Editorial: Reward- and aversion-related processing in the brain: translational evidence for separate and shared circuits.

Dave J Hayes,Andrew J Greenshaw,Georg Northoff

doi:10.3389/fnsys.2015.00147

Abstract

The dynamic evaluation of experience is existentially essential. Assigning value to events and objects drives neural development and plasticity and impacts our changing perceptual interpretations of the world and future behaviors (Nelson et al., 2014). The affective foundation of behavior provides more than a mere phenomenological “coloring” of experience. In fact, affect may be an inseparable component of sensation and cognition instead of an oft-considered byproduct (Inzlicht et al., 2015), and translational neuroanatomical evidence suggests that the major brain areas and tracts involved appear largely conserved across species (Panksepp, 2011).

Highlights

The dynamic evaluation of experience is existentially essential
Less clear are the neural underpinnings of valuative processing which give rise to positive and negative affective experience, appetitive/aversive encoding, reward/punishment-related reinforced behaviors, and feelings/emotions
Are appetitive and aversive stimuli encoded in similar brain areas? If so, do they share neural circuits and mechanisms? Do they function independently, in parallel, or is their cross-talk more complicated than this?

Summary

Introduction

The dynamic evaluation of experience is existentially essential. Assigning value to events and objects drives neural development and plasticity and impacts our changing perceptual interpretations of the world and future behaviors (Nelson et al, 2014). Less clear are the neural underpinnings of valuative processing which give rise to positive and negative affective experience, appetitive/aversive encoding, reward/punishment-related reinforced behaviors, and feelings/emotions. Are appetitive and aversive stimuli encoded in similar brain areas?

Results

Conclusion