Abstract
Prior studies suggest that reward modulates neural activity in sensory cortices, but less is known about punishment. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and an auditory discrimination task, where participants had to judge the duration of frequency modulated tones. In one session correct performance resulted in financial gains at the end of the trial, in a second session incorrect performance resulted in financial loss. Incorrect performance in the rewarded as well as correct performance in the punishment condition resulted in a neutral outcome. The size of gains and losses was either low or high (10 or 50 Euro cent) depending on the direction of frequency modulation. We analyzed neural activity at the end of the trial, during reinforcement, and found increased neural activity in auditory cortex when gaining a financial reward as compared to gaining no reward and when avoiding financial loss as compared to receiving a financial loss. This was independent on the size of gains and losses. A similar pattern of neural activity for both gaining a reward and avoiding a loss was also seen in right middle temporal gyrus, bilateral insula and pre-supplemental motor area, here however neural activity was lower after correct responses compared to incorrect responses. To summarize, this study shows that the activation of sensory cortices, as previously shown for gaining a reward is also seen during avoiding a loss.
Highlights
The ability to extract meaningful information from positive or negative outcomes of prior actions or preceding stimuli is a key requirement for learning
Discrimination accuracy was similar in the reward and punishment session (% correct responses reward: 77.59 ± 0.26, % correct responses punishment: 78.31 ± 0.17, T(1, 19) = −1.3031, p = 0.20)
Our findings provide new evidence that, during reinforcement, human auditory cortex is activated by reward and avoidance of punishment
Summary
The ability to extract meaningful information from positive or negative outcomes of prior actions or preceding stimuli is a key requirement for learning. In the studies by Pleger et al (2008, 2009) participants had to discriminate somatosensory stimuli applied to an index finger and received a visually presented monetary reward for correct performance. Their results revealed increased neural activity in the somatosensory cortex contralateral to the judged hand after reward delivery. The enhancement of neural activity within auditory cortex was only seen in those participants who learned the paradigm All together, those studies provide compelling evidence for sensory reactivation during positive reinforcement, but less is known with respect to negative reinforcement
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