Reward Processing Research Articles

Associative memory in alcohol-related contexts: An fMRI study with young binge drinkers.

Alcohol-related cues are known to influence craving levels, a hallmark of alcohol misuse. Binge drinking (BD), a pattern of heavy alcohol use, has been associated with cognitive and neurofunctional alterations, including alcohol attentional bias, memory impairments, as well as disrupted activity in prefrontal- and reward-related regions. However, literature is yet to explore how memories associated with alcohol-related cues are processed by BDs, and how the recall of this information may influence their reward processing. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aimed to investigate the neurofunctional signatures of BD during an associative memory task. In all, 36 university students, 20 BDs and 16 alcohol abstainers, were asked to memorize neutral objects paired with either alcohol or non-alcohol-related contexts. Subsequently, neutral stimuli were presented, and participants were asked to classify them as being previously paired with alcohol- or non-alcohol-related contexts. While behavioral performance was similar in both groups, during the recall of alcohol-related cues, BDs showed increased brain activation in two clusters including the thalamus, globus pallidus and dorsal striatum, and cerebellum and occipital fusiform gyrus, respectively. These findings suggest that BDs display augmented brain activity in areas responsible for mental imagery and reward processing when trying to recall alcohol-related cues, which might ultimately contribute to alcohol craving, even without being directly exposed to an alcohol-related context. These results highlight the importance of considering how alcohol-related contexts may influence alcohol-seeking behavior and, consequently, the maintenance or increase in alcohol use.

8684 Lifetime Duration of Amenorrhea Is Associated With Monetary Decision-Making and Hedonic Eating In Females With a Low-Weight Eating Disorder

Abstract Disclosure: F. Plessow: None. M. Wronski: None. M. Rogers: None. M.G. Turley: None. E.R. Golden: None. M. Slattery: None. J.J. Thomas: None. E.A. Lawson: None. M. Misra: None. K.T. Eddy: None. Background: Low estrogen levels and oligomenorrhea are common characteristics in females with a low-weight eating disorder (LWED). In animal models, estrogen status is associated with neural activity in dopaminergic reward pathways affecting reward processing and decision-making. Whether a similar link exists in humans is unknown but important to understand, as reduced reward-driven behavior and an increased delay of gratification driving decision-making hinder recovery from a LWED. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied the relationship between lifetime duration of amenorrhea and hedonic eating and monetary decision-making in a group of females with a LWED. We hypothesized that longer lifetime duration of amenorrhea is associated with reduced hedonic food intake and a smaller delay discounting rate (indicating an increased delay of gratification) in females with a LWED (independent of age and illness severity). Methods: Fifty-six females with a LWED (mean age±SD: 19.84±2.98 years, range: 13.6-23.5 years) and 34 female healthy controls (HC; 19.08±2.41 years, 13.4-22.2 years) underwent a menstrual history to determine the number of missed menses since menarche, Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) to assess ED psychopathology, anthropometric measurements to calculate body mass index (BMI), Cookie Taste Test as a laboratory-based assessment of reward-related eating beyond satiety, and a monetary Delay Discounting Task to determine their delay discounting rate. Between-group differences were tested using Mann-Whitney U-tests, and associations between duration of amenorrhea and caloric intake at the Cookie Taste Test and delay discounting rate in the LWED group were examined using partial Spearman correlations adjusted for age and BMI as a marker for illness severity. Results: By study design, females with a LWED had a lower BMI (17.97±2.16 vs. 21.71±2.57 kg/m2, U=1,802.50, p<0.001, r=0.75) and more pronounced ED psychopathology (EDE Global Score: 2.38±2.50 vs. 0.00±0.00, U=22.50, p<0.001, r=0.83) than HC. They had missed 16.50±22.64 menses since menarche. When controlling for age and BMI, longer lifetime duration of amenorrhea was correlated with lower caloric intake in the Cookie Taste Test (rs=-0.34, p=0.011) and a smaller delay discounting rate indicating an increased delay of gratification (rs=-0.40, p=0.004). Conclusions: This is the first demonstration that lifetime duration of amenorrhea is associated with hedonic food intake and monetary decision-making in females with a LWED, pointing towards a potential role of cumulative estrogen status in reward processing and decision-making in this population. Future research avenues include investigating whether estrogen replacement can increase reward responsiveness and reduce delay of gratification to promote a faster recovery from a LWED. Presentation: 6/1/2024

8684 Lifetime Duration of Amenorrhea Is Associated With Monetary Decision-Making and Hedonic Eating In Females With a Low-Weight Eating Disorder

Abstract Disclosure: F. Plessow: None. M. Wronski: None. M. Rogers: None. M.G. Turley: None. E.R. Golden: None. M. Slattery: None. J.J. Thomas: None. E.A. Lawson: None. M. Misra: None. K.T. Eddy: None. Background: Low estrogen levels and oligomenorrhea are common characteristics in females with a low-weight eating disorder (LWED). In animal models, estrogen status is associated with neural activity in dopaminergic reward pathways affecting reward processing and decision-making. Whether a similar link exists in humans is unknown but important to understand, as reduced reward-driven behavior and an increased delay of gratification driving decision-making hinder recovery from a LWED. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied the relationship between lifetime duration of amenorrhea and hedonic eating and monetary decision-making in a group of females with a LWED. We hypothesized that longer lifetime duration of amenorrhea is associated with reduced hedonic food intake and a smaller delay discounting rate (indicating an increased delay of gratification) in females with a LWED (independent of age and illness severity). Methods: Fifty-six females with a LWED (mean age±SD: 19.84±2.98 years, range: 13.6-23.5 years) and 34 female healthy controls (HC; 19.08±2.41 years, 13.4-22.2 years) underwent a menstrual history to determine the number of missed menses since menarche, Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) to assess ED psychopathology, anthropometric measurements to calculate body mass index (BMI), Cookie Taste Test as a laboratory-based assessment of reward-related eating beyond satiety, and a monetary Delay Discounting Task to determine their delay discounting rate. Between-group differences were tested using Mann-Whitney U-tests, and associations between duration of amenorrhea and caloric intake at the Cookie Taste Test and delay discounting rate in the LWED group were examined using partial Spearman correlations adjusted for age and BMI as a marker for illness severity. Results: By study design, females with a LWED had a lower BMI (17.97±2.16 vs. 21.71±2.57 kg/m2, U=1,802.50, p<0.001, r=0.75) and more pronounced ED psychopathology (EDE Global Score: 2.38±2.50 vs. 0.00±0.00, U=22.50, p<0.001, r=0.83) than HC. They had missed 16.50±22.64 menses since menarche. When controlling for age and BMI, longer lifetime duration of amenorrhea was correlated with lower caloric intake in the Cookie Taste Test (rs=-0.34, p=0.011) and a smaller delay discounting rate indicating an increased delay of gratification (rs=-0.40, p=0.004). Conclusions: This is the first demonstration that lifetime duration of amenorrhea is associated with hedonic food intake and monetary decision-making in females with a LWED, pointing towards a potential role of cumulative estrogen status in reward processing and decision-making in this population. Future research avenues include investigating whether estrogen replacement can increase reward responsiveness and reduce delay of gratification to promote a faster recovery from a LWED. Presentation: 6/1/2024

12669 Oxytocin Levels Are Associated With Inhibitory Control In Young Female Individuals With A Low-weight Eating Disorder

Abstract Disclosure: M. Wronski: None. F. Plessow: None. M. Rogers: None. D.L. Kahn: None. E.R. Golden: None. M. Slattery: None. J.J. Thomas: None. L.M. Holsen: None. K.T. Eddy: None. M. Misra: None. E.A. Lawson: None. Background: Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) impacts inhibitory control and reward processing. In male adults with overweight or obesity, we showed that exogeneous OXT increases inhibitory control and neural activation in associated brain regions while attenuating activation in reward-related brain regions. Low-weight eating disorders (LWEDs) are characterized by decreased endogenous OXT levels, altered inhibitory control over behavior, and reduced responsiveness to rewards. However, links between these characteristics are unknown in LWEDs. Here, we examined associations between endogenous OXT levels and performance in behavioral tasks requiring inhibitory control and reward-based decision-making in individuals with a LWED compared to healthy controls (HC). Methods: In 58 females with a LWED and 39 female HC (aged 11-23 years), we measured serum OXT concentrations fasting and 30, 60, and 120 minutes after a 400-kcal standardized meal and calculated OXT area under the curve (AUC) as a composite measure. After the meal (following the 60-minute blood draw), participants completed a Go/NoGo Task to assess inhibitory control over behavior and a monetary Delay Discounting Task to assess reward-based decision-making. We analyzed associations between OXT AUC and behavioral outcomes across groups using robust linear models with main effects of group (LWED vs. HC) and OXT AUC, the interaction effect of group*OXT AUC, and covariates age and body mass index (BMI) z score. Results: Per study design, individuals with a LWED had a lower BMI z score (t=10.90, p<0.001, d=2.00), whereas groups did not differ in OXT AUC (t=1.20, p=0.232, d=0.24). For the Go/NoGo Task, we observed a group effect on NoGo error rate (higher values indicating lower inhibitory control; NoGo error rate: adj. mean [std. error] LWED 35.6 [2.7] % > HC 26.6 [3.4] %) as well as an interaction effect of group*OXT AUC, independent of age and BMI z score (t=2.73, p=0.008, d=0.72). Follow-up simple main effects analysis within each group revealed a significant negative relationship of OXT AUC and NoGo error rate in individuals with a LWED (t=-2.42, p=0.022, d=0.85), while this relationship emerged as nonsignificant but trend-level positive in HC (t=1.73, p=0.099, d=0.74). We did not detect group (t=0.69, p=0.493, d=0.17) or group*OXT interaction (t<0.01, p=0.996, d<0.01) effects on delay discounting rate. Conclusions: In females with a LWED, lower OXT exposure around a meal correlated with lower inhibitory control over behavior. In HC, however, our data yielded a trend of opposite directionality. Links between OXT exposure and reward-related decision-making were absent across groups. Our findings indicate potential relevance and mechanistic involvement of OXT in inhibitory control in LWEDs that warrants further causal investigations. Presentation: 6/3/2024

Astrocytes contribute to the functional differentiation of the hippocampal longitudinal axis during reward and aversion processing in the adult male rat

This study aims to investigate whether glial cells, in particular putative astrocytes, contribute to functional distinctions between the dorsal (DH), intermediate (IH), and ventral (VH) hippocampus. To evaluate this, we performed three different behavioral tasks (i.e., Morris water maze; MWM, Passive avoidance; PA, T-maze place preference; TPP) to determine whether the DH, IH, and VH are necessary for each task. Sensitivity of behavioral tasks was confirmed using lidocaine (2 %, 1 μl) reversible inactivation. Subsequently, we examined the effects of silencing astrocytes, using fluorocitrate (FC, 1 mM/1 μl), into the DH, IH, and VH on these tasks. The effects of drugs were examined separately. We observed that injection of FC into the DH resulted in a significant impairment in MWM performance. In contrast, while FC injections into the IH or VH did not prevent platform localization during the acquisition phase, rats showed difficulty recalling the target zone during the retrieval phase. In the PA test, FC injection into the VH impaired task learning and memory. During the acquisition phase, FC injection into the DH or IH did not differ from the control in the number of shocks; however, during retrieval, there was a significant decrease in the latency before entering the dark chamber. The TPP test performance was impaired by FC injection in the IH. In sum, we show that glial cells, especially astrocytes in specific functional regions of the hippocampus, play distinct roles in processing aversive and rewarding experiences and contribute to the functional organization of the hippocampal longitudinal axis.

Blunted sensitivity to expected value during risky decision making in individuals with problematic pornography use.

Neurobiological models of addiction posit that addiction manifests through an amplified salience towards addiction-associated stimuli and a diminished responsiveness to non-addiction-related incentives. However, existing research on reward processing in individuals with problematic pornography use (PPU) has primarily been limited to sexual cue reactivity. In this event-related potential (ERP) study, we employed a risky decision-making task involving 30 individuals with PPU and 33 healthy controls (HCs) to examine the effects of PPU on non-pornographic (money) reward valuation. Compared to HCs, individuals with PPU exhibited compromised sensitivity to monetary rewards. Specifically, while the HC group demonstrated a differential response in late positive potential (LPP) amplitude to various expected value (EV) levels, this pattern was absent in the PPU group. This impairment was associated with poorer adaptive decision-making, as evidenced by PPU participants' inability to adjust risk choices based on changes in EV, leading to a propensity for riskier decisions in disadvantageous situations. The findings of impaired monetary evaluation in individuals with PPU may potentially explain why they continually pursue pornographic rewards while showing insensitivity to other rewards in daily life. Consequently, treatment development strategies may prioritize improving sensitivity to non-pornographic rewards within this population.

Oxytocin differentially modulates reward system responses to social and non-social incentives.

Oxytocin has been shown to modulate behavior related to processing of monetary incentives and to regulate social and reproductive behavior, yet little is known about how oxytocin differentially influences neural responses to social and non-social incentives. We aimed to evaluate the effects of oxytocin administration on behavioral and neural responses to social and monetary incentives. Twenty-eight healthy adults (age 18-45 years) performed both monetary and social incentive tasks during blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) imaging. Intranasal oxytocin or placebo was administered before each scan using a double blind, randomized, cross-over design. Task performance and self-reported motivation and mood states were collected. Time-series analysis was conducted to assess the influence of oxytocin on the hemodynamic response in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra (VTA/SN) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Oxytocin demonstrated a multifaceted effect on VTA/SN and NAc when processing reward incentives, with it increasing BOLD response in VTA/SN and decreasing BOLD response in NAc during social incentive anticipation. A reversal of this was shown with decreased BOLD responses in the VTA/SN and increased BOLD response in the NAc during monetary incentive anticipation. Our findings suggest a more nuanced purpose of oxytocin when evaluating reward incentive decision making. It is possible that while oxytocin does increase salience to rewards, that it is more important for cognitive control when determining short-term versus long-term benefits in rewards. Future studies should more closely examine the relationship between oxytocin and delay discounting.

Revisiting the musical reminiscence bump: insights from neurocognitive and social brain development in adolescence.

Music listening is enjoyed across the lifespan and around the world. This has spurred many theories on the evolutionary purpose of music. The Music for Social Bonding hypothesis posits that the human capacity to make music evolved for the purpose of creating and preserving relationships between one another. Considering different time periods of music use across the lifespan, adolescence is especially a period of social reorientation away from family towards peers, characterized by new social bonds and increased prosocial behavior. This shift is accompanied by notable structural and functional changes in brain networks supporting reward processing and prosocial behavior. Reviewing the extant literature on developmental cognitive neuroscience and adolescent music use, we propose that neurocognitive changes in the reward system make adolescence an ideal developmental time window for investigating interactions between prosocial behavior and reward processing, as adolescence constitutes a time of relative increase in music reward valuation. Testing this hypothesis may clarify our understanding of developmental trajectories in music reward valuation, and offer insights into why music from adults' adolescence holds a great deal of personal significance.

Reward processing in young people with self-harm behaviour

Twenty percent of young people report a lifetime presence of self-harm (SH) behaviour, associated with negative health and functional outcomes. Understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms is needed to develop targeted early interventions. Reward processing biases may underlie SH, aligning with accounts of the behaviour acquiring “addictive” characteristics. However, the specific nature of such biases remains unclear, particularly its relationship with negative affect (NA) that frequently triggers SH. In Study 1, we compared young people (aged 16–25) with SH to a group with NA but no SH history and a healthy control group on performance of a novel Incentive Delay Task (IDT), with SH-related (SH trials), positive social (social trials) or monetary images (money trials) as stimuli. In Study 2, a different sample of SH and HC participants completed the same IDT following NA induction via an online Trier Social Stress Test. For both studies, we hypothesised faster and more correct responses in the SH group than control groups on SH trials. Contradicting our hypothesis, there were no significant between-group differences in IDT performance on SH, social and money trials in either study. Certain SH characteristics (positive reinforcement, SH mental imagery, urge) were significantly correlated with better performance on SH trials in SH participants. Thus, broadly SH behaviour may not be underpinned by motivational biases towards SH-related cues or naturalistic rewards. Future studies should clarify whether incentivisation of SH-related cues instead explains individual differences in SH behaviour and its relation with treatment and prognosis.

Patterns of abnormal activations in severe mental disorders a transdiagnostic data-driven meta-analysis of task-based fMRI studies.

Studies suggest severe mental disorders (SMDs), such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, are associated with common alterations in brain activity, albeit with a graded level of impairment. However, discrepancies between study findings likely to results from both small sample sizes and the use of different functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks. To address these issues, data-driven meta-analytic approach designed to identify homogeneous brain co-activity patterns across tasks was conducted to better characterize the common and distinct alterations between these disorders. A hierarchical clustering analysis was conducted to identify groups of studies reporting similar neuroimaging results, independent of task type and psychiatric diagnosis. A traditional meta-analysis (activation likelihood estimation) was then performed within each of these groups of studies to extract their aberrant activation maps. A total of 762 fMRI study contrasts were targeted, comprising 13 991 patients with SMDs. Hierarchical clustering analysis identified 5 groups of studies (meta-analytic groupings; MAGs) being characterized by distinct aberrant activation patterns across SMDs: (1) emotion processing; (2) cognitive processing; (3) motor processes, (4) reward processing, and (5) visual processing. While MAG1 was mostly commonly impaired, MAG2 was more impaired in schizophrenia, while MAG3 and MAG5 revealed no differences between disorder. MAG4 showed the strongest between-diagnoses differences, particularly in the striatum, posterior cingulate cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. SMDs are characterized mostly by common deficits in brain networks, although differences between disorders are also present. This study highlights the importance of studying SMDs simultaneously rather than independently.

Reward Neurocircuitry Predicts Longitudinal Changes in Alcohol Use Following Trauma Exposure

BackgroundTrauma is a risk factor for developing maladaptive alcohol use. Preclinical research has shown that stress alters the processing of midbrain and striatal reward and incentive signals. However, little research has been conducted on alterations in reward-related neurocircuitry posttrauma in humans. Neuroimaging markers may be particularly useful because they can provide insight into the mechanisms that may make an individual vulnerable to developing trauma-related psychopathologies. In this study, we aimed to identify reward-related neural correlates associated with changes in alcohol use after trauma exposure. MethodsParticipants were recruited from U.S. emergency departments for the AURORA study (n = 286, 178 female). Trauma-related change in alcohol use at 8 weeks posttrauma relative to pretrauma was quantified as a change in 30-day total drinking per the PhenX Toolkit Alcohol - 30-Day Quantity and Frequency Measure. Reward-related neurocircuitry activation and functional connectivity were assessed 2 weeks posttrauma using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a monetary reward task using region of interest and whole-brain voxelwise analyses. ResultsGreater increase in alcohol use from pretrauma to 8 weeks posttrauma was predicted by 1) greater ventral tegmental area and 2) greater cerebellum activation during gain > loss trials measured 2 weeks posttrauma and 3) greater seed-based functional connectivity between the ventral tegmental area and lateral occipital cortex and precuneus. ConclusionsAltered ventral tegmental area activation and functional connectivity early posttrauma may be associated with reward seeking and processing, thereby contributing to greater alcohol use posttrauma. These data provide novel evidence of neural correlates that underlie increased alcohol use early posttrauma that may be targeted via early interventions to prevent the development of maladaptive alcohol use.

The ERP Components of Reward Processing Modulated by Status-Related Social Comparison.

Although social status is closely related to income distribution, few studies have focused on social comparisons caused by income distribution based on social status. The neural indices of status-related social comparisons were investigated by modifying the classical social comparison task with the incorporation of event-related potentials (ERPs). The study employed a total of 29 subjects (15 females), the status scores of whom were initially obtained through the utilization of classical measurements of objective (7 items) and subjective (2 items) socioeconomic status. Subsequently, the subjects were required to complete a dot-estimation task. To induce status-related and response-related (upward, equal, and downward) social comparisons, subjects were informed that rewards were distributed based on whether their status score or their response was superior to that of a selected competitor. The behavioral results demonstrated that status-related social comparisons were perceived as more unfair than response-related social comparisons. The ERP results indicated that the cue-P3 amplitude was lower under status-related cues than response-related cues. Additionally, the amplitude of feedback-related negativity was larger under status-related equal comparisons than response-related equal comparisons. Furthermore, the P3 amplitude was larger under status-related upward comparisons relative to response-related upward comparisons. The findings indicated that status-related comparisons may contribute to the development of unfair consideration (enhanced FRN) and a reduction in task motivations (lowered cue-P3). Additionally, the status-related upward comparison may serve as a significant factor in the onset of relative deprivation (enhanced P3). It would therefore be beneficial to gain further insight into the neural basis of social comparisons.

Neural and immune interactions linking early life stress and anhedonia

Early experiences of stress and adversity are associated with blunted reward sensitivity and altered reward learning. Meanwhile, anhedonia is characterized by impairments in reward processing, including motivation, effort, and pleasure. Early life stress (ELS) and anhedonia share psychological, behavioral, and neurobiological correlates, and the system-level interactions that give rise to anhedonia have yet to be fully appreciated. The proposed framework uses a multilevel, multisystem approach to aid in understanding neural-immune interactions that link ELS and anhedonia. The interactions linking anhedonia and ELS presented here include reduced reward sensitivity, alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response, elevated inflammatory cytokines or physiological markers of stress, and blunted reward circuitry functioning along the mesocorticolimbic pathway. The clinical implications and areas for future research are also discussed. Ultimately, this research may inform the development of more specific and individualized treatments for anhedonia.

Towards a neurodevelopmental model of bipolar disorder: a critical review of trait- and state-related functional neuroimaging in adolescents and young adults.

Neurodevelopmental mechanisms are increasingly implicated in bipolar disorder (BD), highlighting the importance of their study in young persons. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated a central role for frontotemporal corticolimbic brain systems that subserve processing and regulation of emotions, and processing of reward in adults with BD. As adolescence and young adulthood (AYA) is a time when fully syndromal BD often emerges, and when these brain systems undergo dynamic maturational changes, the AYA epoch is implicated as a critical period in the neurodevelopment of BD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies can be especially informative in identifying the functional neuroanatomy in adolescents and young adults with BD (BDAYA) and at high risk for BD (HR-BDAYA) that is related to acute mood states and trait vulnerability to the disorder. The identification of early emerging brain differences, trait- and state-based, can contribute to the elucidation of the developmental neuropathophysiology of BD, and to the generation of treatment and prevention targets. In this critical review, fMRI studies of BDAYA and HR-BDAYA are discussed, and a preliminary neurodevelopmental model is presented based on a convergence of literature that suggests early emerging dysfunction in subcortical (e.g., amygdalar, striatal, thalamic) and caudal and ventral cortical regions, especially ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) and insula, and connections among them, persisting as trait-related features. More rostral and dorsal cortical alterations, and bilaterality progress later, with lateralization, and direction of functional imaging findings differing by mood state. Altered functioning of these brain regions, and regions they are strongly connected to, are implicated in the range of symptoms seen in BD, such as the insula in interoception, precentral gyrus in motor changes, and prefrontal cortex in cognition. Current limitations, and outlook on the future use of neuroimaging evidence to inform interventions and prevent the onset of mood episodes in BDAYA, are outlined.

The Role of Motivation in Decision-Making and Underlying Neural Mechanism

This paper presents crucial findings on how motivation, both internal and external, significantly influences decision-making processes at cognitive and neural levels. It highlights the role of reward anticipation and uncertainty in shaping decision-making behavior, particularly focusing on brain regions like the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and dopaminergic pathways, which govern strategic and risk-related decisions. Studies involving psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, and healthy individuals using fMRI reveal that increased motivation enhances decision-making strategies by activating frontal and parietal brain regions, while certain areas like the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) show less involvement. Additionally, the essay explores the role of insight-driven internal motivation, showing that moments of sudden clarity (AHA! experiences) can elevate risk-taking behavior by stimulating the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a key region involved in reward processing. The research also delves into strategic decision-making theories, emphasizing the balance between logical reasoning and instinctive, politically influenced decision-making processes within organizations. The essay concludes by underscoring the need for further research into the neural mechanisms linking motivation and decision-making, particularly the impact of neurotransmitter systems and individual differences in neural responsiveness to rewards. This deeper understanding could lead to enhanced strategies for improving decision-making outcomes across various fields, including healthcare, management, and personal decision-making, offering insights into the complex interplay between motivation, cognition, and neural activity.

Functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and amygdala underlies avoidance learning during adolescence: Implications for developmental psychopathology.

Reward and threat processes work together to support adaptive learning during development. Adolescence is associated with increasing approach behavior (e.g., novelty-seeking, risk-taking) but often also coincides with emerging internalizing symptoms, which are characterized by heightened avoidance behavior. Peaking engagement of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) during adolescence, often studied in reward paradigms, may also relate to threat mechanisms of adolescent psychopathology. 47 typically developing adolescents (9.9-22.9 years) completed an aversive learning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging, wherein visual cues were paired with an aversive sound or no sound. Task blocks involved an escapable aversively reinforced stimulus (CS+r), the same stimulus without reinforcement (CS+nr), or a stimulus that was never reinforced (CS-). Parent-reported internalizing symptoms were measured using Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scales. Functional connectivity between the NAcc and amygdala differentiated the stimuli, such that connectivity increased for the CS+r (p = .023) but not for the CS+nr and CS-. Adolescents with greater internalizing symptoms demonstrated greater positive functional connectivity for the CS- (p = .041). Adolescents show heightened NAcc-amygdala functional connectivity during escape from threat. Higher anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with elevated NAcc-amygdala connectivity during safety, which may reflect poor safety versus threat discrimination.

Blunted reward-related activation to food scenes distinguishes individuals with alcohol use disorder in a pilot case-control fMRI pilot study.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is thought to bias the neurocircuitry underlying reward processing and motivation to preferentially attend to conditioned alcohol cues over natural rewards. The present case-control pilot study evaluated this hypothesis using novel natural reward paradigms. Twenty-eight participants (AUD, n = 14, light drinkers, n = 14) were recruited-AUD participants reported 44.0% heavy drinking days (%HDD) and 4.67 drinks/day over the preceding 90 days. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired during the administration of three separate picture-viewing paradigms of alcohol cues, food scenes, and social reward, respectively. Independent samples t-tests were performed to compare groups' fMRI data and exploratory correlation analyses were performed to examine associations with clinical characteristics of AUD. Food scenes elicited abnormally low reward-related activation, within the superior frontal gyrus and caudate bilaterally, among AUD participants. Lower activation to food scenes within the superior frontal gyrus was, in turn, associated with higher levels of past-month %HDD among AUD participants, specifically, along with craving and alcohol dependence severity when examined across the full sample. Contrasting reward types (e.g., alcohol cues vs. food scenes) did not reveal "preferential" activation to differentiate groups. Heavy drinking appears associated with reduced responsivity to natural rewards, specifically food rather than social cues. Neural mechanisms underlying the high prevalence of malnutrition among individuals with AUD may involve some combination of blunted approach-related affect and reduced craving-related motivation to eat when food is present, resulting in limited engagement of cortico-striato-thalamic motor circuitry supporting food acquisition. However, given the preliminary nature of this pilot study, such formulations remain tentative until larger follow-up studies can be conducted. From a potential translational standpoint, the ability of promising therapeutics to demonstrate increased responsivity to natural rewards, specifically nutritive reward may serve as a valuable complementary efficacy indicator for future clinical neuroimaging trials in AUD.

Nerve growth factor gene polymorphisms may be associated with heroin dependence in women but do not mediate specific personality traits.

Heroin dependence (HD) is a complex disease with a substantial genetic contribution and is associated with traits of impulsivity and specific personality traits. The neurotrophic factor nerve growth factor (NGF) may mediate the reward processes in HD. This study aims to investigate whether NGF gene polymorphisms are associated with the co-occurrence of HD and impulsivity/specific personality traits in HD patients. To minimize the potential confounding effects of population stratification, we selected a homogeneous Han Chinese population and recruited 1364 participants (831 HD patients and 533 healthy controls). In addition, 163 female HD patients completed the Chinese version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), and 440 HD patients completed the Chinese version of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) for subsequent analysis. We identified three polymorphisms with altered allele and genotype frequency in HD patients versus controls (p = 0.035 for rs2254527; p = 0.005 for rs6678788; p = 0.006 for rs7523654), especially in the female subgroup. Four associations identified via haplotype analysis were significant in the female subgroup (p = 0.003 for T-T-A haplotype and p = 0.002 for C-C-A haplotype in block 1; p = 0.011 for T-T haplotype and p = 0.009 for C-T haplotypes in block 2), but not in the male subgroup. Male HD patients had higher novelty-seeking (NS) scores, and female HD patients had higher harm avoidance (HA) scores. However, there was no significant association between the selected NGF polymorphisms and BIS or TPQ scores in HD patients. NGF variants may contribute to the risk of HD development in females but do not mediate the relationship between impulsivity and specific personality traits in the female population.

Increased behavioural inhibition and decreased behavioural activation in whiplash‐associated disorders: Associations with health outcomes

AbstractBackgroundMotivation can be investigated with the BIS (Behavioural Inhibition System)/BAS (Behavioural Activation System) scale. BAS regulates the motivation to approach goal‐oriented outcomes, particularly rewarding stimuli and situations, while BIS regulates escape and avoidance of unpleasant outcomes. Chronic whiplash‐associated disorders (WAD) is a heterogenous pain condition with known alterations in motivated behaviour. The study aimed (1) to investigate the relationship between BIS/BAS, and pain and disability with quality of life and psychological measures in chronic WAD; (2) to determine if BIS and/or BAS mediate the relationships between pain, disability, and psychological symptoms and quality of life.Methods254 chronic WAD patients participated in the study. Outcome measures were assessed using self‐report questionnaires. BIS/BAS scores were compared to published normative data. Differences in health outcomes for participants within/outside normative 95% confidence intervals were compared and correlations with health measures tested. Mediation models explored bi‐directional associations between stress, anxiety, depression, post‐traumatic stress severity, pain catastrophizing, and quality of life with pain and disability.ResultsParticipants who exceeded normative 95% confidence intervals for BIS demonstrated higher scores for pain interference, disability and all mental health measures. No mediating role of BIS/BAS on the relation between pain and disability with quality of life and health outcomes could be confirmed.ConclusionsA comparatively large proportion of the sample exceeded the 95% confidence interval for BIS and BAS scores with associations of these scores with health outcomes, but altered motivation to approach goal‐oriented outcomes appears to play only a subordinate role in chronic WAD.Significance statementIn line with current theories, we found a large proportion (30%–50%) of patients with whiplash‐associated disorders (WAD) showing signs of altered function in the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Activation System (BAS) suggesting altered reward processing and motivation in these patients. While such altered functions showed associations with pain interference, disability and all mental health measures, reward processing could no be demonstrated as a pathogenetically relevant factor in chronic WAD patients.

Neural dynamics underlying the illusion of control during reward processing.

The illusion of control refers to a behavioral bias in which people believe they have greater control over completely stochastic events than they actually do, leading to an inflated estimate of reward probability than objective probability warrants. In this study, we examined how reward system is modulated by the illusion of control through the lens of neural dynamics. Participants in a behavioral task exhibited a classical illusion of control, assigning a higher value to the gambling wheels they picked themselves than to those given randomly. An event-related potential study of the same task revealed that this behavioral bias is associated with reduced reward anticipation, as indexed by the stimulus-preceding negativity, diminished positive prediction error signals, as reflected by the reward positivity, and enhanced motivational salience, as revealed by the P300. Our findings offer a mechanistic understanding of the illusion of control in terms of reward dynamics.