C-47 Associations of Executive Functioning with Neural Mechanisms of Reward Processing in Youth

Abstract

Abstract Objective Executive functioning (EF) deficits and difficulty adjusting to reward contingencies in youth are associated with concurrent and future psychopathology. Little is known about how EF relates to reward processing mechanisms. This study examines the associations of neural mechanisms of reward processing with cognitive flexibility and response inhibition, two subdomains of EF. Method dYouths (n = 22), ages 11-14, completed a youth-friendly monetary incentive delay task during multiband fMRI acquisition by hitting a piñata target via button press, to obtain a potential reward. The task included anticipation and feedback periods. On the same day, youths also completed two NIH Toolbox EF tasks on an iPad; the Dimensional Change Card Sort task and the Flanker task, measuring cognitive flexibility and response inhibition respectively. Whole-brain analyses evaluate brain activation associated with EF scores during anticipation and feedback periods. Results Cognitive flexibility was associated with left insula activation during feedback (xyz = -35,11,10, F(1,20) = 25.36, k = 30, p < .005, uncorrected), with lower scores predicting higher activation in left insula when participants failed to obtain a potential reward (r = -.52, p = 0.014). During reward anticipation, the Cognitive Flexibility x Reward Condition interaction predicted activation in the left fusiform (xyz = -45,-41,-16, F(1,20) = 23.94, k = 38) and left inferior frontal gyri (xyz = -39,33,10, F(1,20) = 16.86, k = 21; both p < .005, uncorrected), but post-hocs were non-significant. Response inhibition analyses are currently underway. Conclusions These preliminary results suggest that EF may moderate reward-related neural activation in brain areas related to stimulus-driven attentional networks. Subjects with lower cognitive flexibility may have difficulty reframing failure when a reward is missed. Findings may inform intervention efforts.