Abstract
Reward loss experiences are among the main sources of emotional stress that humans face throughout their lives. In the animal laboratory, it has been repeatedly shown that the unexpected omission or devaluation of a reinforcer triggers a physiological, cognitive, and behavioral state called frustration. This state involves emotional mechanisms that resemble those unleashed by the presentation of other aversive stimuli, inducing similar stress responses through the activation of brain circuits involved in fear and anxiety. Although this hypothesis has been supported by behavioral, pharmacological, hormonal, and neurobiological evidence, only a few studies have focused on the neurogenetic basis of frustration in animals. This review focuses on the gene-environment interactions that determine the emotional response under conditions of reward loss. Behavioral and genetic correlates of frustration are reviewed in two strains of animals selected on the basis of extreme differences in active avoidance learning: inbred Roman High- (RHA-I) and Roman Low-Avoidance (RLA-I) rats. The review shows the usefulness of Roman strains for neurogenetic research and sets out unsolved questions regarding gene-environment interactions underlying behavior induced by incentive loss.
Highlights
Reward loss experiences are among the main sources of emotional stress that humans face throughout their lives
This article reviewed the behavioral and genetic correlates of frustration in two strains of animals selected on the basis of extreme differences in active avoidance learning
Our research group has extended the behavioral phenotyping of Roman rats to reward loss/frustrating situations, including both acute and chronic frustration-related phenomena (PREE, partial reinforcement contrast effect (PRCE))
Summary
It has been repeatedly shown that the unexpected omission or devaluation of a reinforcer triggers a physiological, cognitive, and behavioral state called frustration This state involves emotional mechanisms that resemble those unleashed by the presentation of other aversive stimuli, inducing similar stress responses through the activation of brain circuits involved in fear and anxiety. The function of psychological pain is to break an attachment with a physical or social object and to facilitate a switch from responses that no longer yield incentives to a search mode for discovering alternative resources (Papini, 2003; Papini, Wood, Daniel, & Norris, 2006) In spite of their differences, both physical and reward loss-related pain seem to share some type of activity in brain affective systems related to fear, stress, and anxiety, as a large body of evidence suggests (Flaherty, 1996; Gray, 1987). The main conclusions derived from this research line are mentioned
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
