Pursuit Of Rewards Research Articles

The role of early life adversity and inflammation in stress-induced change in reward and risk processes among adolescents

BackgroundEarly life adversity (ELA) has long been associated with increased risk for stress-related psychopathology, particularly depression. The neuroimmune network hypothesis posits that ELA increases sensitivity to psychosocial stress, moderating the association between increases in peripheral markers of inflammation and decreases in reward outcomes linked to anhedonia and risk-taking behaviors. The present study examined this hypothesis in a sample of adolescents by using acute psychosocial stress to probe the role of inflammatory signaling in behavioral measures of reward and risk processing. Method80 adolescents [13.86 years (SD = 1.54); 45 % female], oversampled for ELA, underwent the Trier Social Stress Test for Children while providing blood samples immediately before and 60-minutes after stress onset. Blood samples were assayed for plasma IL-6. One hour before stress onset, and then 60 min after, participants completed computer-administered behavioral tasks measuring reward (Pirate Task) and risk (Balloon Analog Risk Task). ResultsELA moderated the association between increases in IL-6 and decreases in risk tolerance in pursuit of rewards (p = 0.003) and reward response bias (p = 0.04). Stress-induced increases in IL-6 were associated with decreases in pumps for rewards among adolescents exposed to high, relative to little or no, ELA. Further, greater IL-6 increases were associated with increases in bias toward high relative to low value rewards among adolescents with low adversity exposure but not among those exposed to higher adversity. ConclusionsThe present study provides the first evidence in a pediatric sample that ELA may alter the role of stress-induced inflammation in reward and risk processing, and may extend our understanding of why stress leads to depression in this high-risk population.

Components of Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression Engage Specific Reinforcement Learning Mechanisms in a Pilot Study.

Behavioral activation is an evidence-based treatment for depression. Theoretical considerations suggest that treatment response depends on reinforcement learning mechanisms. However, which reinforcement learning mechanisms are engaged by and mediate the therapeutic effect of behavioral activation remains only partially understood, and there are no procedures to measure such mechanisms. To perform a pilot study to examine whether reinforcement learning processes measured through tasks or self-report are related to treatment response to behavioral activation. The pilot study enrolled 13 outpatients (12 completers) with major depressive disorder, from July of 2018 through February of 2019, into a nine-week trial with BA. Psychiatric evaluations, decision-making tests and self-reported reward experience and anticipations were acquired before, during and after the treatment. Task and self-report data were analysed by using reinforcement-learning models. Inferred parameters were related to measures of depression severity through linear mixed effects models. Treatment effects during different phases of the therapy were captured by specific decision-making processes in the task. During the weeks focusing on the active pursuit of reward, treatment effects were more pronounced amongst those individuals who showed an increase in Pavlovian appetitive influence. During the weeks focusing on the avoidance of punishments, treatment responses were more pronounced in those individuals who showed an increase in Pavlovian avoidance. Self-reported anticipation of reinforcement changed according to formal RL rules. Individual differences in the extent to which learning followed RL rules related to changes in anhedonia. In this pilot study both task- and self-report-derived measures of reinforcement learning captured individual differences in treatment response to behavioral activation. Appetitive and aversive Pavlovian reflexive processes appeared to be modulated by separate psychotherapeutic interventions, and the modulation strength covaried with response to specific interventions. Self-reported changes in reinforcement expectations are also related to treatment response. Set Your Goal: Engaging in GO/No-Go Active Learning, #NCT03538535, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

From ensembles to meta-ensembles: Specific reward encoding by correlated network activity.

Neuronal ensembles are local, sparsely distributed populations of neurons that are reliably re-activated by a specific stimulus, context or task. Such discrete cell populations can be defined either functionally, by electrophysiological recordings or in vivo calcium imaging, or anatomically, using the expression of markers such as the immediate early gene cFos. A typical example of tasks that involve the formation of neuronal ensembles is reward learning, such as the cue-reward pairing during operant conditioning. These ensembles are re-activated during cue-presentation and increasing evidence suggests that this re-activation is the neurophysiological basis for the execution of reward-seeking behavior. Whilst the pursuit of rewards is a common daily activity, it is also related to the consumption of drugs, such as alcohol, and may result in problematic behaviors including addiction. Recent research has identified neuronal ensembles in several reward-related brain regions that control distinct aspects of a conditioned response, e.g., contextual information about the availability of a specific reward or the actions needed to retrieve this reward under the given circumstances. Here, we review studies using the activity marker cFos to identify and characterize neuronal ensembles related to alcohol and non-drug rewards with a special emphasis on the discrimination between different rewards by meta-ensembles, i.e., by dynamic co-activation of multiple ensembles across different brain areas.

Amygdala-cortical collaboration in reward learning and decision making.

Adaptive reward-related decision making requires accurate prospective consideration of the specific outcome of each option and its current desirability. These mental simulations are informed by stored memories of the associative relationships that exist within an environment. In this review, I discuss recent investigations of the function of circuitry between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) orbitofrontal cortex in the learning and use of associative reward memories. I draw conclusions from data collected using sophisticated behavioral approaches to diagnose the content of appetitive memory in combination with modern circuit dissection tools. I propose that, via their direct bidirectional connections, the BLA and OFC collaborate to help us encode detailed, outcome-specific, state-dependent reward memories and to use those memories to enable the predictions and inferences that support adaptive decision making. Whereas lOFC→BLA projections mediate the encoding of outcome-specific reward memories, mOFC→BLA projections regulate the ability to use these memories to inform reward pursuit decisions. BLA projections to lOFC and mOFC both contribute to using reward memories to guide decision making. The BLA→lOFC pathway mediates the ability to represent the identity of a specific predicted reward and the BLA→mOFC pathway facilitates understanding of the value of predicted events. Thus, I outline a neuronal circuit architecture for reward learning and decision making and provide new testable hypotheses as well as implications for both adaptive and maladaptive decision making.

A Motivational Theory of Roles, Rewards, and Institutions

AbstractIn this paper, we attempt to rehabilitate the notion of role by linking sociological role theory to recent work on motivational, affective, and cognitive neuroscience specifying the internal mechanisms behind motivated action. We argue that there is nothing inherently problematic or retrogressive in the idea of “role,” once its link to a purely normative account of motivated action is severed. Instead, by conceptualizing roles as emerging and persisting around structured reward systems, we are able to incorporate contemporary motivational science such that rewards become the proximate causal mechanisms currently missing in role theory. Consequently, a key implication of our argument is that the best way to link role, action, and structures is by reviving the idea of institutions as literal reward systems, which allows us to envision roles as the mechanisms via which the pursuit and delivery of rewards and goal‐objects are routinized. Implications for a motivational theory of roles, rewards, and institutions is discussed.

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) systems: Promoting cocaine pursuit without distress via incentive motivation.

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) systems in limbic structures are posited to mediate stress-induced relapse in addiction, traditionally by generating distress states that spur drug consumption as attempts at hedonic self-medication. Yet evidence suggests that activating CRF-expressing neurons in the central amygdala (CeA) or nucleus accumbens (NAc) can magnify incentive motivation in absence of distress, at least for sucrose rewards. However, traditional CRF hypotheses in addiction neuroscience are primarily directed toward drug rewards. The question remains open whether CRF systems can similarly act via incentive motivation mechanisms to promote pursuit of drug rewards, such as cocaine. Here we tested whether optogenetic excitation of CRF-containing neurons in either NAc medial shell, lateral CeA, or dorsolateral BNST of transgenic Crh-Cre+ rats would spur preference and pursuit of a particular laser-paired cocaine reward over an alternative cocaine reward, and whether excitation served as a positively-valenced incentive itself, through laser self-stimulation tests. We report that excitation of CRF-containing neurons in either NAc or CeA recruited mesocorticolimbic circuitry to amplify incentive motivation to pursue the laser-paired cocaine: focusing preference on the laser-paired cocaine reward in a two-choice task, and spurred pursuit as doubled breakpoint in a progressive ratio task. Crucially indicating positive-valence, excitation of CRF neurons in NAc and CeA also was actively sought after by most rats in self-stimulation tasks. Conversely, CRF neuronal activation in BNST was never self-stimulated, but failed to enhance cocaine consumption. Collectively, we find that NAc and CeA CRF-containing neurons can amplify pursuit and consumption of cocaine by positively-valenced incentive mechanisms, without any aversive distress.

P578. Neural Correlates of Risky Reward Pursuit and Associations With Cognitive Functioning in Psychosis-Spectrum Disorders

Risk-taking in specific contexts can be beneficial, leading to rewarding outcomes. Psychosis-spectrum disorders are associated with disadvantageous decision-making on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), consistently pursuing risky rewards less than controls. However, it is unclear whether this behavior is more strongly associated with increased sensitivity to risk or decreased sensitivity to potential rewards, which are highly correlated (r=.991) in the experimental design of the BART. Additionally, previous studies have not accounted for stark between-group differences in cognitive functioning. Matching on demographic/IQ variables, we investigated whether reduced risk-taking was associated with neural activation in regions affiliated with risk evaluation or reward processing.

The Convergence Model of Brain Reward Circuitry: Implications for Relief of Treatment-Resistant Depression by Deep-Brain Stimulation of the Medial Forebrain Bundle

Deep-brain stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) can provide effective, enduring relief of treatment-resistant depression. Panksepp provided an explanatory framework: the MFB constitutes the core of the neural circuitry subserving the anticipation and pursuit of rewards: the “SEEKING” system. On that view, the SEEKING system is hypoactive in depressed individuals; background electrical stimulation of the MFB alleviates symptoms by normalizing activity. Panksepp attributed intracranial self-stimulation to excitation of the SEEKING system in which the ascending projections of midbrain dopamine neurons are an essential component. In parallel with Panksepp’s qualitative work, intracranial self-stimulation has long been studied quantitatively by psychophysical means. That work argues that the predominant directly stimulated substrate for MFB self-stimulation are myelinated, non-dopaminergic fibers, more readily excited by brief electrical current pulses than the thin, unmyelinated axons of the midbrain dopamine neurons. The series-circuit hypothesis reconciles this view with the evidence implicating dopamine in MFB self-stimulation as follows: direct activation of myelinated MFB fibers is rewarding due to their trans-synaptic activation of midbrain dopamine neurons. A recent study in which rats worked for optogenetic stimulation of midbrain dopamine neurons challenges the series-circuit hypothesis and provides a new model of intracranial self-stimulation in which the myelinated non-dopaminergic neurons and the midbrain dopamine projections access the behavioral final common path for reward seeking via separate, converging routes. We explore the potential implications of this convergence model for the interpretation of the antidepressant effect of MFB stimulation. We also discuss the consistent finding that psychomotor stimulants, which boost dopaminergic neurotransmission, fail to provide a monotherapy for depression. We propose that non-dopaminergic MFB components may contribute to the therapeutic effect in parallel to, in synergy with, or even instead of, a dopaminergic component.

I’m not sure what to think about them: Confronting naive present bias in a dynamic threshold public goods game

This paper explores the implications of naive present bias in a simple, dynamic threshold public goods game. Our analysis demonstrates how equilibrium behavior and outcomes can be highly dependent on the “direction” with which players reassess their naive prior beliefs (including higher-order beliefs) regarding both players’ present biases. In some situations, a naive player may actually become more inclined to exert effort in pursuit of a future reward upon discovering their own present bias.

Reward and expectancy effects on neural signals of motor preparation and execution

The magnitude and prospect of rewards can have strong modulatory effects on response preparation and execution. Importantly, reward-seeking behavior in real life happens under an environment characterized by uncertainty and dynamic changes. The current study investigated how the brain's motor and cognitive control system adapts to the dynamic changes in the environment in pursuit of rewards. To this end, we tested the effect of reward and expectancy on the hallmark neural signals that reflect activity in motor and prefrontal systems, the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) and the mediofrontal (mPFC) theta oscillations, while participants performed an expected and unexpected actions to retrieve rewards. To better capture the dynamic changes in neural processes represented in the LRP waveform, we decomposed the LRP into the preparation (LRPprep) and execution (LRPexec) components. In the comparison of LRP magnitude across task conditions, we found a greater LRPprep when large rewards were more likely, reflecting a greater motor preparation to obtain larger rewards. We also found a greater LRPexec when large rewards were presented unexpectedly, suggesting a greater motor effort placed for executing a correct movement when presented with large rewards. In the analysis of mPFC theta, we found a greater theta power prior to performing an unexpected than expected response, indicating its contribution in response conflict resolution. Collectively, these results demonstrate an optimized motor and cognitive control to maximize rewards under the dynamic changes of real-life environment.

BIS sensitivity, BAS sensitivity, and recent suicide attempts

Suicide attempts are motivated by the desire to escape aversive states and circumstances, suggesting they may be regulated by the behavioral inhibition system (BIS). Suicide attempts are also associated with reward pursuit, however, implicating a role for the behavioral activation system (BAS). We hypothesized that the interaction of high BIS and BAS sensitivity would be associated with increased risk of past-month suicide attempt. 10,625 adults completed an anonymous online survey assessing BIS sensitivity, BAS sensitivity, past-month suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and relevant covariates. Results of logistic regression modeling yielded a statistically significant BIS-BAS interaction in the full sample and the subset of participants reporting past-month suicidal ideation (n = 489). At low BIS levels, BAS sensitivity was negatively correlated with suicide attempts; at mean BIS levels, BAS sensitivity was not correlated with suicide attempts; and at high BIS levels, BAS sensitivity was positively correlated with suicide attempts. Results suggest that vulnerability to suicide attempts may be increased among people with heightened reward responsiveness (i.e., high BAS sensitivity) when they experience competing incentives (i.e., high BIS sensitivity). Implications for clinical practice and the prevention of suicide are discussed.

Narration of Imam Hanash bin Abdullah Al-Sanani in the great classes of Ibn Saad ... Study and analysis

The research deals with the narrations of Imam Hanash bin Abdullah Al-Sanani (may God have mercy on him) in the book of the Great Classes of Ibn Saad, and the value of these narrations in form and subject lies in the abundance of their material, and if they are Its importance, and published from the book of Tabaqat by Ibn Saad, it will change the image in the minds of students of knowledge about its value among the followers.Also, by producing a paper represented by historical issues from the masterpieces of our huge Islamic heritage, so perhaps we will have done some duty, serving knowledge, in pursuit of reward and reward from God Almighty. The researchers adopted the analytical method and the descriptive method in this study, and they reached conclusions that can be summarized by saying that these narrations represent a basic foundation in the field of biography and history for ancient and modern scholars, and the outcome of those who wrote about the life of Hanash al-San`ani over the ages and the diversity of places is that he has This Imam Al-Tabi'i held a high position in the novel and its arts, and he has a reputation in other sciences.

Development and validation of police mental health ability scale.

ObjectivesPolice officers are generally under long‐term occupational stress. Good mental health ability enables them to better deal with emergencies and enhance their combat effectiveness. We aimed to develop the Police Mental Health Ability Scale (PMHAS) to provide a reference for police selection and ability training.MethodsThrough literature analysis, individual interviews, half‐open and half‐closed questionnaire surveys, and expert consultations, the components of police mental health ability (PMHA) were theoretically constructed. Then, we enrolled 824 in‐service police officers who participated in the training in Chongqing City and Sichuan Province from November 2018 to January 2019 and recovered 767 valid questionnaires (recovery rate, 93.08%).ResultsExploratory factor analysis generated five factors for PMHAS, including cognitive intelligence, emotional catharsis, swift decisiveness, behavioral drive, and reward pursuit, accounting for 58.904% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the model fit well (χ2/df = 1.117, RMSEA = 0.020, GFI = 0.948, CFI = 0.990, IFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.987). The correlation coefficients of factors (r = −0.023 ~ 0.580) were lower than that of each factor and total score (r = 0.477 ~ 0.819). The Cronbach's α coefficients of PMHAS and its factors were 0.606–0.863, and the test–retest reliabilities were 0.602–0.732.ConclusionThese results suggest that PMHAS is reliable and valid enough for measuring PMHA, which shows that it is a potentially valuable tool for assessing the mental health ability of police officers.

Vigor, Effort-Related Aspects of Motivation and Anhedonia.

In this chapter we provide an overview of the pharmacological and circuit mechanisms that determine the willingness to expend effort in pursuit of rewards. A particular focus will be on the role of the mesolimbic dopamine system, as well the contributing roles of limbic and cortical brains areas involved in the evaluation, selection, and invigoration of goal-directed actions. We begin with a review of preclinical studies, which have provided key insights into the brain systems that are necessary and sufficient for effort-based decision-making and have characterized novel compounds that enhance selection of high-effort activities. Next, we summarize translational studies identifying and expanding this circuitry in humans. Finally, we discuss the relevance of this work for understanding common motivational impairments as part of the broader anhedonia symptom domain associated with mental illness, and the identification of new treatment targets within this circuitry to improve motivation and effort-expenditure.

Colonial rule, trajectories and travails of the Kingship Institution in Akokoland, 1900–1960

ABSTRACT Akokoland is a conglomeration of many towns located in the north-eastern part of Yorubaland. There exists many colonial documents with narratives to the effect that, colonial rule profited the Akoko communities that were brought under it. This paper, however, argues that colonial rule adversely impacted and altered the workings of the kingship institution in the period under review in Akokoland. Through a gristmill of sources, the paper discusses how power politics was used as a divide-and-rule tactic to enforce loyalty and consequently alter well developed traditional political institutions using the kingship institution in Akokoland as case study. The paper reveals that colonial enterprise in Akokoland was tailored towards the pursuit of power and rewards rather than the welfare of the people through political opportunism paid for by the establishment of harsh tax regimes and the imposition of political control of non-Akoko towns on the people of Akokoland by the agents of colonial administration. Beyond this, the kingship institution in Akokoland has continued to show resilience and remains a potent pillar of societal cohesion, viable grass root mobiliser, interpreter of government policies and viable agent of inclusive development.

Sex differences in risk behavior parameters in adolescent mice: Relationship with brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the medial prefrontal cortex

Adolescence is as a period of development characterized by impulsive and risk-seeking behaviors. Risk behaviors (RB) involves exposure to dangerous or negative consequences to achieve goal-directed behaviors, such as reward-seeking. On the other hand, risk aversion/assessment behaviors allow the individual to gather information or avoid potentially threatening situations. Evidence has suggested that both behavioral processes, RB and risk assessment (RA), may have sex-differences. However, sex-specific behavioral patterns implicated in RB and RA are not fully understood. To address that, we investigated sex differences in risk-behavioral parameters in a decision-making task developed for rodents. In addition, we investigated the potential role of sex-dependent differences in gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exon IV in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which has been implicated to mediate PFC-related behavioral dysfunctions. Male and female C57BL/6J adolescent mice were evaluated in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) to assess anxiety-like behaviors and in the predator-odor risk taking (PORT) task. The PORT task is a decision-making paradigm in which a conflict between the motivation towards reward pursuit and the threat elicited by predatory olfactory cues (coyote urine) is explored. After behavioral testing, animals were euthanized and BDNF exon IV gene expression was measured by RT-qPCR. Comparative and correlational analyses for behavioral and molecular parameters were performed for both sexes. We observed that female mice spent more time exploring the middle chamber of the PORT apparatus in the aversive condition, which is an indicative of avoidance behavior. Female mice also had a higher latency to collect the reward than male mice and presented less time exploring the open arms of the EPM. BDNF exon IV gene expression was higher among females, and there was a positive correlation between the BDNF and PORT behavioral parameters. Our findings suggest sex-dependent effects in the PORT task. Females presented higher RA and avoidance behavior profile and expressed higher levels of BDNF exon IV in the mPFC. Moreover, higher BDNF expression was correlated with RA behaviors, which suggests that adolescent females tend to evaluate the risks more than adolescent males and that BDNF gene expression may be mediating decision-making processes.

Investigation of Relationships Between Sensitivity to Reinforcement Traits and Emotion Dysregulation

Objective: We investigated the relationship between the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) traits and emotion dysregulation signs, including social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression in students. Methods: A total of 189 students of the public universities in Tehran were selected by convenience sampling and answered the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and Punishment Sensitivity Questionnaire and Reward Sensitivity. Data analysis was done using SPSS v. 26 software by Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results: Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant relationship between punishment and reward sensitivity and symptoms of emotional dysregulation. Also, multiple regression analysis showed that reward and punishment sensitivity could predict emotion dysregulation. Conclusion: Punishment hypersensitivity and reward hyposensitivity were higher-order, shared factors for emotion dysregulation signs, including depression, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. These findings emphasize the effect of behavioral activation as a technique to increase reward pursuit by the individual and suggested that this technique is able to increase reward-seeking and consequently, improve emotional regulation.

Conflict Test Battery for Studying the Act of Facing Threats in Pursuit of Rewards.

Survival depends on the ability of animals to avoid threats and approach rewards. Traditionally, these two opposing motivational systems have been studied separately. In nature, however, they regularly compete for the control of behavior. When threat- and reward-eliciting stimuli (learned or unlearned) occur simultaneously, a motivational conflict emerges that challenges individuals to weigh available options and execute a single behavioral response (avoid or approach). Most previous animal models using approach/avoidance conflicts have often focused on the ability to avoid threats by forgoing or delaying the opportunity to obtain rewards. In contrast, behavioral tasks designed to capitalize on the ability to actively choose to execute approach behaviors despite threats are scarce. Thus, we developed a behavioral test battery composed of three conflict tasks to directly study rats confronting threats to obtain rewards guided by innate and conditioned cues. One conflict task involves crossing a potentially electrified grid to obtain food on the opposite end of a straight alley, the second task is based on the step-down threat avoidance paradigm, and the third one is a modified version of the open field test. We used diazepam to pharmacologically validate conflict behaviors in our tasks. We found that, regardless of whether competing stimuli were conditioned or innate, a low diazepam dose decreased risk assessment and facilitated taking action to obtain rewards in the face of threats during conflict, without affecting choice behavior when there was no conflict involved. Using this pharmacologically validated test battery of ethologically designed innate/learned conflict tasks could help understand the fundamental brain mechanisms underlying the ability to confront threats to achieve goals.

Ultra mare in servicio domini regis: English barons and the defence of Normandy, 1194–1204

Abstract This article analyses the provision of military service by English barons in the wars in Normandy between 1194 and 1204, a topic that has not previously been examined in any depth. It demonstrates that an important section of the English baronage provided regular military service in Normandy, driven by their own personal interests in the duchy and the pursuit of royal favour and rewards. It concludes that these barons were not fundamentally opposed to providing service overseas, and that this was not a factor in the loss of Normandy, but became an important political lever in their conflict with King John.

The Psychology of Marginal Utility

Abstract That wealth has diminishing marginal utility is a fact of life, and that people be sensitive to their current level of wealth when deciding whether to pursue additional wealth is a requirement of rational choice. A series of experiments, spanning diverse contexts, reveal marginal-utility neglect—that people are rather insensitive to their current wealth when deciding how much effort to expend to acquire a monetary reward (e.g., how long to walk to claim a voucher). Moreover, the experiments demonstrate that a marginal-utility-prompting manipulation, which prompts people to consider their current wealth and their need for the reward given their current wealth, produces a significant sensitization effect—making financially richer (vs. less rich) individuals less (vs. more) willing to seek the reward. This manipulation is more effective than either prompting people to consider their current wealth alone or consider their need for the reward alone, suggesting that marginal-utility prompting does not merely draw people’s attention to their current wealth or merely draw their attention to their need for the reward, but links the two elements. This research elucidates the psychology of marginal utility and yields implications beyond the pursuit of monetary rewards.