, investigations into the engagement of brain regions under different reward-related conditions in one sample of healthy adolescents, especially in a target age group, are missing. We aimed to identify brain regions preferentially activated in a reaction time task (monetary incentive delay (MID) task) and a simple guessing task (SGT) in a sample of 14-year-old adolescents (N = 54) using two commonly used reward paradigms. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed during the MID with big versus small versus no win conditions and the SGT with big versus small win and big versus small loss conditions. Analyses focused on changes in blood oxygen level-dependent contrasts during reward and punishment processing in anticipation and feedback phases. We found clear magnitude-sensitive response in reward-related brain regions such as the ventral striatum during anticipation in the MID task, but not in the SGT. This was also true for reaction times. The feedback phase showed clear reward-related, but magnitude-independent, response patterns, for example in the anterior cingulate cortex, in both tasks. Our findings highlight neural and behavioral response patterns engaged in two different reward paradigms in one sample of 14-year-old healthy adolescents and might be important for reference in future studies investigating reward and punishment processing in a target age group.

Self-Affirmation Activates the Ventral Striatum: A Possible Reward-Related Mechanism for Self-Affirmation.

PubMed

Dutcher, Janine M; Creswell, J David; Pacilio, Laura E; Harris, Peter R; Klein, William M P; Levine, John M; Bower, Julienne E; Muscatell, Keely A; Eisenberger, Naomi I

2016-04-01

Self-affirmation (reflecting on important personal values) has been shown to have a range of positive effects; however, the neural basis of self-affirmation is not known. Building on studies showing that thinking about self-preferences activates neural reward pathways, we hypothesized that self-affirmation would activate brain reward circuitry during functional MRI (fMRI) studies. In Study 1, with college students, making judgments about important personal values during self-affirmation activated neural reward regions (i.e., ventral striatum), whereas making preference judgments that were not self-relevant did not. Study 2 replicated these results in a community sample, again showing that self-affirmation activated the ventral striatum. These are among the first fMRI studies to identify neural processes during self-affirmation. The findings extend theory by showing that self-affirmation may be rewarding and may provide a first step toward identifying a neural mechanism by which self-affirmation may produce a wide range of beneficial effects. © The Author(s) 2016.

Précis of The brain and emotion.

PubMed

Rolls, E T

2000-04-01

The topics treated in The brain and emotion include the definition, nature, and functions of emotion (Ch. 3); the neural bases of emotion (Ch. 4); reward, punishment, and emotion in brain design (Ch. 10); a theory of consciousness and its application to understanding emotion and pleasure (Ch. 9); and neural networks and emotion-related learning (Appendix). The approach is that emotions can be considered as states elicited by reinforcers (rewards and punishers). This approach helps with understanding the functions of emotion, with classifying different emotions, and in understanding what information-processing systems in the brain are involved in emotion, and how they are involved. The hypothesis is developed that brains are designed around reward- and punishment-evaluation systems, because this is the way that genes can build a complex system that will produce appropriate but flexible behavior to increase fitness (Ch. 10). By specifying goals rather than particular behavioral patterns of responses, genes leave much more open the possible behavioral strategies that might be required to increase fitness. The importance of reward and punishment systems in brain design also provides a basis for understanding the brain mechanisms of motivation, as described in Chapters 2 for appetite and feeding, 5 for brain-stimulation reward, 6 for addiction, 7 for thirst, and 8 for sexual behavior.

Imbalanced functional link between executive control network and reward network explain the online-game seeking behaviors in Internet gaming disorder.

PubMed

Dong, Guangheng; Lin, Xiao; Hu, Yanbo; Xie, Chunming; Du, Xiaoxia

2015-03-17

Literatures have shown that Internet gaming disorder (IGD) subjects show impaired executive control and enhanced reward sensitivities than healthy controls. However, how these two networks jointly affect the valuation process and drive IGD subjects' online-game-seeking behaviors remains unknown. Thirty-five IGD and 36 healthy controls underwent a resting-states scan in the MRI scanner. Functional connectivity (FC) was examined within control and reward network seeds regions, respectively. Nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was selected as the node to find the interactions between these two networks. IGD subjects show decreased FC in the executive control network and increased FC in the reward network when comparing with the healthy controls. When examining the correlations between the NAcc and the executive control/reward networks, the link between the NAcc - executive control network is negatively related with the link between NAcc - reward network. The changes (decrease/increase) in IGD subjects' brain synchrony in control/reward networks suggest the inefficient/overly processing within neural circuitry underlying these processes. The inverse proportion between control network and reward network in IGD suggest that impairments in executive control lead to inefficient inhibition of enhanced cravings to excessive online game playing. This might shed light on the mechanistic understanding of IGD.

Neural and personality correlates of individual differences related to the effects of acute tryptophan depletion on future reward evaluation.

PubMed

Demoto, Yoshihiko; Okada, Go; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Kunisato, Yoshihiko; Aoyama, Shiori; Onoda, Keiichi; Munakata, Ayumi; Nomura, Michio; Tanaka, Saori C; Schweighofer, Nicolas; Doya, Kenji; Yamawaki, Shigeto

2012-01-01

In general, humans tend to discount the value of delayed reward. An increase in the rate of discounting leads to an inability to select a delayed reward over a smaller immediate reward (reward-delay impulsivity). Although deficits in the serotonergic system are implicated in this reward-delay impulsivity, there is individual variation in response to serotonin depletion. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the effects of serotonin depletion on the ability to evaluate future reward are affected by individual personality traits or brain activation. Personality traits were assessed using the NEO-Five Factor Inventory and Temperament and Character Inventory. The central serotonergic levels of 16 healthy volunteers were manipulated by dietary tryptophan depletion. Subjects performed a delayed reward choice task that required the continuous estimation of reward value during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Discounting rates were increased in 9 participants, but were unchanged or decreased in 7 participants in response to tryptophan depletion. Participants whose discounting rate was increased by tryptophan depletion had significantly higher neuroticism and lower self-directedness. Furthermore, tryptophan depletion differentially affected the groups in terms of hemodynamic responses to the value of predicted future reward in the right insula. These results suggest that individuals who have high neuroticism and low self-directedness as personality traits are particularly vulnerable to the effect of low serotonin on future reward evaluation accompanied by altered brain activation patterns. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Brain structure and functional connectivity associated with pornography consumption: the brain on porn.

PubMed

Kühn, Simone; Gallinat, Jürgen

2014-07-01

Since pornography appeared on the Internet, the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of consuming visual sexual stimuli have increased and attracted millions of users. Based on the assumption that pornography consumption bears resemblance with reward-seeking behavior, novelty-seeking behavior, and addictive behavior, we hypothesized alterations of the frontostriatal network in frequent users. To determine whether frequent pornography consumption is associated with the frontostriatal network. In a study conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, 64 healthy male adults covering a wide range of pornography consumption reported hours of pornography consumption per week. Pornography consumption was associated with neural structure, task-related activation, and functional resting-state connectivity. Gray matter volume of the brain was measured by voxel-based morphometry and resting state functional connectivity was measured on 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scans. We found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the right caudate (P < .001, corrected for multiple comparisons) as well as with functional activity during a sexual cue-reactivity paradigm in the left putamen (P < .001). Functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was negatively associated with hours of pornography consumption. The negative association of self-reported pornography consumption with the right striatum (caudate) volume, left striatum (putamen) activation during cue reactivity, and lower functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex could reflect change in neural plasticity as a consequence of an intense stimulation of the reward system, together with a lower top-down modulation of prefrontal cortical areas. Alternatively, it could be a precondition that makes pornography consumption more rewarding.

Robust changes in reward circuitry during reward loss in current and former cocaine users during performance of a monetary incentive delay task.

PubMed

Patel, Krishna T; Stevens, Michael C; Meda, Shashwath A; Muska, Christine; Thomas, Andre D; Potenza, Marc N; Pearlson, Godfrey D

2013-10-01

Abnormal function in reward circuitry in cocaine addiction could predate drug use as a risk factor, follow drug use as a consequence of substance-induced alterations, or both. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging monetary incentive delay task (MIDT) to investigate reward-loss neural response differences among 42 current cocaine users, 35 former cocaine users, and 47 healthy subjects who also completed psychological measures and tasks related to impulsivity and reward. We found various reward processing-related group differences in several MIDT phases. Across task phases we found a control > current user > former user activation pattern, except for loss outcome, where former compared with current cocaine users activated ventral tegmental area more robustly. We also found regional prefrontal activation differences during loss anticipation between cocaine-using groups. Both groups of cocaine users scored higher than control subjects on impulsivity, compulsivity and reward-punishment sensitivity factors. In addition, impulsivity-related factors correlated positively with activation in amygdala and negatively with anterior cingulate activation during loss anticipation. Compared with healthy subjects, both former and current users displayed abnormal brain activation patterns during MIDT performance. Both cocaine groups differed similarly from healthy subjects, but differences between former and current users were localized to the ventral tegmental area during loss outcome and to prefrontal regions during loss anticipation, suggesting that long-term cocaine abstinence does not normalize most reward circuit abnormalities. Elevated impulsivity-related factors that relate to loss processing in current and former users suggest that these tendencies and relationships may pre-exist cocaine addiction. © 2013 Society of Biological Psychiatry.

Using fMRI to study reward processing in humans: past, present, and future

PubMed Central

Wang, Kainan S.; Smith, David V.

2016-01-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a noninvasive tool used to probe cognitive and affective processes. Although fMRI provides indirect measures of neural activity, the advent of fMRI has allowed for 1) the corroboration of significant animal findings in the human brain, and 2) the expansion of models to include more common human attributes that inform behavior. In this review, we briefly consider the neural basis of the blood oxygenation level dependent signal to set up a discussion of how fMRI studies have applied it in examining cognitive models in humans and the promise of using fMRI to advance such models. Specifically, we illustrate the contribution that fMRI has made to the study of reward processing, focusing on the role of the striatum in encoding reward-related learning signals that drive anticipatory and consummatory behaviors. For instance, we discuss how fMRI can be used to link neural signals (e.g., striatal responses to rewards) to individual differences in behavior and traits. While this functional segregation approach has been constructive to our understanding of reward-related functions, many fMRI studies have also benefitted from a functional integration approach that takes into account how interconnected regions (e.g., corticostriatal circuits) contribute to reward processing. We contend that future work using fMRI will profit from using a multimodal approach, such as combining fMRI with noninvasive brain stimulation tools (e.g., transcranial electrical stimulation), that can identify causal mechanisms underlying reward processing. Consequently, advancements in implementing fMRI will promise new translational opportunities to inform our understanding of psychopathologies. PMID:26740530

Complexity in relational processing predicts changes in functional brain network dynamics.

PubMed

Cocchi, Luca; Halford, Graeme S; Zalesky, Andrew; Harding, Ian H; Ramm, Brentyn J; Cutmore, Tim; Shum, David H K; Mattingley, Jason B

2014-09-01

The ability to link variables is critical to many high-order cognitive functions, including reasoning. It has been proposed that limits in relating variables depend critically on relational complexity, defined formally as the number of variables to be related in solving a problem. In humans, the prefrontal cortex is known to be important for reasoning, but recent studies have suggested that such processes are likely to involve widespread functional brain networks. To test this hypothesis, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a classic measure of deductive reasoning to examine changes in brain networks as a function of relational complexity. As expected, behavioral performance declined as the number of variables to be related increased. Likewise, increments in relational complexity were associated with proportional enhancements in brain activity and task-based connectivity within and between 2 cognitive control networks: A cingulo-opercular network for maintaining task set, and a fronto-parietal network for implementing trial-by-trial control. Changes in effective connectivity as a function of increased relational complexity suggested a key role for the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in integrating and implementing task set in a trial-by-trial manner. Our findings show that limits in relational processing are manifested in the brain as complexity-dependent modulations of large-scale networks. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Chronic wheel running affects cocaine-induced c-Fos expression in brain reward areas in rats.

PubMed

Zlebnik, Natalie E; Hedges, Valerie L; Carroll, Marilyn E; Meisel, Robert L

2014-03-15

Emerging evidence from human and animal studies suggests that exercise is a highly effective treatment for drug addiction. However, most work has been done in behavioral models, and the effects of exercise on the neurobiological substrates of addiction have not been identified. Specifically, it is unknown whether prior exercise exposure alters neuronal activation of brain reward circuitry in response to drugs of abuse. To investigate this hypothesis, rats were given 21 days of daily access to voluntary wheel running in a locked or unlocked running wheel. Subsequently, they were challenged with a saline or cocaine (15 mg/kg, i.p.) injection and sacrificed for c-Fos immunohistochemistry. The c-Fos transcription factor is a measure of cellular activity and was used to quantify cocaine-induced activation of reward-processing areas of the brain: nucleus accumbens (NAc), caudate putamen (CPu), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The mean fold change in cocaine-induced c-Fos cell counts relative to saline-induced c-Fos cell counts was significantly higher in exercising compared to control rats in the NAc core, dorsomedial and dorsolateral CPu, the prelimbic area, and the OFC, indicating differential cocaine-specific cellular activation of brain reward circuitry between exercising and control animals. These results suggest neurobiological mechanisms by which voluntary wheel running attenuates cocaine-motivated behaviors and provide support for exercise as a novel treatment for drug addiction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eveningness among late adolescent males predicts neural reactivity to reward and alcohol dependence two years later

PubMed Central

Hasler, Brant P.; Casement, Melynda D.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Forbes, Erika E.

2017-01-01

Eveningness, a preference for later sleep-wake timing, is linked to altered reward function, which may explain a consistent association with substance abuse. Notably, the extant literature rests largely on cross-sectional data, yet both eveningness and reward function show developmental changes. We examined whether circadian preference during late adolescence predicted the neural response to reward two years later. A sample of 93 males reported circadian preference and completed a monetary reward fMRI paradigm at ages 20 and 22. Primary analyses examined longitudinal paths from circadian preference to medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and ventral striatal (VS) reward responses. We also explored whether reward responses mediated longitudinal associations between circadian preference and alcohol dependence, frequency of alcohol use, and/or frequency of cannabis use. Age 20 eveningness was positively associated with age 22 mPFC and VS responses to win, but not associated with age 22 reactivity to reward anticipation. Age 20 eveningness was indirectly related to age 22 alcohol dependence via age 22 mPFC response to win. Our findings provide novel evidence that altered reward-related brain function could underlie associations between eveningness and alcohol use problems. Eveningness may be an under-recognized but modifiable risk factor for reward-related problems such as mood and substance use disorders. PMID:28254633

Value and probability coding in a feedback-based learning task utilizing food rewards.

PubMed

Tricomi, Elizabeth; Lempert, Karolina M

2015-01-01

For the consequences of our actions to guide behavior, the brain must represent different types of outcome-related information. For example, an outcome can be construed as negative because an expected reward was not delivered or because an outcome of low value was delivered. Thus behavioral consequences can differ in terms of the information they provide about outcome probability and value. We investigated the role of the striatum in processing probability-based and value-based negative feedback by training participants to associate cues with food rewards and then employing a selective satiety procedure to devalue one food outcome. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined brain activity related to receipt of expected rewards, receipt of devalued outcomes, omission of expected rewards, omission of devalued outcomes, and expected omissions of an outcome. Nucleus accumbens activation was greater for rewarding outcomes than devalued outcomes, but activity in this region did not correlate with the probability of reward receipt. Activation of the right caudate and putamen, however, was largest in response to rewarding outcomes relative to expected omissions of reward. The dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen) at the time of feedback also showed a parametric increase correlating with the trialwise probability of reward receipt. Our results suggest that the ventral striatum is sensitive to the motivational relevance, or subjective value, of the outcome, while the dorsal striatum codes for a more complex signal that incorporates reward probability. Value and probability information may be integrated in the dorsal striatum, to facilitate action planning and allocation of effort. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

How the brain attunes to sentence processing: Relating behavior, structure, and function

PubMed Central

Fengler, Anja; Meyer, Lars; Friederici, Angela D.

2016-01-01

Unlike other aspects of language comprehension, the ability to process complex sentences develops rather late in life. Brain maturation as well as verbal working memory (vWM) expansion have been discussed as possible reasons. To determine the factors contributing to this functional development, we assessed three aspects in different age-groups (5–6 years, 7–8 years, and adults): first, functional brain activity during the processing of increasingly complex sentences; second, brain structure in language-related ROIs; and third, the behavioral comprehension performance on complex sentences and the performance on an independent vWM test. At the whole-brain level, brain functional data revealed a qualitatively similar neural network in children and adults including the left pars opercularis (PO), the left inferior parietal lobe together with the posterior superior temporal gyrus (IPL/pSTG), the supplementary motor area, and the cerebellum. While functional activation of the language-related ROIs PO and IPL/pSTG predicted sentence comprehension performance for all age-groups, only adults showed a functional selectivity in these brain regions with increased activation for more complex sentences. The attunement of both the PO and IPL/pSTG toward a functional selectivity for complex sentences is predicted by region-specific gray matter reduction while that of the IPL/pSTG is additionally predicted by vWM span. Thus, both structural brain maturation and vWM expansion provide the basis for the emergence of functional selectivity in language-related brain regions leading to more efficient sentence processing during development. PMID:26777477

Memory and reward systems coproduce 'nostalgic' experiences in the brain.

PubMed

Oba, Kentaro; Noriuchi, Madoka; Atomi, Tomoaki; Moriguchi, Yoshiya; Kikuchi, Yoshiaki

2016-07-01

People sometimes experience an emotional state known as 'nostalgia', which involves experiencing predominantly positive emotions while remembering autobiographical events. Nostalgia is thought to play an important role in psychological resilience. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown involvement of memory and reward systems in such experiences. However, it remains unclear how these two systems are collaboratively involved with nostalgia experiences. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of healthy females to investigate the relationship between memory-reward co-activation and nostalgia, using childhood-related visual stimuli. Moreover, we examined the factors constituting nostalgia and their neural correlates. We confirmed the presence of nostalgia-related activity in both memory and reward systems, including the hippocampus (HPC), substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), and ventral striatum (VS). We also found significant HPC-VS co-activation, with its strength correlating with individual 'nostalgia tendencies'. Factor analyses showed that two dimensions underlie nostalgia: emotional and personal significance and chronological remoteness, with the former correlating with caudal SN/VTA and left anterior HPC activity, and the latter correlating with rostral SN/VTA activity. These findings demonstrate the cooperative activity of memory and reward systems, where each system has a specific role in the construction of the factors that underlie the experience of nostalgia. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Abnormal reward functioning across substance use disorders and major depressive disorder: Considering reward as a transdiagnostic mechanism.

PubMed

Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R; Foti, Dan

2015-11-01

A common criticism of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is that its criteria are based more on behavioral descriptions than on underlying biological mechanisms. Increasingly, calls have intensified for a more biologically-based approach to conceptualizing, studying, and treating psychological disorders, as exemplified by the Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC). Among the most well-studied neurobiological mechanisms is reward processing. Moreover, individual differences in reward sensitivity are related to risk for substance abuse and depression. The current review synthesizes the available preclinical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging literature on reward processing from a transdiagnostic, multidimensional perspective. Findings are organized with respect to key reward constructs within the Positive Valence Systems domain of the RDoC matrix, including initial responsiveness to reward (physiological 'liking'), approach motivation (physiological 'wanting'), and reward learning/habit formation. In the current review, we (a) describe the neural basis of reward, (b) elucidate differences in reward activity in substance abuse and depression, and (c) suggest a framework for integrating these disparate literatures and discuss the utility of shifting focus from diagnosis to process for understanding liability and co-morbidity. Ultimately, we believe that an integrative focus on abnormal reward functioning across the full continuum of clinically heterogeneous samples, rather than within circumscribed diagnostic categories, might actually help to refine the phenotypes and improve the prediction of onset and recovery of these disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preserved reward outcome processing in ASD as revealed by event-related potentials.

PubMed

McPartland, James C; Crowley, Michael J; Perszyk, Danielle R; Mukerji, Cora E; Naples, Adam J; Wu, Jia; Mayes, Linda C

2012-05-31

Problems with reward system function have been posited as a primary difficulty in autism spectrum disorders. The current study examined an electrophysiological marker of feedback monitoring, the feedback-related negativity (FRN), during a monetary reward task. The study advanced prior understanding by focusing exclusively on a developmental sample, applying rigorous diagnostic characterization and introducing an experimental paradigm providing more subtly different feedback valence (reward versus non-reward instead of reward versus loss). Twenty-six children with autism spectrum disorder and 28 typically developing peers matched on age and full-scale IQ played a guessing game resulting in monetary gain ("win") or neutral outcome ("draw"). ERP components marking early visual processing (N1, P2) and feedback appraisal (FRN) were contrasted between groups in each condition, and their relationships to behavioral measures of social function and dysfunction, social anxiety, and autism symptomatology were explored. FRN was observed on draw trials relative to win trials. Consistent with prior research, children with ASD exhibited a FRN to suboptimal outcomes that was comparable to typical peers. ERP parameters were unrelated to behavioral measures. Results of the current study indicate typical patterns of feedback monitoring in the context of monetary reward in ASD. The study extends prior findings of normative feedback monitoring to a sample composed exclusively of children and demonstrates that, as in typical development, individuals with autism exhibit a FRN to suboptimal outcomes, irrespective of neutral or negative valence. Results do not support a pervasive problem with reward system function in ASD, instead suggesting any dysfunction lies in more specific domains, such as social perception, or in response to particular feedback-monitoring contexts, such as self-evaluation of one's errors.

Taste, olfactory, and food reward value processing in the brain.

PubMed

Rolls, Edmund T

2015-04-01

Complementary neuronal recordings in primates, and functional neuroimaging in humans, show that the primary taste cortex in the anterior insula provides separate and combined representations of the taste, temperature, and texture (including fat texture) of food in the mouth independently of hunger and thus of reward value and pleasantness. One synapse on, in a second tier of processing, in the orbitofrontal cortex, these sensory inputs are for some neurons combined by associative learning with olfactory and visual inputs, and these neurons encode food reward value on a continuous scale in that they only respond to food when hungry, and in that activations correlate linearly with subjective pleasantness. Cognitive factors, including word-level descriptions, and selective attention to affective value, modulate the representation of the reward value of taste and olfactory stimuli in the orbitofrontal cortex and a region to which it projects, the anterior cingulate cortex, a tertiary taste cortical area. The food reward representations formed in this way play an important role in the control of appetite, and food intake. Individual differences in these reward representations may contribute to obesity, and there are age-related differences in these value representations that shape the foods that people in different age groups find palatable. In a third tier of processing in medial prefrontal cortex area 10, decisions between stimuli of different reward value are taken, by attractor decision-making networks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abnormal Frontostriatal Activity During Unexpected Reward Receipt in Depression and Schizophrenia: Relationship to Anhedonia.

PubMed

Segarra, Nuria; Metastasio, Antonio; Ziauddeen, Hisham; Spencer, Jennifer; Reinders, Niels R; Dudas, Robert B; Arrondo, Gonzalo; Robbins, Trevor W; Clark, Luke; Fletcher, Paul C; Murray, Graham K

2016-07-01

Alterations in reward processes may underlie motivational and anhedonic symptoms in depression and schizophrenia. However it remains unclear whether these alterations are disorder-specific or shared, and whether they clearly relate to symptom generation or not. We studied brain responses to unexpected rewards during a simulated slot-machine game in 24 patients with depression, 21 patients with schizophrenia, and 21 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated relationships between brain activation, task-related motivation, and questionnaire rated anhedonia. There was reduced activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum, inferior temporal gyrus, and occipital cortex in both depression and schizophrenia in comparison with healthy participants during receipt of unexpected reward. In the medial prefrontal cortex both patient groups showed reduced activation, with activation significantly more abnormal in schizophrenia than depression. Anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortical activation predicted task-related motivation, which in turn predicted anhedonia severity in schizophrenia. Our findings provide evidence for overlapping hypofunction in ventral striatal and orbitofrontal regions in depression and schizophrenia during unexpected reward receipt, and for a relationship between unexpected reward processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the generation of motivational states.

Abnormal Frontostriatal Activity During Unexpected Reward Receipt in Depression and Schizophrenia: Relationship to Anhedonia

PubMed Central

Segarra, Nuria; Metastasio, Antonio; Ziauddeen, Hisham; Spencer, Jennifer; Reinders, Niels R; Dudas, Robert B; Arrondo, Gonzalo; Robbins, Trevor W; Clark, Luke; Fletcher, Paul C; Murray, Graham K

2016-01-01

Alterations in reward processes may underlie motivational and anhedonic symptoms in depression and schizophrenia. However it remains unclear whether these alterations are disorder-specific or shared, and whether they clearly relate to symptom generation or not. We studied brain responses to unexpected rewards during a simulated slot-machine game in 24 patients with depression, 21 patients with schizophrenia, and 21 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We investigated relationships between brain activation, task-related motivation, and questionnaire rated anhedonia. There was reduced activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum, inferior temporal gyrus, and occipital cortex in both depression and schizophrenia in comparison with healthy participants during receipt of unexpected reward. In the medial prefrontal cortex both patient groups showed reduced activation, with activation significantly more abnormal in schizophrenia than depression. Anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortical activation predicted task-related motivation, which in turn predicted anhedonia severity in schizophrenia. Our findings provide evidence for overlapping hypofunction in ventral striatal and orbitofrontal regions in depression and schizophrenia during unexpected reward receipt, and for a relationship between unexpected reward processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the generation of motivational states. PMID:26708106

Neural correlates of reward-based spatial learning in persons with cocaine dependence.

PubMed

Tau, Gregory Z; Marsh, Rachel; Wang, Zhishun; Torres-Sanchez, Tania; Graniello, Barbara; Hao, Xuejun; Xu, Dongrong; Packard, Mark G; Duan, Yunsuo; Kangarlu, Alayar; Martinez, Diana; Peterson, Bradley S

2014-02-01

Dysfunctional learning systems are thought to be central to the pathogenesis of and impair recovery from addictions. The functioning of the brain circuits for episodic memory or learning that support goal-directed behavior has not been studied previously in persons with cocaine dependence (CD). Thirteen abstinent CD and 13 healthy participants underwent MRI scanning while performing a task that requires the use of spatial cues to navigate a virtual-reality environment and find monetary rewards, allowing the functional assessment of the brain systems for spatial learning, a form of episodic memory. Whereas both groups performed similarly on the reward-based spatial learning task, we identified disturbances in brain regions involved in learning and reward in CD participants. In particular, CD was associated with impaired functioning of medial temporal lobe (MTL), a brain region that is crucial for spatial learning (and episodic memory) with concomitant recruitment of striatum (which normally participates in stimulus-response, or habit, learning), and prefrontal cortex. CD was also associated with enhanced sensitivity of the ventral striatum to unexpected rewards but not to expected rewards earned during spatial learning. We provide evidence that spatial learning in CD is characterized by disturbances in functioning of an MTL-based system for episodic memory and a striatum-based system for stimulus-response learning and reward. We have found additional abnormalities in distributed cortical regions. Consistent with findings from animal studies, we provide the first evidence in humans describing the disruptive effects of cocaine on the coordinated functioning of multiple neural systems for learning and memory.

Fronto-striatal Dysfunction During Reward Processing in Unaffected Siblings of Schizophrenia Patients

PubMed Central

de Leeuw, Max; Kahn, René S.; Vink, Matthijs

2015-01-01

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that is associated with impaired functioning of the fronto-striatal network, in particular during reward processing. However, it is unclear whether this dysfunction is related to the illness itself or whether it reflects a genetic vulnerability to develop schizophrenia. Here, we examined reward processing in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain activity was measured during reward anticipation and reward outcome in 27 unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy volunteers using a modified monetary incentive delay task. Task performance was manipulated online so that all subjects won the same amount of money. Despite equal performance, siblings showed reduced activation in the ventral striatum, insula, and supplementary motor area (SMA) during reward anticipation compared to controls. Decreased ventral striatal activation in siblings was correlated with sub-clinical negative symptoms. During the outcome of reward, siblings showed increased activation in the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex compared to controls. Our finding of decreased activity in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation and increased activity in this region during receiving reward may indicate impaired cue processing in siblings. This is consistent with the notion of dopamine dysfunction typically associated with schizophrenia. Since unaffected siblings share on average 50% of their genes with their ill relatives, these deficits may be related to the genetic vulnerability for schizophrenia. PMID:25368371

Differential patterns of nucleus accumbens activation during anticipation of monetary and social reward in young and older adults

PubMed Central

Salama, Aallaa; Gründer, Gerhard; Spreckelmeyer, Katja N.

2014-01-01

Recent studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the loss of reward sensitivity in the aging brain. Although such an age effect might be due to a decline of physiological processes, it may also be a consequence of age-related changes in motivational preference for different rewards. Here, we examined whether the age effects on neural correlates of reward anticipation are modulated by the type of expected reward. Functional magnetic resonance images were acquired in 24 older (60–78 years) and 24 young participants (20–28 years) while they performed an incentive delay task offering monetary or social rewards. Anticipation of either reward type recruited brain structures associated with reward, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Region of interest analysis revealed an interaction effect of reward type and age group in the right NAcc: enhanced activation to cues of social reward was detected in the older subsample while enhanced activation to cues of monetary reward was detected in the younger subsample. Our results suggest that neural sensitivity to reward-predicting cues does not generally decrease with age. Rather, neural responses in the NAcc appear to be modulated by the type of reward, presumably reflecting age-related changes in motivational value attributed to different types of reward. PMID:23547243

Reward for food odors: an fMRI study of liking and wanting as a function of metabolic state and BMI.

PubMed

Jiang, Tao; Soussignan, Robert; Schaal, Benoist; Royet, Jean-Pierre

2015-04-01

Brain reward systems mediate liking and wanting for food reward. Here, we explore the differential involvement of the following structures for these two components: the ventral and dorsal striatopallidal area, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior insula and anterior cingulate. Twelve healthy female participants were asked to rate pleasantness (liking of food and non-food odors) and the desire to eat (wanting of odor-evoked food) during event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The subjective ratings and fMRI were performed in hunger and satiety states. Activations of regions of interest were compared as a function of task (liking vs wanting), odor category (food vs non-food) and metabolic state (hunger vs satiety). We found that the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum were differentially involved in liking or wanting during the hunger state, which suggests a reciprocal inhibitory influence between these structures. Neural activation of OFC subregions was correlated with either liking or wanting ratings, suggesting an OFC role in reward processing magnitude. Finally, during the hunger state, participants with a high body mass index exhibited less activation in neural structures underlying food reward processing. Our results suggest that food liking and wanting are two separable psychological constructs and may be functionally segregated within the cortico-striatopallidal circuit. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reward Sensitivity for a Palatable Food Reward Peaks During Pubertal Developmental in Rats

PubMed Central

Friemel, Chris M.; Spanagel, Rainer; Schneider, Miriam

2010-01-01

Puberty is a critical period for the initiation of drug use and abuse. Because early drug use onset often accounts for a more severe progression of addiction, it is of importance to understand the underlying mechanisms and neurodevelopmental changes during puberty that are contributing to enhanced reward processing in teenagers. The present study investigated the progression of reward sensitivity toward a natural food reward over the whole course of adolescence in male rats (postnatal days 30–90) by monitoring consummatory, motivational behavior and neurobiological correlates of reward. Using a limited-free intake paradigm, consumption of sweetened condensed milk (SCM) was measured repeatedly in adolescent and adult rats. Additionally, early- and mid-pubertal animals were tested in Progressive Ratio responding for SCM and c-fos protein expression in reward-associated brain structures was examined after odor conditioning for SCM. We found a transient increase in SCM consumption and motivational incentive for SCM during puberty. This increased reward sensitivity was most pronounced around mid-puberty. The behavioral findings are paralleled by enhanced c-fos staining in reward-related structures revealing an intensified neuronal response after reward-cue presentation, distinctive for pubertal animals. Taken together, these data indicate an increase in reward sensitivity during adolescence accompanied by enhanced responsiveness of reward-associated brain structures to incentive stimuli, and it seems that both is strongly pronounced around mid-puberty. Therefore, higher reward sensitivity during pubertal maturation might contribute to the enhanced vulnerability of teenagers for the initiation of experimental drug use. PMID:20700386

Ventral Pallidum Roles in Reward and Motivation

PubMed Central

Smith, Kyle S.; Tindell, Amy J.; Aldridge, J. Wayne; Berridge, Kent C.

2008-01-01

In recent years the ventral pallidum has become a focus of great research interest as a mechanism of reward and incentive motivation. As a major output for limbic signals, the ventral pallidum was once associated primarily with motor functions rather than regarded as a reward structure in its own right. However, ample evidence now suggests that ventral pallidum function is a major mechanism of reward in the brain. We review data indicating that 1) an intact ventral pallidum is necessary for normal reward and motivation, 2) stimulated activation of ventral pallidum is sufficient to cause reward and motivation enhancements, and 3) activation patterns in ventral pallidum neurons specifically encode reward and motivation signals via phasic bursts of excitation to incentive and hedonic stimuli. We conclude that the ventral pallidum may serve as an important ‘limbic final common pathway’ for mesocorticolimbic processing of many rewards. PMID:18955088

Ventral pallidum roles in reward and motivation.

PubMed

Smith, Kyle S; Tindell, Amy J; Aldridge, J Wayne; Berridge, Kent C

2009-01-23

In recent years the ventral pallidum has become a focus of great research interest as a mechanism of reward and incentive motivation. As a major output for limbic signals, the ventral pallidum was once associated primarily with motor functions rather than regarded as a reward structure in its own right. However, ample evidence now suggests that ventral pallidum function is a major mechanism of reward in the brain. We review data indicating that (1) an intact ventral pallidum is necessary for normal reward and motivation, (2) stimulated activation of ventral pallidum is sufficient to cause reward and motivation enhancements, and (3) activation patterns in ventral pallidum neurons specifically encode reward and motivation signals via phasic bursts of excitation to incentive and hedonic stimuli. We conclude that the ventral pallidum may serve as an important 'limbic final common pathway' for mesocorticolimbic processing of many rewards.

Striatal activation and frontostriatal connectivity during non-drug reward anticipation in alcohol dependence.

PubMed

Becker, Alena; Kirsch, Martina; Gerchen, Martin Fungisai; Kiefer, Falk; Kirsch, Peter

2017-05-01

According to prevailing neurobiological theories of addiction, altered function in neural reward circuitry is a central mechanism of alcohol dependence. Growing evidence postulates that the ventral striatum (VS), as well as areas of the prefrontal cortex, contribute to the increased incentive salience of alcohol-associated cues, diminished motivation to pursue non-drug rewards and weakened strength of inhibitory cognitive control, which are central to addiction. The present study aims to investigate the neural response and functional connectivity underlying monetary, non-drug reward processing in alcohol dependence. We utilized a reward paradigm to investigate the anticipation of monetary reward in 32 alcohol-dependent inpatients and 35 healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure task-related brain activation and connectivity. Alcohol-dependent patients showed increased activation of the VS during anticipation of monetary gain compared with healthy controls. Generalized psychophysiological interaction analyses revealed decreased functional connectivity between the VS and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in alcohol dependent patients relative to controls. Increased activation of the VS and reduced frontostriatal connectivity were associated with increased craving. These findings provide evidence that alcohol dependence is rather associated with disrupted integration of striatal and prefrontal processes than with a global reward anticipation deficit. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Deep brain stimulation of nucleus accumbens region in alcoholism affects reward processing.

PubMed

Heldmann, Marcus; Berding, Georg; Voges, Jürgen; Bogerts, Bernhard; Galazky, Imke; Müller, Ulf; Baillot, Gunther; Heinze, Hans-Jochen; Münte, Thomas F

2012-01-01

The influence of bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus nucleus (NAcc) on the processing of reward in a gambling paradigm was investigated using H(2)[(15)O]-PET (positron emission tomography) in a 38-year-old man treated for severe alcohol addiction. Behavioral data analysis revealed a less risky, more careful choice behavior under active DBS compared to DBS switched off. PET showed win- and loss-related activations in the paracingulate cortex, temporal poles, precuneus and hippocampus under active DBS, brain areas that have been implicated in action monitoring and behavioral control. Except for the temporal pole these activations were not seen when DBS was deactivated. These findings suggest that DBS of the NAcc may act partially by improving behavioral control.

Adaptive neural reward processing during anticipation and receipt of monetary rewards in mindfulness meditators.

PubMed

Kirk, Ulrich; Brown, Kirk Warren; Downar, Jonathan

2015-05-01

Reward seeking is ubiquitous and adaptive in humans. But excessive reward seeking behavior, such as chasing monetary rewards, may lead to diminished subjective well-being. This study examined whether individuals trained in mindfulness meditation show neural evidence of lower susceptibility to monetary rewards. Seventy-eight participants (34 meditators, 44 matched controls) completed the monetary incentive delay task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The groups performed equally on the task, but meditators showed lower neural activations in the caudate nucleus during reward anticipation, and elevated bilateral posterior insula activation during reward anticipation. Meditators also evidenced reduced activations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during reward receipt compared with controls. Connectivity parameters between the right caudate and bilateral anterior insula were attenuated in meditators during incentive anticipation. In summary, brain regions involved in reward processing-both during reward anticipation and receipt of reward-responded differently in mindfulness meditators than in nonmeditators, indicating that the former are less susceptible to monetary incentives. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Unitizing worker expertise and maximizing the brain reward centers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez, Anthony Bert

People are experts when it comes to the work they do; unfortunately their expertise is not utilized as frequently as it could be. More opportunities need to be provided that allow people to participate in the design of their work including: accident investigations, job planning, and process improvements. Many employers use some form of job hazard analysis process to identify and document hazards and controls, but the front line worker is rarely involved. This presentation will show the core principles supporting employee involvement, provide examples where workers had brilliant ideas but no one listened, and provide examples where workers weremore » given the opportunity to use their expertise to improve occupational safety. According to Abraham Maslow's Hierarch of Needs model, one essential human need is to be innovative and solve problems. Advances in brain science have proven, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the brain reward pathway is activated when people are recognized for their intellectual contributions. As people contribute their expertise to improve occupational safety more frequently they will feel a sense of gratification. In addition, safety professionals will have more time to spend on strategic planning of emerging occupational safety issues. One effect of the current global recession is that SH&E professionals are asked to do more with less. Therefore, to be successful it is essential that SH&E professionals incorporate worker expertise in job planning. This will be illustrated in the presentation through an example where a worker had the answer to a difficult decision on appropriate personal protective equipment for a job but no one asked the worker for his idea during the job planning phase. Fortunately the worker was eventually consulted and his recommendation for the appropriate personal protective equipment for the job was implemented before work began. The goal of this presentation is to expand the awareness

Is the self a higher-order or fundamental function of the brain? The "basis model of self-specificity" and its encoding by the brain's spontaneous activity.

PubMed

Northoff, Georg

2016-01-01

What is the self? This is a question that has long been discussed in (Western) philosophy where the self is traditionally conceived a higher-order function at the apex or pinnacle of all functions. This tradition has been transferred to recent neuroscience where the self is often considered to be a higher-order cognitive function reflected in memory and other high-level judgements. However, other lines of research demonstrate a close and intimate relationship between self-specificity and more basic functions like perceptions, emotions and reward. This paper focuses on the relationship between self-specificity and other basic functions relating to emotions, reward and perception. I propose the basis model that conceives self-specificity as a fundamental feature of the brain's spontaneous activity. This is supported by recent findings showing rest-self overlap in midline regions as well as findings demonstrating that the resting state can predict subsequent degrees of self-specificity. I conclude that such self-specificity in the brain's spontaneous activity may be central in linking the self to either internal or external stimuli. This may also provide the basis for coding the self as subject in relation to internal (i.e., self-consciousness) or external (i.e., phenomenal consciousness) mental events.

Saturation of subjective reward magnitude as a function of current and pulse frequency.

PubMed

Simmons, J M; Gallistel, C R

1994-02-01

In rats with electrodes in the medial forebrain bundle, the upper portion of the function relating the experienced magnitude of the reward to pulse frequency was determined at currents ranging from 100 to 1,000 microA. The pulse frequency required to produce an asymptotic level of reward was inversely proportional to current except at the lowest currents and highest pulse frequencies. At a given current, the subjective reward magnitude functions decelerated to an asymptote over an interval in which the pulse frequency doubled or tripled. The asymptotic level of reward was approximately constant for currents between 200 and 1,000 microA but declined substantially at currents at or below 100 microA and pulse frequencies at or above 250 to 400 pulses per second. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the magnitude of the experienced reward depends only on the number of action potentials generated by the train of pulses in the bundle of reward-relevant axons.

Pain and suicidality: Insights from reward and addiction neuroscience

PubMed Central

Elman, Igor; Borsook, David; Volkow, Nora D.

2016-01-01

Suicidality is exceedingly prevalent in pain patients. Although the pathophysiology of this link remains unclear, it may be potentially related to the partial congruence of physical and emotional pain systems. The latter system’s role in suicide is also conspicuous during setbacks and losses sustained in the context of social attachments. Here we propose a model based on the neural pathways mediating reward and anti-reward (i.e., allostatic adjustment to recurrent activation of the reward circuitry); both are relevant etiologic factors in pain, suicide and social attachments. A comprehensive literature search on neurobiology of pain and suicidality was performed. The collected articles were critically reviewed and relevant data were extracted and summarized within four key areas: (1) physical and emotional pain, (2) emotional pain and social attachments, (3) pain-and suicide-related alterations of the reward and anti-reward circuits as compared to addiction, which is the premier probe for dysfunction of these circuits and (4) mechanistically informed treatments of co-occurring pain and suicidality. Pain-, stress- and analgesic drugs-induced opponent and proponent states of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways may render reward and anti-reward systems vulnerable to sensitization, cross-sensitization and aberrant learning of contents and contexts associated with suicidal acts and behaviors. These findings suggest that pain patients exhibit alterations in the brain circuits mediating reward (depressed function) and anti-reward (sensitized function) that may affect their proclivity for suicide and support pain and suicidality classification among other “reward deficiency syndromes” and a new proposal for “enhanced anti-reward syndromes”. We suggest that interventions aimed at restoring the balance between the reward and anti-reward networks in patients with chronic pain may help decreasing their suicide risk. PMID:23827972

Pain and suicidality: insights from reward and addiction neuroscience.

PubMed

Elman, Igor; Borsook, David; Volkow, Nora D

2013-10-01

Suicidality is exceedingly prevalent in pain patients. Although the pathophysiology of this link remains unclear, it may be potentially related to the partial congruence of physical and emotional pain systems. The latter system's role in suicide is also conspicuous during setbacks and losses sustained in the context of social attachments. Here we propose a model based on the neural pathways mediating reward and anti-reward (i.e., allostatic adjustment to recurrent activation of the reward circuitry); both are relevant etiologic factors in pain, suicide and social attachments. A comprehensive literature search on neurobiology of pain and suicidality was performed. The collected articles were critically reviewed and relevant data were extracted and summarized within four key areas: (1) physical and emotional pain, (2) emotional pain and social attachments, (3) pain- and suicide-related alterations of the reward and anti-reward circuits as compared to addiction, which is the premier probe for dysfunction of these circuits and (4) mechanistically informed treatments of co-occurring pain and suicidality. Pain-, stress- and analgesic drugs-induced opponent and proponent states of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways may render reward and anti-reward systems vulnerable to sensitization, cross-sensitization and aberrant learning of contents and contexts associated with suicidal acts and behaviors. These findings suggest that pain patients exhibit alterations in the brain circuits mediating reward (depressed function) and anti-reward (sensitized function) that may affect their proclivity for suicide and support pain and suicidality classification among other "reward deficiency syndromes" and a new proposal for "enhanced anti-reward syndromes". We suggest that interventions aimed at restoring the balance between the reward and anti-reward networks in patients with chronic pain may help decreasing their suicide risk. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Dopaminergic modulation of the human reward system: a placebo-controlled dopamine depletion fMRI study.

PubMed

da Silva Alves, Fabiana; Schmitz, Nicole; Figee, Martijn; Abeling, Nico; Hasler, Gregor; van der Meer, Johan; Nederveen, Aart; de Haan, Lieuwe; Linszen, Don; van Amelsvoort, Therese

2011-04-01

Reward related behaviour is linked to dopaminergic neurotransmission. Our aim was to gain insight into dopaminergic involvement in the human reward system. Combining functional magnetic resonance imaging with dopaminergic depletion by α-methylparatyrosine we measured dopamine-related brain activity in 10 healthy volunteers. In addition to blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast we assessed the effect of dopaminergic depletion on prolactin response, peripheral markers for dopamine and norepinephrine. In the placebo condition we found increased activation in the left caudate and left cingulate gyrus during anticipation of reward. In the α-methylparatyrosine condition there was no significant brain activation during anticipation of reward or loss. In α-methylparatyrosine, anticipation of reward vs. loss increased activation in the right insula, left frontal, right parietal cortices and right cingulate gyrus. Comparing placebo versus α-methylparatyrosine showed increased activation in the left cingulate gyrus during anticipation of reward and the left medial frontal gyrus during anticipation of loss. α-methylparatyrosine reduced levels of dopamine in urine and homovanillic acid in plasma and increased prolactin. No significant effect of α-methylparatyrosine was found on norepinephrine markers. Our findings implicate distinct patterns of BOLD underlying reward processing following dopamine depletion, suggesting a role of dopaminergic neurotransmission for anticipation of monetary reward.

Addiction: decreased reward sensitivity and increased expectation sensitivity conspire to overwhelm the brain's control circuit.

PubMed

Volkow, Nora D; Wang, Gene-Jack; Fowler, Joanna S; Tomasi, Dardo; Telang, Frank; Baler, Ruben

2010-09-01

Based on brain imaging findings, we present a model according to which addiction emerges as an imbalance in the information processing and integration among various brain circuits and functions. The dysfunctions reflect (a) decreased sensitivity of reward circuits, (b) enhanced sensitivity of memory circuits to conditioned expectations to drugs and drug cues, stress reactivity, and (c) negative mood, and a weakened control circuit. Although initial experimentation with a drug of abuse is largely a voluntary behavior, continued drug use can eventually impair neuronal circuits in the brain that are involved in free will, turning drug use into an automatic compulsive behavior. The ability of addictive drugs to co-opt neurotransmitter signals between neurons (including dopamine, glutamate, and GABA) modifies the function of different neuronal circuits, which begin to falter at different stages of an addiction trajectory. Upon exposure to the drug, drug cues or stress this results in unrestrained hyperactivation of the motivation/drive circuit that results in the compulsive drug intake that characterizes addiction.

Reward abnormalities among women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

PubMed

Bohon, Cara; Stice, Eric

2011-11-01

To test the hypothesis that women with full and subthreshold bulimia nervosa show abnormal neural activation in response to food intake and anticipated food intake relative to healthy control women. Females with and without full/subthreshold bulimia nervosa recruited from the community (N = 26) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless control solution. Women with bulimia nervosa showed trends for less activation than healthy controls in the right anterior insula in response to anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake (vs. tasteless solution) and in the left middle frontal gyrus, right posterior insula, right precentral gyrus, and right mid dorsal insula in response to consumptions of milkshake (vs. tasteless solution). Bulimia nervosa may be related to potential hypofunctioning of the brain reward system, which may lead these individuals to binge eat to compensate for this reward deficit, though the hypo-responsivity might be a result of a history of binge eating highly palatable foods. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Oxytocin curbs calorie intake via food-specific increases in the activity of brain areas that process reward and establish cognitive control.

PubMed

Spetter, Maartje S; Feld, Gordon B; Thienel, Matthias; Preissl, Hubert; Hege, Maike A; Hallschmid, Manfred

2018-02-09

The hypothalamic neurohormone oxytocin decreases food intake via largely unexplored mechanisms. We investigated the central nervous mediation of oxytocin's hypophagic effect in comparison to its impact on the processing of generalized rewards. Fifteen fasted normal-weight, young men received intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo before functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements of brain activity during exposure to food stimuli and a monetary incentive delay task (MID). Subsequently, ad-libitum breakfast intake was assessed. Oxytocin compared to placebo increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, supplementary motor area, anterior cingulate, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices in response to high- vs. low-calorie food images in the fasted state, and reduced calorie intake by 12%. During anticipation of monetary rewards, oxytocin compared to placebo augmented striatal, orbitofrontal and insular activity without altering MID performance. We conclude that during the anticipation of generalized rewards, oxytocin stimulates dopaminergic reward-processing circuits. In contrast, oxytocin restrains food intake by enhancing the activity of brain regions that exert cognitive control, while concomitantly increasing the activity of structures that process food reward value. This pattern points towards a specific role of oxytocin in the regulation of eating behaviour in humans that might be of relevance for potential clinical applications.

An Upside to Reward Sensitivity: The Hippocampus Supports Enhanced Reinforcement Learning in Adolescence.

PubMed

Davidow, Juliet Y; Foerde, Karin; Galván, Adriana; Shohamy, Daphna

2016-10-05

Adolescents are notorious for engaging in reward-seeking behaviors, a tendency attributed to heightened activity in the brain's reward systems during adolescence. It has been suggested that reward sensitivity in adolescence might be adaptive, but evidence of an adaptive role has been scarce. Using a probabilistic reinforcement learning task combined with reinforcement learning models and fMRI, we found that adolescents showed better reinforcement learning and a stronger link between reinforcement learning and episodic memory for rewarding outcomes. This behavioral benefit was related to heightened prediction error-related BOLD activity in the hippocampus and to stronger functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the striatum at the time of reinforcement. These findings reveal an important role for the hippocampus in reinforcement learning in adolescence and suggest that reward sensitivity in adolescence is related to adaptive differences in how adolescents learn from experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cannabinoids reward sensitivity in a neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia: a brain stimulation reward study.

PubMed

Gallo, Alexandra; Bouchard, Claude; Fortier, Emmanuel; Ducrot, Charles; Rompré, Pierre-Paul

2014-09-01

The comorbidity schizophrenia and cannabis has a high prevalence. The consumption of cannabis is ten times higher among schizophrenia patients, suggesting that these patients could be differentially sensitive to its motivational effects. To study this question, we investigated the motivational effects of cannabinoid agonists using the brain stimulation reward paradigm and a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia: neonatal ventral hippocampus lesions (NVHL). Using the curve-shift paradigm, we first compared the effect single dose (0.75mg/kg) of amphetamine in sham and NVHL rats on reward and operant responding. Then, in different groups of NVHL and sham rats, we studied the effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinnol (THC, 0.5mg/kg, i.p.) and WIN55,212-2 (WIN, 1 and 3mg/kg, i.p.) Rats were initially trained to self-administer an electrical stimulation to the posterio-medial mesencephalon. Once responding was stable, reward threshold defined as the frequency required to induce a half maximum response rate was measured before and after injection of the drug or the vehicle. Results show that amphetamine enhanced reward in sham and NVHL rats, an effect that was shorter in duration in NVHL rats. THC produced a weak attenuation of reward in sham rats while WIN produced a dose-dependent attenuation in NVHL; the attenuation effect of WIN was blocked by the cannabinoid antagonist, AM251. WIN also produced an attenuation of performance in sham and NVHL rats, and this effect was partially prevented by AM251. These results provide the additional evidence that the motivational effect of cannabinoids is altered in animals with a schizophrenia-like phenotype. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Regional brain activation supporting cognitive control in the context of reward is associated with treated adolescents’ marijuana problem severity at follow-up: A Preliminary Study

PubMed Central

Chung, Tammy; Paulsen, David J.; Geier, Charles F.; Luna, Beatriz; Clark, Duncan B.

2015-01-01

This preliminary study examined the extent to which regional brain activation during a reward cue antisaccade (AS) task was associated with 6-month treatment outcome in adolescent substance users. Antisaccade performance provides a sensitive measure of executive function and cognitive control, and generally improves with reward cues. We hypothesized that when preparing to execute an AS, greater activation in regions associated with cognitive and oculomotor control supporting AS, particularly during reward cue trials, would be associated with lower substance use severity at 6-month follow-up. Adolescents (n=14, ages 14-18) recruited from community-based outpatient treatment completed an fMRI reward cue AS task (reward and neutral conditions), and provided follow-up data. Results indicated that AS errors decreased in reward, compared to neutral, trials. AS behavioral performance, however, was not associated with treatment outcome. As hypothesized, activation in regions of interest (ROIs) associated with cognitive (e.g., ventrolateral prefrontal cortex) and oculomotor control (e.g., supplementary eye field) during reward trials were inversely correlated with marijuana problem severity at 6-months. ROI activation during neutral trials was not associated with outcomes. Results support the role of motivational (reward cue) factors to enhance cognitive control processes, and suggest a potential brain-based correlate of youth treatment outcome. PMID:26026506

Reward-related frontostriatal activity and smoking behavior among adolescents in treatment for smoking cessation.

PubMed

Garrison, Kathleen A; Yip, Sarah W; Balodis, Iris M; Carroll, Kathleen M; Potenza, Marc N; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

2017-08-01

Tobacco use is often initiated during adolescence and continued into adulthood despite desires to quit. A better understanding of the neural correlates of abstinence from smoking in adolescents may inform more effective smoking cessation interventions. Neural reward systems are implicated in tobacco use disorder, and adolescent smokers have shown reduced reward-related ventral striatal activation related to increased smoking. The current study evaluated nondrug reward anticipation in adolescent smokers using a monetary incentive delay task in fMRI pre- and post- smoking cessation treatment (n=14). This study tested how changes in neural responses to reward anticipation pre- to post-treatment were related to reduced smoking. An exploratory analysis in a larger sample of adolescents with only pre-treatment fMRI (n=28) evaluated how neural responses to reward anticipation were related to behavioral inhibition and behavioral activation scales. Adolescent smokers showed pre- to post-treatment increases in reward anticipation-related activity in the bilateral nucleus accumbens and insula, and medial prefrontal cortex, and greater increases in reward anticipation-related activity were correlated with larger percent days of smoking abstinence during treatment. These findings suggest that reduced smoking during smoking cessation treatment is associated with a "recovery of function" in frontostriatal responses to nondrug reward anticipation in adolescent smokers, although comparison with a developmental control group of adolescent nonsmokers is warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Addiction is a Reward Deficit and Stress Surfeit Disorder

PubMed Central

Koob, George F.

2013-01-01

Drug addiction can be defined by a three-stage cycle – binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation – that involves allostatic changes in the brain reward and stress systems. Two primary sources of reinforcement, positive and negative reinforcement, have been hypothesized to play a role in this allostatic process. The negative emotional state that drives negative reinforcement is hypothesized to derive from dysregulation of key neurochemical elements involved in the brain reward and stress systems. Specific neurochemical elements in these structures include not only decreases in reward system function (within-system opponent processes) but also recruitment of the brain stress systems mediated by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and dynorphin-κ opioid systems in the ventral striatum, extended amygdala, and frontal cortex (both between-system opponent processes). CRF antagonists block anxiety-like responses associated with withdrawal, block increases in reward thresholds produced by withdrawal from drugs of abuse, and block compulsive-like drug taking during extended access. Excessive drug taking also engages the activation of CRF in the medial prefrontal cortex, paralleled by deficits in executive function that may facilitate the transition to compulsive-like responding. Neuropeptide Y, a powerful anti-stress neurotransmitter, has a profile of action on compulsive-like responding for ethanol similar to a CRF1 antagonist. Blockade of the κ opioid system can also block dysphoric-like effects associated with withdrawal from drugs of abuse and block the development of compulsive-like responding during extended access to drugs of abuse, suggesting another powerful brain stress system that contributes to compulsive drug seeking. The loss of reward function and recruitment of brain systems provide a powerful neurochemical basis that drives the compulsivity of addiction. PMID:23914176

Reward processing by the lateral habenula in normal and depressive behaviors

PubMed Central

Proulx, Christophe D.; Hikosaka, Okihide; Malinow, Roberto

2015-01-01

The brain reward circuit has a central role in reinforcing behaviors that are rewarding and preventing behaviors that lead to punishment. Recent work has shown that the lateral habenula is an important part of the reward circuit by providing ‘negative value’ signals to the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems. Studies also suggest that dysfunction of the lateral habenula is associated with psychiatric disorders including major depression. In this review, we first discuss insights gained from neuronal recordings in monkeys regarding how the lateral habenula processes reward-related information. We next highlight recent optogenetic experiments in rodents addressing normal and abnormal functions of the habenula. Finally, we discuss how deregulation of the lateral habenula may play a role in depressive behaviors. PMID:25157511

Maternal Depression and Warmth During Childhood Predict Age 20 Neural Response to Reward

PubMed Central

Morgan, Judith K.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Forbes, Erika E.

2014-01-01

Objective Early parenting experiences likely shape children’s brain development, with consequences potentially extending into adulthood. Parents’ affective disorders and expressions of positive affect could exert an influence on affect-related circuitry. The current study evaluated how maternal depression and maternal warmth assessed in early childhood and early adolescence were related to boys’ reward function during early adulthood. Method Participants were 120 boys at socioeconomic risk for emotional problems. Mothers’ history of depression during the child’s lifetime was measured when boys were 42 months old and 10/11 years old. Maternal warmth was observed during mother–child interactions at 18 and 24 months and at 10 and 11 years. Results Maternal warmth during early childhood was associated with less activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) when anticipating and experiencing reward loss. Maternal warmth during early adolescence was associated with less activation in the mPFC when winning rewards and greater activation in the caudate when experiencing loss. The association between maternal warmth during early childhood and early adolescence and reward function in the striatum and mPFC was stronger for boys exposed to maternal depression relative to boys who were not. Conclusions The experience of warmth and affection from mothers may be a protective factor for reward function in boys exposed to maternal depression, possibly by engaging vulnerable neural reward systems through affiliation. PMID:24342390

Peers Increase Adolescent Risk Taking by Enhancing Activity in the Brain's Reward Circuitry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chein, Jason; Albert, Dustin; O'Brien, Lia; Uckert, Kaitlyn; Steinberg, Laurence

2011-01-01

The presence of peers increases risk taking among adolescents but not adults. We posited that the presence of peers may promote adolescent risk taking by sensitizing brain regions associated with the anticipation of potential rewards. Using fMRI, we measured brain activity in adolescents, young adults, and adults as they made decisions in a…

Dissociable Brain Signatures of Choice Conflict and Immediate Reward Preferences in Alcohol Use Disorders

PubMed Central

Amlung, Michael; Sweet, Lawrence H.; Acker, John; Brown, Courtney L.; MacKillop, James

2013-01-01

Impulsive delayed reward discounting (DRD) is an important behavioral process in alcohol use disorders (AUDs), reflecting incapacity to delay gratification. Recent work in neuroeconomics has begun to unravel the neural mechanisms supporting DRD, but applications of neuroeconomics in relation to AUDs have been limited. This study examined the neural mechanisms of DRD preferences in AUDs, with emphasis on dissociating activation patterns based on DRD choice type and level of cognitive conflict. Heavy drinking adult males with (n = 13) and without (n = 12) a diagnosis of an AUD completed a monetary DRD task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participant responses were coded based on choice type (impulsive vs. restrained) and level of cognitive conflict (easy vs. hard). AUD+ participants exhibited significantly more impulsive DRD decision-making. Significant activation during DRD was found in several decision-making regions, including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), insula, posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and posterior cingulate. An axis of cognitive conflict was also observed, with hard choices associated with anterior cingulate cortex and easy choices associated with activation in supplementary motor area. AUD+ individuals exhibited significant hyperactivity in regions associated with cognitive control (DLPFC) and prospective thought (PPC) and exhibited less task-related deactivation of areas associated with the brain's default network during DRD decisions. This study provides further clarification of the brain systems supporting DRD in general and in relation to AUDs. PMID:23231650

fMRI of alterations in reward selection, anticipation, and feedback in major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Smoski, Moria J; Felder, Jennifer; Bizzell, Joshua; Green, Steven R; Ernst, Monique; Lynch, Thomas R; Dichter, Gabriel S

2009-11-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate reward processing in unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD). Specifically, we investigated whether adults with MDD demonstrated hyporesponsivity in striatal brain regions and/or hyperresponsivity in cortical brain regions involved in conflict monitoring using a Wheel of Fortune task designed to probe responses during reward selection, reward anticipation, and reward feedback. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data indicated that the MDD group was characterized by reduced activation of striatal reward regions during reward selection, reward anticipation, and reward feedback, supporting previous data indicating hyporesponsivity of reward systems in MDD. Support was not found for hyperresponsivity of cognitive control regions during reward selection or reward anticipation. Instead, MDD participants showed hyperresponsivity in orbitofrontal cortex, a region associated with assessment of risk and reward, during reward selection, as well as decreased activation of the middle frontal gyrus and the rostral cingulate gyrus during reward selection and anticipation. Finally, depression severity was predicted by activation in bilateral midfrontal gyrus during reward selection. Results indicate that MDD is characterized by striatal hyporesponsivity, and that future studies of MDD treatments that seek to improve responses to rewarding stimuli should assess striatal functioning.

Anatomical correlates of reward-seeking behaviours in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia

PubMed Central

Sturm, Virginia E.; Seeley, William W.; Miller, Bruce L.; Kramer, Joel H.; Rosen, Howard J.

2014-01-01

Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia is characterized by abnormal responses to primary reward stimuli such as food, sex and intoxicants, suggesting abnormal functioning of brain circuitry mediating reward processing. The goal of this analysis was to determine whether abnormalities in reward-seeking behaviour in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia are correlated with atrophy in regions known to mediate reward processing. Review of case histories in 103 patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia identified overeating or increased sweet food preference in 80 (78%), new or increased alcohol or drug use in 27 (26%), and hypersexuality in 17 (17%). For each patient, a primary reward-seeking score of 0–3 was created with 1 point given for each target behaviour (increased seeking of food, drugs, or sex). Voxel-based morphometry performed in 91 patients with available imaging revealed that right ventral putamen and pallidum atrophy correlated with higher reward-seeking scores. Each of the reward-related behaviours involved partially overlapping right hemisphere reward circuit regions including putamen, globus pallidus, insula and thalamus. These findings indicate that in some patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, low volume of subcortical reward-related structures is associated with increased pursuit of primary rewards, which may be a product of increased thalamocortical feedback. PMID:24740987

The impact of cognitive load on reward evaluation.

PubMed

Krigolson, Olave E; Hassall, Cameron D; Satel, Jason; Klein, Raymond M

2015-11-19

The neural systems that afford our ability to evaluate rewards and punishments are impacted by a variety of external factors. Here, we demonstrate that increased cognitive load reduces the functional efficacy of a reward processing system within the human medial-frontal cortex. In our paradigm, two groups of participants used performance feedback to estimate the exact duration of one second while electroencephalographic (EEG) data was recorded. Prior to performing the time estimation task, both groups were instructed to keep their eyes still and avoid blinking in line with well established EEG protocol. However, during performance of the time-estimation task, one of the two groups was provided with trial-to-trial-feedback about their performance on the time-estimation task and their eye movements to induce a higher level of cognitive load relative to participants in the other group who were solely provided with feedback about the accuracy of their temporal estimates. In line with previous work, we found that the higher level of cognitive load reduced the amplitude of the feedback-related negativity, a component of the human event-related brain potential associated with reward evaluation within the medial-frontal cortex. Importantly, our results provide further support that increased cognitive load reduces the functional efficacy of a neural system associated with reward processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential patterns of nucleus accumbens activation during anticipation of monetary and social reward in young and older adults.

PubMed

Rademacher, Lena; Salama, Aallaa; Gründer, Gerhard; Spreckelmeyer, Katja N

2014-06-01

Recent studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the loss of reward sensitivity in the aging brain. Although such an age effect might be due to a decline of physiological processes, it may also be a consequence of age-related changes in motivational preference for different rewards. Here, we examined whether the age effects on neural correlates of reward anticipation are modulated by the type of expected reward. Functional magnetic resonance images were acquired in 24 older (60-78 years) and 24 young participants (20-28 years) while they performed an incentive delay task offering monetary or social rewards. Anticipation of either reward type recruited brain structures associated with reward, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Region of interest analysis revealed an interaction effect of reward type and age group in the right NAcc: enhanced activation to cues of social reward was detected in the older subsample while enhanced activation to cues of monetary reward was detected in the younger subsample. Our results suggest that neural sensitivity to reward-predicting cues does not generally decrease with age. Rather, neural responses in the NAcc appear to be modulated by the type of reward, presumably reflecting age-related changes in motivational value attributed to different types of reward. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Rash impulsiveness and reward sensitivity in relation to risky drinking by university students: potential roles of frontal systems.

PubMed

Lyvers, Michael; Duff, Helen; Basch, Vanessa; Edwards, Mark S

2012-08-01

Two forms of impulsivity, rash impulsiveness and reward sensitivity, have been proposed to reflect aspects of frontal lobe functioning and promote substance use. The present study examined these two forms of impulsivity as well as frontal lobe symptoms in relation to risky drinking by university students. University undergraduates aged 18-26years completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), and a demographics questionnaire assessing age, gender, and age of onset of weekly drinking (AOD). AUDIT-defined harmful drinkers reported earlier AOD and scored higher on BIS-11, the Sensitivity to Reward (SR) scale of the SPSRQ, and the Disinhibition and Executive Dysfunction scales of the FrSBe compared to lower risk groups. Differences remained significant after controlling for duration of alcohol exposure. Path analyses indicated that the influence of SR on AUDIT was mediated by FrSBe Disinhibition, whereas the influence of BIS-11 on AUDIT was mediated by both Disinhibition and Executive Dysfunction scales of the FrSBe. Findings tentatively suggest that the influence of rash impulsiveness on drinking may reflect dysfunction in dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal systems, whereas the influence of reward sensitivity on drinking may primarily reflect orbitofrontal dysfunction. Irrespective of the underlying functional brain systems involved, results appear to be more consistent with a pre-drinking trait interpretation than effects of alcohol exposure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sex Commonalities and Differences in Obesity-Related Alterations in Intrinsic Brain Activity and Connectivity.

PubMed

Gupta, Arpana; Mayer, Emeran A; Labus, Jennifer S; Bhatt, Ravi R; Ju, Tiffany; Love, Aubrey; Bal, Amanat; Tillisch, Kirsten; Naliboff, Bruce; Sanmiguel, Claudia P; Kilpatrick, Lisa A

2018-02-01

This study aimed to characterize obesity-related sex differences in the intrinsic activity and connectivity of the brain's reward networks. Eighty-six women (n = 43) and men (n = 43) completed a 10-minute resting functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Sex differences and commonalities in BMI-related frequency power distribution and reward seed-based connectivity were investigated by using partial least squares analysis. For whole-brain activity in both men and women, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-5 activity in the left globus pallidus (GP) and substantia nigra. In women only, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-4 activity in the right GP and bilateral putamen. For seed-based connectivity in women, increased BMI was associated with reduced slow-5 connectivity between the left GP and putamen and the emotion and cortical regulation regions, but in men, increased BMI was associated with increased connectivity with the medial frontal cortex. In both men and women, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-4 connectivity between the right GP and bilateral putamen and the emotion regulation and sensorimotor-related regions. The stronger relationship between increased BMI and decreased connectivity of core reward network components with cortical and emotion regulation regions in women may be related to the greater prevalence of emotional eating. The present findings suggest the importance of personalized treatments for obesity that consider the sex of the affected individual. © 2017 The Obesity Society.

Acute subjective response to alcohol as a function of reward and punishment sensitivity.

PubMed

Morris, David H; Treloar, Hayley; Tsai, Chia-Lin; McCarty, Kayleigh N; McCarthy, Denis M

2016-09-01

Individual differences in subjective response to alcohol play a crucial role in the development of heavy drinking and related problems. In light of this, a growing focus of research has been identifying factors that contribute to differences in response. The aim of the present study was to determine whether individual differences in the subjective experience of rewarding and aversive effects of alcohol are a specific manifestation of general differences in reward and punishment sensitivity. Eighty-nine participants (M age=22.4, SD=1.9; 47.2% women) consumed a moderate dose of alcohol, i.e., peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC)≈0.080g%, and rated their level of stimulation and sedation at seven timepoints over the BrAC curve. Sensitivity to reward and punishment were assessed by a self-report questionnaire prior to consumption. Multilevel growth models showed that post-consumption changes in stimulation ratings varied as a function of participants' level of reward and punishment sensitivity. Drinkers more sensitive to reward reported feeling more stimulated shortly after drinking and exhibited an attenuated rate of decline in stimulation over the blood alcohol curve, relative to drinkers with less strong reward sensitivity. Reward sensitivity was not related to subjective ratings of sedation, and punishment sensitivity was not related to either stimulation or sedation ratings. Findings suggest that reward sensitivity may increase risk for alcohol misuse among young adult social drinkers by increasing their subjective feelings of stimulation while drinking. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Convergence of EEG and fMRI measures of reward anticipation.

PubMed

Gorka, Stephanie M; Phan, K Luan; Shankman, Stewart A

2015-12-01

Deficits in reward anticipation are putative mechanisms for multiple psychopathologies. Research indicates that these deficits are characterized by reduced left (relative to right) frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) activity and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal abnormalities in mesolimbic and prefrontal neural regions during reward anticipation. Although it is often assumed that these two measures capture similar mechanisms, no study to our knowledge has directly examined the convergence between frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during reward anticipation in the same sample. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate if and where in the brain frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and fMRI measures were correlated in a sample of 40 adults. All participants completed two analogous reward anticipation tasks--once during EEG data collection and the other during fMRI data collection. Results indicated that the two measures do converge and that during reward anticipation, increased relative left frontal activity is associated with increased left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activation. This suggests that the two measures may similarly capture PFC functioning, which is noteworthy given the role of these regions in reward processing and the pathophysiology of disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Neurobiology of Anhedonia and Other Reward-Related Deficits

PubMed Central

Der-Avakian, Andre; Markou, Athina

2011-01-01

Anhedonia, or markedly diminished interest or pleasure, is a hallmark symptom of major depression, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Over the past three decades, the clinical definition of anhedonia has remained relatively unchanged, although cognitive psychology and behavioral neuroscience have expanded our understanding of other reward-related processes. Here, we review the neural bases of the construct of anhedonia that reflects deficits in hedonic capacity, and is also closely linked to the constructs of reward valuation, decision-making, anticipation, and motivation. The neural circuits subserving these reward-related processes include the ventral striatum, prefrontal cortical regions, and afferent and efferent projections. Understanding anhedonia and other reward-related constructs will facilitate diagnosis and treatment of disorders that include reward deficits as key symptoms. PMID:22177980

Brain function during probabilistic learning in relation to IQ and level of education.

PubMed

van den Bos, Wouter; Crone, Eveline A; Güroğlu, Berna

2012-02-15

Knowing how to adapt your behavior based on feedback lies at the core of successful learning. We investigated the relation between brain function, grey matter volume, educational level and IQ in a Dutch adolescent sample. In total 45 healthy volunteers between ages 13 and 16 were recruited from schools for pre-vocational and pre-university education. For each individual, IQ was estimated using two subtests from the WISC-III-R (similarities and block design). While in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, participants performed a probabilistic learning task. Behavioral comparisons showed that participants with higher IQ used a more adaptive learning strategy after receiving positive feedback. Analysis of neural activation revealed that higher IQ was associated with increased activation in DLPFC and dACC when receiving positive feedback, specifically for rules with low reward probability (i.e., unexpected positive feedback). Furthermore, VBM analyses revealed that IQ correlated positively with grey matter volume within these regions. These results provide support for IQ-related individual differences in the developmental time courses of neural circuitry supporting feedback-based learning. Current findings are interpreted in terms of a prolonged window of flexibility and opportunity for adolescents with higher IQ scores. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Underconnectivity between voice-selective cortex and reward circuitry in children with autism.

PubMed

Abrams, Daniel A; Lynch, Charles J; Cheng, Katherine M; Phillips, Jennifer; Supekar, Kaustubh; Ryali, Srikanth; Uddin, Lucina Q; Menon, Vinod

2013-07-16

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often show insensitivity to the human voice, a deficit that is thought to play a key role in communication deficits in this population. The social motivation theory of ASD predicts that impaired function of reward and emotional systems impedes children with ASD from actively engaging with speech. Here we explore this theory by investigating distributed brain systems underlying human voice perception in children with ASD. Using resting-state functional MRI data acquired from 20 children with ASD and 19 age- and intelligence quotient-matched typically developing children, we examined intrinsic functional connectivity of voice-selective bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). Children with ASD showed a striking pattern of underconnectivity between left-hemisphere pSTS and distributed nodes of the dopaminergic reward pathway, including bilateral ventral tegmental areas and nucleus accumbens, left-hemisphere insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Children with ASD also showed underconnectivity between right-hemisphere pSTS, a region known for processing speech prosody, and the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala, brain regions critical for emotion-related associative learning. The degree of underconnectivity between voice-selective cortex and reward pathways predicted symptom severity for communication deficits in children with ASD. Our results suggest that weak connectivity of voice-selective cortex and brain structures involved in reward and emotion may impair the ability of children with ASD to experience speech as a pleasurable stimulus, thereby impacting language and social skill development in this population. Our study provides support for the social motivation theory of ASD.

Obese individuals with more components of the metabolic syndrome and/or prediabetes demonstrate decreased activation of reward-related brain centers in response to food cues in both the fed and fasting states: A preliminary fMRI study

PubMed Central

Farr, Olivia M.; Mantzoros, Christos S.

2016-01-01

It remains unknown whether obese individuals with more components of the metabolic syndrome and/or prediabetes demonstrate altered activation of brain centers in response to food cues. We examined obese prediabetics (n=26) vs. obese nondiabetics (n=11) using fMRI. We also performed regression analyses on the basis of the number of MetS components per subject. Obese individuals with prediabetes have decreased activation of the reward-related putamen in the fasting state and decreased activation of the salience- and reward-related insula after eating. Obese individuals with more components of MetS demonstrate decreased activation of the putamen while fasting. All these activations remain significant when corrected for BMI, waist circumference (WC), HbA1c and gender. Decreased activation in reward-related brain areas between obese individuals is more pronounced in subjects with prediabetes and MetS. Prospective studies are needed to quantify their contributions to the development of prediabetes/MetS and to study whether these conditions may predispose to the exacerbation of obesity and the development of comorbidities over time. PMID:28017966

Abnormalities of functional brain networks in pathological gambling: a graph-theoretical approach

PubMed Central

Tschernegg, Melanie; Crone, Julia S.; Eigenberger, Tina; Schwartenbeck, Philipp; Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Lemènager, Tagrid; Mann, Karl; Thon, Natasha; Wurst, Friedrich M.; Kronbichler, Martin

2013-01-01

Functional neuroimaging studies of pathological gambling (PG) demonstrate alterations in frontal and subcortical regions of the mesolimbic reward system. However, most investigations were performed using tasks involving reward processing or executive functions. Little is known about brain network abnormalities during task-free resting state in PG. In the present study, graph-theoretical methods were used to investigate network properties of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in PG. We compared 19 patients with PG to 19 healthy controls (HCs) using the Graph Analysis Toolbox (GAT). None of the examined global metrics differed between groups. At the nodal level, pathological gambler showed a reduced clustering coefficient in the left paracingulate cortex and the left juxtapositional lobe (supplementary motor area, SMA), reduced local efficiency in the left SMA, as well as an increased node betweenness for the left and right paracingulate cortex and the left SMA. At an uncorrected threshold level, the node betweenness in the left inferior frontal gyrus was decreased and increased in the caudate. Additionally, increased functional connectivity between fronto-striatal regions and within frontal regions has also been found for the gambling patients. These findings suggest that regions associated with the reward system demonstrate reduced segregation but enhanced integration while regions associated with executive functions demonstrate reduced integration. The present study makes evident that PG is also associated with abnormalities in the topological network structure of the brain during rest. Since alterations in PG cannot be explained by direct effects of abused substances on the brain, these findings will be of relevance for understanding functional connectivity in other addictive disorders. PMID:24098282

Probing reward function in posttraumatic stress disorder: expectancy and satisfaction with monetary gains and losses.

PubMed

Hopper, James W; Pitman, Roger K; Su, Zhaohui; Heyman, Gene M; Lasko, Natasha B; Macklin, Michael L; Orr, Scott P; Lukas, Scott E; Elman, Igor

2008-08-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be associated with dysfunctional reward processing. The present study assessed for such dysfunction in both the expectancy and outcome phases of reward processing. Male Vietnam veterans with (n=15) and without (n=11) combat-related PTSD were administered a wheel of fortune-type gambling task. Self-reported ratings of expectancy and satisfaction were collected respectively before and after each experience of monetary gain or loss. PTSD participants reported both lower expectancy of reward and lower satisfaction with reward when it was received. The latter result was manifest in a failure of PTSD participants to show the greater satisfaction that normally accompanies rewards received under conditions of low expectancy. These results suggest reward function impairment in PTSD related to expectancy, satisfaction, and the expectancy-satisfaction relationship.

Diminished frontostriatal activity during processing of monetary rewards and losses in pathological gambling.

PubMed

Balodis, Iris M; Kober, Hedy; Worhunsky, Patrick D; Stevens, Michael C; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Potenza, Marc N

2012-04-15

Mesocorticolimbic neurocircuitry and impulsivity have both been implicated in pathological gambling (PG) and in reward processing. However, the neural underpinnings of specific phases of reward and loss processing in PG and their relationships to impulsivity remain only partially understood. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined brain activity associated with different phases of reward and loss processing in PG. Given an inverse relationship between ventral striatal recruitment during anticipation of monetary rewards and impulsivity in alcohol dependence, the current study explored whether a similar association might also be present in PG. Fourteen adults with PG and 14 control comparison participants performed the Monetary Incentive Delay Task to identify brain activation changes associated with reward/loss prospect, reward/loss anticipation, and reward/loss notification. Impulsivity was assessed separately using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Relative to the control comparison group, the PG group exhibited significantly reduced activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, insula, and ventral striatum during several phases, including the prospect and anticipation phases of both gains and losses. Activity in the ventral striatum correlated inversely with levels of impulsivity in PG participants, consistent with prior findings in alcohol dependence. Relatively decreased activity in corticostriatal neurocircuitry during multiple phases of reward processing suggests consistent alterations in neurocircuitry underlying incentive valuation and loss prediction. Together with findings in alcohol dependence, these results suggest that impulsive tendencies in addictions may be reflected in diminished ventral striatal activations to reward anticipation and may represent targets for treatment development in addictions. Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reward-Based Spatial Learning in Teens With Bulimia Nervosa.

PubMed

Cyr, Marilyn; Wang, Zhishun; Tau, Gregory Z; Zhao, Guihu; Friedl, Eve; Stefan, Mihaela; Terranova, Kate; Marsh, Rachel

2016-11-01

To assess the functioning of mesolimbic and fronto-striatal areas involved in reward-based spatial learning in teenaged girls with bulimia nervosa (BN) that might be involved in the development and maintenance of maladaptive behaviors characteristic of the disorder. We compared functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level-dependent response in 27 adolescent girls with BN to that of 27 healthy, age-matched control participants during a reward-based learning task that required learning to use extra-maze cues to navigate a virtual 8-arm radial maze to find hidden rewards. We compared groups in their patterns of brain activation associated with reward-based spatial learning versus a control condition in which rewards were unexpected because they were allotted pseudo-randomly to experimentally prevent learning. Both groups learned to navigate the maze to find hidden rewards, but group differences in brain activity associated with maze navigation and reward processing were detected in the fronto-striatal regions and right anterior hippocampus. Unlike healthy adolescents, those with BN did not engage the right inferior frontal gyrus during maze navigation, activated the right anterior hippocampus during the receipt of unexpected rewards (control condition), and deactivated the left superior frontal gyrus and right anterior hippocampus during expected reward receipt (learning condition). These patterns of hippocampal activation in the control condition were significantly associated with the frequency of binge-eating episodes. Adolescents with BN displayed abnormal functioning of the anterior hippocampus and fronto-striatal regions during reward-based spatial learning. These findings suggest that an imbalance in control and reward circuits may arise early in the course of BN. Clinical trial registration information-An fMRI Study of Self-Regulation in Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa; https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00345943. Copyright © 2016 American Academy

Reward-Based Spatial Learning in Teens With Bulimia Nervosa

PubMed Central

Cyr, Marilyn; Wang, Zhishun; Tau, Gregory Z.; Zhao, Guihu; Friedl, Eve; Stefan, Mihaela; Terranova, Kate; Marsh, Rachel

2016-01-01

Objective To assess the functioning of mesolimbic and fronto-striatal areas involved in reward-based spatial learning in teenaged girls with bulimia nervosa (BN) that might be involved in the development and maintenance of maladaptive behaviors characteristic of the disorder. Method We compared functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level dependent response in 27 adolescent girls with BN to that of 27 healthy, age-matched control participants during a reward-based learning task that required learning to use extra-maze cues to navigate a virtual 8-arm radial maze to find hidden rewards. We compared groups in their patterns of brain activation associated with reward-based spatial learning versus a control condition in which rewards were unexpected because they were allotted pseudo-randomly to experimentally prevent learning. Results Both groups learned to navigate the maze to find hidden rewards, but group differences in brain activity associated with maze navigation and reward processing were detected in fronto-striatal regions and right anterior hippocampus. Unlike healthy adolescents, those with BN did not engage right inferior frontal gyrus during maze navigation, activated right anterior hippocampus during the receipt of unexpected rewards (control condition), and deactivated left superior frontal gyrus and right anterior hippocampus during expected reward receipt (learning condition). These patterns of hippocampal activation in the control condition were significantly associated with the frequency of binge-eating episodes. Conclusion Adolescents with BN displayed abnormal functioning of anterior hippocampus and fronto-striatal regions during reward-based spatial learning. These findings suggest that an imbalance in control and reward circuits may arise early in the course of BN. Clinical trial registration information An fMRI Study of Self-regulation in Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00345943; NCT00345943

Moderation of the Relationship Between Reward Expectancy and Prediction Error-Related Ventral Striatal Reactivity by Anhedonia in Unmedicated Major Depressive Disorder: Findings From the EMBARC Study.

PubMed

Greenberg, Tsafrir; Chase, Henry W; Almeida, Jorge R; Stiffler, Richelle; Zevallos, Carlos R; Aslam, Haris A; Deckersbach, Thilo; Weyandt, Sarah; Cooper, Crystal; Toups, Marisa; Carmody, Thomas; Kurian, Benji; Peltier, Scott; Adams, Phillip; McInnis, Melvin G; Oquendo, Maria A; McGrath, Patrick J; Fava, Maurizio; Weissman, Myrna; Parsey, Ramin; Trivedi, Madhukar H; Phillips, Mary L

2015-09-01

Anhedonia, disrupted reward processing, is a core symptom of major depressive disorder. Recent findings demonstrate altered reward-related ventral striatal reactivity in depressed individuals, but the extent to which this is specific to anhedonia remains poorly understood. The authors examined the effect of anhedonia on reward expectancy (expected outcome value) and prediction error- (discrepancy between expected and actual outcome) related ventral striatal reactivity, as well as the relationship between these measures. A total of 148 unmedicated individuals with major depressive disorder and 31 healthy comparison individuals recruited for the multisite EMBARC (Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care) study underwent functional MRI during a well-validated reward task. Region of interest and whole-brain data were examined in the first- (N=78) and second- (N=70) recruited cohorts, as well as the total sample, of depressed individuals, and in healthy individuals. Healthy, but not depressed, individuals showed a significant inverse relationship between reward expectancy and prediction error-related right ventral striatal reactivity. Across all participants, and in depressed individuals only, greater anhedonia severity was associated with a reduced reward expectancy-prediction error inverse relationship, even after controlling for other symptoms. The normal reward expectancy and prediction error-related ventral striatal reactivity inverse relationship concords with conditioning models, predicting a shift in ventral striatal responding from reward outcomes to reward cues. This study shows, for the first time, an absence of this relationship in two cohorts of unmedicated depressed individuals and a moderation of this relationship by anhedonia, suggesting reduced reward-contingency learning with greater anhedonia. These findings help elucidate neural mechanisms of anhedonia, as a step toward identifying potential biosignatures

Possible evidence for re-regulation of HPA axis and brain reward systems over time in treatment in prescription opioid-dependent patients.

PubMed

Bunce, Scott C; Harris, Jonathan D; Bixler, Edward O; Taylor, Megan; Muelly, Emilie; Deneke, Erin; Thompson, Kenneth W; Meyer, Roger E

2015-01-01

There is growing evidence for a neuroadaptive model underlying vulnerability to relapse in opioid dependence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical measures hypothesized to mirror elements of allostatic dysregulation in patients dependent on prescription opioids at 2 time points after withdrawal, compared with healthy control participants. Recently withdrawn (n = 7) prescription opioid-dependent patients were compared with the patients in supervised residential care for 2 to 3 months (extended care; n = 7) and healthy controls (n = 7) using drug cue reactivity, affect-modulated startle response tasks, salivary cortisol, and 8 days of sleep actigraphy. Prefrontal cortex was monitored with functional near-infrared spectroscopy during the cue reactivity task. Startle response results indicated reduced hedonic response to natural rewards among patients recently withdrawn from opioids relative to extended care patients. The recently withdrawn patients showed increased activation to pill stimuli in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex relative to extended care patients. Cortisol levels were elevated among recently withdrawn patients and intermediate for extended care relative to healthy controls. Actigraphy indicated disturbed sleep between recently withdrawn patients and extended care patients; extended care patients were similar to controls. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation to drug and natural reward cues, startle responses to natural reward cues, day-time cortisol levels, time in bed, and total time spent sleeping were all correlated with the number of days since last drug use (ie, time in supervised residential treatment). These results suggest possible re-regulation of dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and brain reward systems in prescription opioid-dependent patients over the drug-free period in residential treatment.

Reward and motivation in pain and pain relief

PubMed Central

Navratilova, Edita; Porreca, Frank

2015-01-01

Pain is fundamentally unpleasant, a feature that protects the organism by promoting motivation and learning. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. The aversiveness of pain, as well as the reward from relief of pain, is encoded by brain reward/motivational mesocorticolimbic circuitry. In this Review, we describe current knowledge of the impact of acute and chronic pain on reward/motivation circuits gained from preclinical models and from human neuroimaging. We highlight emerging clinical evidence suggesting that anatomical and functional changes in these circuits contribute to the transition from acute to chronic pain. We propose that assessing activity in these conserved circuits can offer new outcome measures for preclinical evaluation of analgesic efficacy to improve translation and speed drug discovery. We further suggest that targeting reward/motivation circuits may provide a path for normalizing the consequences of chronic pain to the brain, surpassing symptomatic management to promote recovery from chronic pain. PMID:25254980

Neural coding of basic reward terms of animal learning theory, game theory, microeconomics and behavioural ecology.

PubMed

Schultz, Wolfram

2004-04-01

Neurons in a small number of brain structures detect rewards and reward-predicting stimuli and are active during the expectation of predictable food and liquid rewards. These neurons code the reward information according to basic terms of various behavioural theories that seek to explain reward-directed learning, approach behaviour and decision-making. The involved brain structures include groups of dopamine neurons, the striatum including the nucleus accumbens, the orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala. The reward information is fed to brain structures involved in decision-making and organisation of behaviour, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and possibly the parietal cortex. The neural coding of basic reward terms derived from formal theories puts the neurophysiological investigation of reward mechanisms on firm conceptual grounds and provides neural correlates for the function of rewards in learning, approach behaviour and decision-making.

Child gender influences paternal behavior, language, and brain function

PubMed Central

Mascaro, Jennifer S.; Rentscher, Kelly E.; Hackett, Patrick D.; Mehl, Matthias R.; Rilling, James K.

2017-01-01

Multiple lines of research indicate that fathers often treat boys and girls differently in ways that impact child outcomes. The complex picture that has emerged, however, is obscured by methodological challenges inherent to the study of parental caregiving, and no studies to date have examined the possibility that gender differences in observed real-world paternal behavior are related to differential paternal brain responses to male and female children. Here we compare fathers of daughters and fathers of sons in terms of naturalistically observed everyday caregiving behavior and neural responses to child picture stimuli. Compared to fathers of sons, fathers of daughters were more attentively engaged with their daughters, sang more to their daughters, used more analytical language and language related to sadness and the body with their daughters, and had a stronger neural response to their daughter’s happy facial expressions in areas of the brain important for reward and emotion regulation (medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]). In contrast, fathers of sons engaged in more rough and tumble play (RTP), used more achievement language with their sons, and had a stronger neural response to their son’s neutral facial expressions in the medial OFC (mOFC). Whereas the mOFC response to happy faces was negatively related to RTP, the mOFC response to neutral faces was positively related to RTP, specifically for fathers of boys. These results indicate that real world paternal behavior and brain function differ as a function of child gender. PMID:28541079

Abnormal Social Reward Responses in Anorexia Nervosa: An fMRI Study.

PubMed

Via, Esther; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Sánchez, Isabel; Forcano, Laura; Harrison, Ben J; Davey, Christopher G; Pujol, Jesús; Martínez-Zalacaín, Ignacio; Menchón, José M; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando; Cardoner, Narcís

2015-01-01

Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) display impaired social interactions, implicated in the development and prognosis of the disorder. Importantly, social behavior is modulated by reward-based processes, and dysfunctional at-brain-level reward responses have been involved in AN neurobiological models. However, no prior evidence exists of whether these neural alterations would be equally present in social contexts. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional social-judgment functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of 20 restrictive-subtype AN patients and 20 matched healthy controls. Brain activity during acceptance and rejection was investigated and correlated with severity measures (Eating Disorder Inventory -EDI-2) and with personality traits of interest known to modulate social behavior (The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire). Patients showed hypoactivation of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) during social acceptance and hyperactivation of visual areas during social rejection. Ventral striatum activation during rejection was positively correlated in patients with clinical severity scores. During acceptance, activation of the frontal opercula-anterior insula and dorsomedial/dorsolateral prefrontal cortices was differentially associated with reward sensitivity between groups. These results suggest an abnormal motivational drive for social stimuli, and involve overlapping social cognition and reward systems leading to a disruption of adaptive responses in the processing of social reward. The specific association of reward-related regions with clinical and psychometric measures suggests the putative involvement of reward structures in the maintenance of pathological behaviors in AN.

Hedging Your Bets by Learning Reward Correlations in the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Wunderlich, Klaus; Symmonds, Mkael; Bossaerts, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J.

2011-01-01

Summary Human subjects are proficient at tracking the mean and variance of rewards and updating these via prediction errors. Here, we addressed whether humans can also learn about higher-order relationships between distinct environmental outcomes, a defining ecological feature of contexts where multiple sources of rewards are available. By manipulating the degree to which distinct outcomes are correlated, we show that subjects implemented an explicit model-based strategy to learn the associated outcome correlations and were adept in using that information to dynamically adjust their choices in a task that required a minimization of outcome variance. Importantly, the experimentally generated outcome correlations were explicitly represented neuronally in right midinsula with a learning prediction error signal expressed in rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Thus, our data show that the human brain represents higher-order correlation structures between rewards, a core adaptive ability whose immediate benefit is optimized sampling. PMID:21943609

Reward-based contextual learning supported by anterior cingulate cortex.

PubMed

Umemoto, Akina; HajiHosseini, Azadeh; Yates, Michael E; Holroyd, Clay B

2017-06-01

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is commonly associated with cognitive control and decision making, but its specific function is highly debated. To explore a recent theory that the ACC learns the reward values of task contexts (Holroyd & McClure in Psychological Review, 122, 54-83, 2015; Holroyd & Yeung in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 122-128, 2012), we recorded the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from participants as they played a novel gambling task. The participants were first required to select from among three games in one "virtual casino," and subsequently they were required to select from among three different games in a different virtual casino; unbeknownst to them, the payoffs for the games were higher in one casino than in the other. Analysis of the reward positivity, an ERP component believed to reflect reward-related signals carried to the ACC by the midbrain dopamine system, revealed that the ACC is sensitive to differences in the reward values associated with both the casinos and the games inside the casinos, indicating that participants learned the values of the contexts in which rewards were delivered. These results highlight the importance of the ACC in learning the reward values of task contexts in order to guide action selection.

Disambiguating ventral striatum fMRI-related bold signal during reward prediction in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Morris, R W; Vercammen, A; Lenroot, R; Moore, L; Langton, J M; Short, B; Kulkarni, J; Curtis, J; O'Donnell, M; Weickert, C S; Weickert, T W

2012-01-01

Reward detection, surprise detection and prediction-error signaling have all been proposed as roles for the ventral striatum (vStr). Previous neuroimaging studies of striatal function in schizophrenia have found attenuated neural responses to reward-related prediction errors; however, as prediction errors represent a discrepancy in mesolimbic neural activity between expected and actual events, it is critical to examine responses to both expected and unexpected rewards (URs) in conjunction with expected and UR omissions in order to clarify the nature of ventral striatal dysfunction in schizophrenia. In the present study, healthy adults and people with schizophrenia were tested with a reward-related prediction-error task during functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether schizophrenia is associated with altered neural responses in the vStr to rewards, surprise prediction errors or all three factors. In healthy adults, we found neural responses in the vStr were correlated more specifically with prediction errors than to surprising events or reward stimuli alone. People with schizophrenia did not display the normal differential activation between expected and URs, which was partially due to exaggerated ventral striatal responses to expected rewards (right vStr) but also included blunted responses to unexpected outcomes (left vStr). This finding shows that neural responses, which typically are elicited by surprise, can also occur to well-predicted events in schizophrenia and identifies aberrant activity in the vStr as a key node of dysfunction in the neural circuitry used to differentiate expected and unexpected feedback in schizophrenia. PMID:21709684

When performance and risk taking are related: Working for rewards is related to risk taking when the value of rewards is presented briefly.

PubMed

Veling, Harm; Bijleveld, Erik

2015-12-01

Valuable monetary rewards can boost human performance on various effortful tasks even when the value of the rewards is presented too briefly to allow for strategic decision making. However, the mechanism by which briefly-presented reward information influences performance has remained unclear. One possibility is that performance after briefly-presented reward information is primarily boosted via activation of the dopamine reward system, whereas performance after very visible reward information is driven more by strategic processes. To examine this hypothesis, we first presented participants with a task in which they could earn rewards of relatively low (1 cent) or high (10 cents) value, and the value information was presented either briefly (17 ms) or for an extended duration (300 ms). Furthermore, responsiveness of the dopamine system was indirectly estimated with a measure of risk taking, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Results showed that performance after high- compared to low-value rewards was indeed related to the BART scores only when reward information was presented briefly. These results are suggestive of the possibility that brief presentation of reward information boosts performance directly via activating the dopamine system, whereas extended presentation of reward information leads to more strategic reward-driven behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Temporal dynamics of reward anticipation in the human brain.

PubMed

Zhang, Yuanyuan; Li, Qi; Wang, Zhao; Liu, Xun; Zheng, Ya

2017-09-01