Mesolimbic lipid sensing and the regulation of feeding behaviour

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Cansell Celine

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In both developed and emerging countries, sedentary life style and over exposition to high energy dense foods has led to a thermodynamic imbalance and consequently obesity. Despite genetic predisposition, obesity often involves a behavioral component in which, similar to drugs of abuse, compulsive consumption of palatable food rich in lipids and sugar drives energy intake far beyond metabolic demands. Food intake is modulated by sensory inputs, such as tastes and odours, as well as by affective or emotional states. The mesolimbic pathway is well established as a main actor of the rewarding aspect of feeding. Particularly, the hedonic and motivational aspects of food are closely tied to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA in striatal structure such as the Nucleus Accumbens (Nacc. In both rodent and humans several studies shows an attenuated activity of dopaminergic signal associated with obesity and there is evidence that consumption of palatable food per se leads to DA signalling alterations. Furthermore impaired cognition in obese mice is improved by selectively lowering triglycerides (TG and intracerebroventricular administration of TG induces by itself acquisition impairment in several cognitive paradigms in normal body weight mice. Together, these observations raise the possibility that nutritional lipids, particularly TG, directly affect cognitive and reward processes by modulating the mesolimbic pathway and might contribute to the downward spiral of compulsive consumption of palatable and obesity. This review is an attempt to capture recent evolution in the field that might point toward a direct action of nutritional lipid in the mesolimbic pathway.

Activation instead of blocking mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuitry is a preferred modality in the long term treatment of reward deficiency syndrome (RDS: a commentary

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Waite Roger L

2008-11-01

proliferation of D2 receptors. Proposal and conclusion The authors propose that D2 receptor stimulation can be accomplished via the use of Synapatmine™, a natural but therapeutic nutraceutical formulation that potentially induces DA release, causing the same induction of D2-directed mRNA and thus proliferation of D2 receptors in the human. This proliferation of D2 receptors in turn will induce the attenuation of craving behavior. In fact as mentioned earlier, this model has been proven in research showing DNA-directed compensatory overexpression (a form of gene therapy of the DRD2 receptors, resulting in a significant reduction in alcohol craving behavior in alcohol preferring rodents. Utilizing natural dopaminergic repletion therapy to promote long term dopaminergic activation will ultimately lead to a common, safe and effective modality to treat Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS behaviors including Substance Use Disorders (SUD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, Obesity and other reward deficient aberrant behaviors. This concept is further supported by the more comprehensive understanding of the role of dopamine in the NAc as a "wanting" messenger in the meso-limbic DA system.

Two-week administration of the combined serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine augments functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits.

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Ossewaarde, Lindsey; Verkes, Robbert J; Hermans, Erno J; Kooijman, Sabine C; Urner, Maren; Tendolkar, Indira; van Wingen, Guido A; Fernández, Guillén

2011-09-15

Anhedonia and lack of motivation are core symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). Neuroimaging studies in MDD patients have shown reductions in reward-related activity in terminal regions of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, such as the ventral striatum. Monoamines have been implicated in both mesolimbic incentive processing and the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. However, not much is known about antidepressant effects on mesolimbic incentive processing in humans, which might be related to the effects on anhedonia. To investigate the short-term effects of antidepressants on reward-related activity in the ventral striatum, we investigated the effect of the combined serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor duloxetine. Healthy volunteers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. After taking duloxetine (60 mg once a day) or placebo for 14 days, participants completed a monetary incentive delay task that activates the ventral striatum during reward anticipation. Our results (n = 19) show enhanced ventral striatal responses after duloxetine administration compared with placebo. Moreover, this increase in ventral striatal activity was positively correlated with duloxetine plasma levels. This is the first study to demonstrate that antidepressants augment neural activity in mesolimbic DA incentive processing circuits in healthy volunteers. These effects are likely caused by the increase in monoamine neurotransmission in the ventral striatum. Our findings suggest that antidepressants may alleviate anhedonia by stimulating incentive processing. Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

“Liking” and “Wanting” Linked to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Hypothesizing Differential Responsivity in Brain Reward Circuitry

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Blum, Kenneth; Gardner, Eliot; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Gold, Mark

2012-01-01

In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the causal contributions of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems to reward, we evaluate the three main competing explanatory categories: “liking,” “learning,” and “wanting” [1]. That is, DA may mediate (a) the hedonic impact of reward (liking), (b) learned predictions about rewarding effects (learning), or (c) the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli (wanting). We evaluate these hypotheses, especially as they...

Neuropharmacological mechanisms of drug reward: beyond dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

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Bardo, M T

1998-01-01

Multiple lines of research have implicated the mesolimbic dopamine system in drug reward measured by either the drug self-administration or conditioned place preference paradigm. The present review summarizes recent work that examines the neuropharmacological mechanisms by which drugs impinge on this dopaminergic neural circuitry, as well as other systems that provide input and output circuits to the mesolimbic dopamine system. Studies examining the effect of selective agonist and antagonist drugs administered systemically have indicated that multiple neurotransmitters are involved, including dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate, GABA, and various peptides. Direct microinjection studies have also provided crucial evidence indicating that, in addition to the mesolimbic dopamine system, other structures play a role in drug reward, including the ventral pallidum, amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus. GABAergic circuitry descending from the nucleus accumbens to the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus via the ventral pallidum appears to be especially important in directing the behavioral sequelae associated with reward produced by various drugs of abuse. However, activation of the reward circuitry is achieved differently for various drugs of abuse. With amphetamine and cocaine, initiation of reward is controlled within the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, respectively. With opiates, initiation of reward involves the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. It is not clear presently if these multiple anatomical structures mediate opiate reward by converging on a single output system or multiple output systems.

"Liking" and "wanting" linked to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): hypothesizing differential responsivity in brain reward circuitry.

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Blum, Kenneth; Gardner, Eliot; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Gold, Mark

2012-01-01

In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the causal contributions of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems to reward, we evaluate the three main competing explanatory categories: "liking,"learning," and "wanting" [1]. That is, DA may mediate (a) the hedonic impact of reward (liking), (b) learned predictions about rewarding effects (learning), or (c) the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli (wanting). We evaluate these hypotheses, especially as they relate to the Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), and we find that the incentive salience or "wanting" hypothesis of DA function is supported by a majority of the evidence. Neuroimaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse, palatable foods, and anticipated behaviors such as sex and gaming affect brain regions involving reward circuitry, and may not be unidirectional. Drugs of abuse enhance DA signaling and sensitize mesolimbic mechanisms that evolved to attribute incentive salience to rewards. Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily selfadministered, they enhance (directly or indirectly) dopaminergic synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens (NAC), and they stimulate the functioning of brain reward circuitry (producing the "high" that drug users seek). Although originally believed simply to encode the set point of hedonic tone, these circuits now are believed to be functionally more complex, also encoding attention, reward expectancy, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Elevated stress levels, together with polymorphisms of dopaminergic genes and other neurotransmitter genetic variants, may have a cumulative effect on vulnerability to addiction. The RDS model of etiology holds very well for a variety of chemical and behavioral addictions.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake transgenic fragile X rats: evidence of dysregulation in reward processing in the mesolimbic/habenular neural circuit.

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Kenkel, W M; Yee, J R; Moore, K; Madularu, D; Kulkarni, P; Gamber, K; Nedelman, M; Ferris, C F

2016-03-22

Anxiety and social deficits, often involving communication impairment, are fundamental clinical features of fragile X syndrome. There is growing evidence that dysregulation in reward processing is a contributing factor to the social deficits observed in many psychiatric disorders. Hence, we hypothesized that transgenic fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (fmr1) KO (FX) rats would display alterations in reward processing. To this end, awake control and FX rats were imaged for changes in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal intensity in response to the odor of almond, a stimulus to elicit the innate reward response. Subjects were 'odor naive' to this evolutionarily conserved stimulus. The resulting changes in brain activity were registered to a three-dimensional segmented, annotated rat atlas delineating 171 brain regions. Both wild-type (WT) and FX rats showed robust brain activation to a rewarding almond odor, though FX rats showed an altered temporal pattern and tended to have a higher number of voxels with negative BOLD signal change from baseline. This pattern of greater negative BOLD was especially apparent in the Papez circuit, critical to emotional processing and the mesolimbic/habenular reward circuit. WT rats showed greater positive BOLD response in the supramammillary area, whereas FX rats showed greater positive BOLD response in the dorsal lateral striatum, and greater negative BOLD response in the retrosplenial cortices, the core of the accumbens and the lateral preoptic area. When tested in a freely behaving odor-investigation paradigm, FX rats failed to show the preference for almond odor which typifies WT rats. However, FX rats showed investigation profiles similar to WT when presented with social odors. These data speak to an altered processing of this highly salient novel odor in the FX phenotype and lend further support to the notion that altered reward systems in the brain may contribute to fragile X syndrome symptomology.

Reward-based spatial learning in unmedicated adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Marsh, Rachel; Tau, Gregory Z; Wang, Zhishun; Huo, Yuankai; Liu, Ge; Hao, Xuejun; Packard, Mark G; Peterson, Bradley S; Simpson, H Blair

2015-04-01

The authors assessed the functioning of mesolimbic and striatal areas involved in reward-based spatial learning in unmedicated adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Functional MRI blood-oxygen-level-dependent response was compared in 33 unmedicated adults with OCD and 33 healthy, age-matched comparison subjects during a reward-based learning task that required learning to use extramaze cues to navigate a virtual eight-arm radial maze to find hidden rewards. The groups were compared in their patterns of brain activation associated with reward-based spatial learning versus a control condition in which rewards were unexpected because they were allotted pseudorandomly to experimentally prevent learning. Both groups learned to navigate the maze to find hidden rewards, but group differences in neural activity during navigation and reward processing were detected in mesolimbic and striatal areas. During navigation, the OCD group, unlike the healthy comparison group, exhibited activation in the left posterior hippocampus. Unlike healthy subjects, participants in the OCD group did not show activation in the left ventral putamen and amygdala when anticipating rewards or in the left hippocampus, amygdala, and ventral putamen when receiving unexpected rewards (control condition). Signal in these regions decreased relative to baseline during unexpected reward receipt among those in the OCD group, and the degree of activation was inversely associated with doubt/checking symptoms. Participants in the OCD group displayed abnormal recruitment of mesolimbic and ventral striatal circuitry during reward-based spatial learning. Whereas healthy comparison subjects exhibited activation in this circuitry in response to the violation of reward expectations, unmedicated OCD participants did not and instead over-relied on the posterior hippocampus during learning. Thus, dopaminergic innervation of reward circuitry may be altered, and future study of anterior/posterior hippocampal

Nigrostriatal and Mesolimbic D2/3 Receptor Expression in Parkinson's Disease Patients with Compulsive Reward-Driven Behaviors.

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Stark, Adam J; Smith, Christopher T; Lin, Ya-Chen; Petersen, Kalen J; Trujillo, Paula; van Wouwe, Nelleke C; Kang, Hakmook; Donahue, Manus J; Kessler, Robert M; Zald, David H; Claassen, Daniel O

2018-03-28

The nigrostriatal and mesocorticolimbic dopamine networks regulate reward-driven behavior. Regional alterations to mesolimbic dopamine D 2/3 receptor expression are described in drug-seeking and addiction disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are frequently prescribed D 2 -like dopamine agonist (DAgonist) therapy for motor symptoms, yet a proportion develop clinically significant behavioral addictions characterized by impulsive and compulsive behaviors (ICBs). Until now, changes in D 2/3 receptor binding in both striatal and extrastriatal regions have not been concurrently quantified in this population. We identified 35 human PD patients (both male and female) receiving DAgonist therapy, with ( n = 17) and without ( n = 18) ICBs, matched for age, disease duration, disease severity, and dose of dopamine therapy. In the off-dopamine state, all completed PET imaging with [ 18 F]fallypride, a high affinity D 2 -like receptor ligand that can measure striatal and extrastriatal D 2/3 nondisplaceable binding potential (BP ND ). Striatal differences between ICB+/ICB- patients localized to the ventral striatum and putamen, where ICB+ subjects had reduced BP ND In this group, self-reported severity of ICB symptoms positively correlated with midbrain D 2/3 receptor BP ND Group differences in regional D 2/3 BP ND relationships were also notable: ICB+ (but not ICB-) patients expressed positive correlations between midbrain and caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, and amygdala BP ND s. These findings support the hypothesis that compulsive behaviors in PD are associated with reduced ventral and dorsal striatal D 2/3 expression, similar to changes in comparable behavioral disorders. The data also suggest that relatively preserved ventral midbrain dopaminergic projections throughout nigrostriatal and mesolimbic networks are characteristic of ICB+ patients, and may account for differential DAgonist therapeutic response. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The biologic determinants of

Chronic social stress induces peripheral and central immune activation, blunted mesolimbic dopamine function, and reduced reward-directed behaviour in mice

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Giorgio Bergamini

2018-02-01

model can now be applied to investigate causality and, if demonstrated, underlying mechanisms in specific steps of this immune-neural-behavioural pathway, and thereby to identify potential therapeutic targets. Keywords: Social stress, Immune activation, Mesolimbic dopamine system, Reward, Depression, Mouse model

Ghrelin and food reward: the story of potential underlying substrates.

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Skibicka, Karolina P; Dickson, Suzanne L

2011-11-01

The incidence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and this worldwide epidemic represents a significant decrease in life span and quality of life of a large part of the affected population. Therefore an understanding of mechanisms underlying food overconsumption and obesity development is urgent and essential to find potential treatments. Research investigating mechanisms underlying obesity and the control of food intake has recently experienced a major shift in focus, from the brain's hypothalamus to additional important neural circuits controlling emotion, cognition and motivated behavior. Among them, the mesolimbic system, and the changes in reward and motivated behavior for food, emerge as new promising treatment targets. Furthermore, there is also growing appreciation of the impact of peripheral hormones that signal nutrition status to the mesolimbic areas, and especially the only known circulating orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. This review article provides a synthesis of recent evidence concerning the impact of manipulation of ghrelin and its receptor on models of food reward/food motivation behavior and the mesolimbic circuitry. Particular attention is given to the potential neurocircuitry and neurotransmitter systems downstream of ghrelin's effects on food reward. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Reward guides vision when it's your thing: trait reward-seeking in reward-mediated visual priming.

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Clayton Hickey

Full Text Available Reward-related mesolimbic dopamine is thought to play an important role in guiding animal behaviour, biasing approach towards potentially beneficial environmental stimuli and away from objects unlikely to garner positive outcome. This is considered to result in part from an impact on perceptual and attentional processes: dopamine initiates a series of cognitive events that result in the priming of reward-associated perceptual features. We have provided behavioural and electrophysiological evidence that this mechanism guides human vision in search, an effect we refer to as reward priming. We have also demonstrated that there is substantial individual variability in this effect. Here we show that behavioural differences in reward priming are predicted remarkably well by a personality index that captures the degree to which a person's behaviour is driven by reward outcome. Participants with reward-seeking personalities are found to be those who allocate visual resources to objects characterized by reward-associated visual features. These results add to a rapidly developing literature demonstrating the crucial role reward plays in attentional control. They additionally illustrate the striking impact personality traits can have on low-level cognitive processes like perception and selective attention.

Two-week administration of the combined serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine augments functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits

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Ossewaarde, L.; Verkes, R.J.; Hermans, E.J.; Kooijman, S.C.; Urner, M.; Tendolkar, I.; Wingen, G.A. van; Fernandez, G.S.E.

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: Anhedonia and lack of motivation are core symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). Neuroimaging studies in MDD patients have shown reductions in reward-related activity in terminal regions of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, such as the ventral striatum. Monoamines have been

Two-week administration of the combined serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor duloxetine augments functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ossewaarde, Lindsey; Verkes, Robbert J.; Hermans, Erno J.; Kooijman, Sabine C.; Urner, Maren; Tendolkar, Indira; van Wingen, Guido A.; Fernández, Guillén

2011-01-01

Anhedonia and lack of motivation are core symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). Neuroimaging studies in MDD patients have shown reductions in reward-related activity in terminal regions of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, such as the ventral striatum. Monoamines have been implicated in

From prediction error to incentive salience: mesolimbic computation of reward motivation

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Berridge, Kent C.

2011-01-01

Reward contains separable psychological components of learning, incentive motivation and pleasure. Most computational models have focused only on the learning component of reward, but the motivational component is equally important in reward circuitry, and even more directly controls behavior. Modeling the motivational component requires recognition of additional control factors besides learning. Here I will discuss how mesocorticolimbic mechanisms generate the motivation component of incentive salience. Incentive salience takes Pavlovian learning and memory as one input and as an equally important input takes neurobiological state factors (e.g., drug states, appetite states, satiety states) that can vary independently of learning. Neurobiological state changes can produce unlearned fluctuations or even reversals in the ability of a previously-learned reward cue to trigger motivation. Such fluctuations in cue-triggered motivation can dramatically depart from all previously learned values about the associated reward outcome. Thus a consequence of the difference between incentive salience and learning can be to decouple cue-triggered motivation of the moment from previously learned values of how good the associated reward has been in the past. Another consequence can be to produce irrationally strong motivation urges that are not justified by any memories of previous reward values (and without distorting associative predictions of future reward value). Such irrationally strong motivation may be especially problematic in addiction. To comprehend these phenomena, future models of mesocorticolimbic reward function should address the neurobiological state factors that participate to control generation of incentive salience. PMID:22487042

From prediction error to incentive salience: mesolimbic computation of reward motivation.

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Berridge, Kent C

2012-04-01

Reward contains separable psychological components of learning, incentive motivation and pleasure. Most computational models have focused only on the learning component of reward, but the motivational component is equally important in reward circuitry, and even more directly controls behavior. Modeling the motivational component requires recognition of additional control factors besides learning. Here I discuss how mesocorticolimbic mechanisms generate the motivation component of incentive salience. Incentive salience takes Pavlovian learning and memory as one input and as an equally important input takes neurobiological state factors (e.g. drug states, appetite states, satiety states) that can vary independently of learning. Neurobiological state changes can produce unlearned fluctuations or even reversals in the ability of a previously learned reward cue to trigger motivation. Such fluctuations in cue-triggered motivation can dramatically depart from all previously learned values about the associated reward outcome. Thus, one consequence of the difference between incentive salience and learning can be to decouple cue-triggered motivation of the moment from previously learned values of how good the associated reward has been in the past. Another consequence can be to produce irrationally strong motivation urges that are not justified by any memories of previous reward values (and without distorting associative predictions of future reward value). Such irrationally strong motivation may be especially problematic in addiction. To understand these phenomena, future models of mesocorticolimbic reward function should address the neurobiological state factors that participate to control generation of incentive salience. © 2012 The Author. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Ghrelin interacts with neuropeptide Y Y1 and opioid receptors to increase food reward.

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Skibicka, Karolina P; Shirazi, Rozita H; Hansson, Caroline; Dickson, Suzanne L

2012-03-01

Ghrelin, a stomach-derived hormone, is an orexigenic peptide that was recently shown to potently increase food reward behavior. The neurochemical circuitry that links ghrelin to the mesolimbic system and food reward behavior remains unclear. Here we examined the contribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and opioids to ghrelin's effects on food motivation and intake. Both systems have well-established links to the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area (VTA) and reward/motivation control. NPY mediates the effect of ghrelin on food intake via activation of NPY-Y1 receptor (NPY-Y1R); their connection with respect to motivated behavior is unexplored. The role of opioids in any aspect of ghrelin's action on food-oriented behaviors is unknown. Rats were trained in a progressive ratio sucrose-induced operant schedule to measure food reward/motivation behavior. Chow intake was measured immediately after the operant test. In separate experiments, we explored the suppressive effects of a selective NPY-Y1R antagonist or opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone, injected either intracerebroventricularly or intra-VTA, on ghrelin-induced food reward behavior. The ventricular ghrelin-induced increase in sucrose-motivated behavior and chow intake were completely blocked by intracerebroventricular pretreatment with either an NPY-Y1R antagonist or naltrexone. The intra-VTA ghrelin-induced sucrose-motivated behavior was blocked only by intra-VTA naltrexone. In contrast, the intra-VTA ghrelin-stimulated chow intake was attenuated only by intra-VTA NPY-Y1 blockade. Finally, ghrelin infusion was associated with an elevated VTA μ-opioid receptor expression. Thus, we identify central NPY and opioid signaling as the necessary mediators of food intake and reward effects of ghrelin and localize these interactions to the mesolimbic VTA.

Neural activation to monetary reward is associated with amphetamine reward sensitivity.

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Crane, Natania A; Gorka, Stephanie M; Weafer, Jessica; Langenecker, Scott A; de Wit, Harriet; Phan, K Luan

2018-03-14

One known risk factor for drug use and abuse is sensitivity to rewarding effects of drugs. It is not known whether this risk factor extends to sensitivity to non-drug rewards. In this study with healthy young adults, we examined the association between sensitivity to the subjective rewarding effects of amphetamine and a neural indicator of anticipation of monetary reward. We hypothesized that greater euphorigenic response to amphetamine would be associated with greater neural activation to anticipation of monetary reward (Win > Loss). Healthy participants (N = 61) completed four laboratory sessions in which they received d-amphetamine (20 mg) and placebo in alternating order, providing self-report measures of euphoria and stimulation at regular intervals. At a separate visit 1-3 weeks later, participants completed the guessing reward task (GRT) during fMRI in a drug-free state. Participants reporting greater euphoria after amphetamine also exhibited greater neural activation during monetary reward anticipation in mesolimbic reward regions, including the bilateral caudate and putamen. This is the first study to show a relationship between neural correlates of monetary reward and sensitivity to the subjective rewarding effects of amphetamine in humans. These findings support growing evidence that sensitivity to reward in general is a risk factor for drug use and abuse, and suggest that sensitivity of drug-induced euphoria may reflect a general sensitivity to rewards. This may be an index of vulnerability for drug use or abuse.

Dynamic mesolimbic dopamine signaling during action sequence learning and expectation violation

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Collins, Anne L.; Greenfield, Venuz Y.; Bye, Jeffrey K.; Linker, Kay E.; Wang, Alice S.; Wassum, Kate M.

2016-01-01

Prolonged mesolimbic dopamine concentration changes have been detected during spatial navigation, but little is known about the conditions that engender this signaling profile or how it develops with learning. To address this, we monitored dopamine concentration changes in the nucleus accumbens core of rats throughout acquisition and performance of an instrumental action sequence task. Prolonged dopamine concentration changes were detected that ramped up as rats executed each action sequence and declined after earned reward collection. With learning, dopamine concentration began to rise increasingly earlier in the execution of the sequence and ultimately backpropagated away from stereotyped sequence actions, becoming only transiently elevated by the most distal and unexpected reward predictor. Action sequence-related dopamine signaling was reactivated in well-trained rats if they became disengaged in the task and in response to an unexpected change in the value, but not identity of the earned reward. Throughout training and test, dopamine signaling correlated with sequence performance. These results suggest that action sequences can engender a prolonged mode of dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens core and that such signaling relates to elements of the motivation underlying sequence execution and is dynamic with learning, overtraining and violations in reward expectation. PMID:26869075

Endogenous Opioid-Induced Neuroplasticity of Dopaminergic Neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area Influences Natural and Opiate Reward

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pitchers, Kyle K.; Coppens, Caroline M.; Beloate, Lauren N.; Fuller, Jonathan; Van, Sandy; Frohmader, Karla S.; Laviolette, Steven R.; Lehman, Michael N.; Coolen, Lique M.

2014-01-01

Natural reward and drugs of abuse converge on the mesolimbic pathway and activate common mechanism of neural plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. Chronic exposure to opiates induces plasticity in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which regulates morphine reward tolerance.

Activation in mesolimbic and visuospatial neural circuits elicited by smoking cues: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging.

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Due, Deborah L; Huettel, Scott A; Hall, Warren G; Rubin, David C

2002-06-01

The authors sought to increase understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in cigarette addiction by identifying neural substrates modulated by visual smoking cues in nicotine-deprived smokers. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to detect brain activation after exposure to smoking-related images in a group of nicotine-deprived smokers and a nonsmoking comparison group. Subjects viewed a pseudo-random sequence of smoking images, neutral nonsmoking images, and rare targets (photographs of animals). Subjects pressed a button whenever a rare target appeared. In smokers, the fMRI signal was greater after exposure to smoking-related images than after exposure to neutral images in mesolimbic dopamine reward circuits known to be activated by addictive drugs (right posterior amygdala, posterior hippocampus, ventral tegmental area, and medial thalamus) as well as in areas related to visuospatial attention (bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex and right fusiform gyrus). In nonsmokers, no significant differences in fMRI signal following exposure to smoking-related and neutral images were detected. In most regions studied, both subject groups showed greater activation following presentation of rare target images than after exposure to neutral images. In nicotine-deprived smokers, both reward and attention circuits were activated by exposure to smoking-related images. Smoking cues are processed like rare targets in that they activate attentional regions. These cues are also processed like addictive drugs in that they activate mesolimbic reward regions.

Music-related reward responses predict episodic memory performance.

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Ferreri, Laura; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni

2017-12-01

Music represents a special type of reward involving the recruitment of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. According to recent theories on episodic memory formation, as dopamine strengthens the synaptic potentiation produced by learning, stimuli triggering dopamine release could result in long-term memory improvements. Here, we behaviourally test whether music-related reward responses could modulate episodic memory performance. Thirty participants rated (in terms of arousal, familiarity, emotional valence, and reward) and encoded unfamiliar classical music excerpts. Twenty-four hours later, their episodic memory was tested (old/new recognition and remember/know paradigm). Results revealed an influence of music-related reward responses on memory: excerpts rated as more rewarding were significantly better recognized and remembered. Furthermore, inter-individual differences in the ability to experience musical reward, measured through the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire, positively predicted memory performance. Taken together, these findings shed new light on the relationship between music, reward and memory, showing for the first time that music-driven reward responses are directly implicated in higher cognitive functions and can account for individual differences in memory performance.

Active reward processing during human sleep: insights from sleep-related eating disorder

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Lampros ePerogamvros

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present two carefully documented cases of patients with sleep-related eating disorder (SRED, a parasomnia which is characterized by involuntary compulsive eating during the night and whose pathophysiology is not known. Using video-polysomnography and psychometric examination, we found that both patients present elevated novelty seeking and increased reward sensitivity on reward-related questionnaires. In light of new evidence on the mesolimbic dopaminergic implication in compulsive eating disorders, our findings suggest a role of an active reward system during sleep in the manifestation of SRED.

Changes in brain activation associated with reward processing in smokers and nonsmokers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martin-Solch, C; Magyar, S; Kunig, G; Missimer, J; Schultz, W; Leenders, KL

Tobacco smoking is the most frequent form of substance abuse. Several studies have shown that the addictive action of nicotine is mediated by the mesolimbic. dopamine system. This system is implicated in reward processing. In order to better understand the relationship between nicotine addiction and

Neural response to reward anticipation in those with depression with and without panic disorder.

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Gorka, Stephanie M; Huggins, Ashley A; Fitzgerald, Daniel A; Nelson, Brady D; Phan, K Luan; Shankman, Stewart A

2014-08-01

One of the hallmark features of major depressive disorder (MDD) is reduced reward anticipation. There have been mixed findings in the literature as to whether reward anticipation deficits in MDD are related to diminished mesolimbic activation and/or enhanced dorsal anterior cingulate activation (dACC). One of the reasons for these mixed findings is that these studies have typically not addressed the role of comorbid anxiety, a class of disorders which frequently co-occur with depression and have a common neurobiology. The aim of the current study was to examine group differences in neural responses to reward anticipation in 40 adults with either: (1) current MDD with no lifetime diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (MDD-only), (2) current MDD with comorbid panic disorder (MDD-PD), or (3) no lifetime diagnosis of psychopathology. All participants completed a passive slot machine task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Analyses indicated that there were no group differences in activation of mesolimbic reward regions; however, the MDD-only group exhibited greater dACC activation during the anticipation of rewards compared with the healthy controls and the comorbid MDD-PD group (who did not differ from each other). The sample size was small which limits generalizability. These findings provide preliminary support for the role of hyperactive dACC functioning in reduced reward anticipation in MDD. They also indicate that comorbid anxiety may alter the association between MDD and neural responding to reward anticipation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hypocretin/orexin regulation of dopamine signaling: implications for reward and reinforcement mechanisms

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Rodrigo eEspaña

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The hypocretins/orexins are comprised of two neuroexcitatory peptides that are synthesized exclusively within a circumscribed region of the lateral hypothalamus. These peptides project widely throughout the brain and interact with a variety of regions involved in the regulation of arousal-related processes including those associated with motivated behavior. The current review focuses on emerging evidence indicating that the hypocretins influence reward and reinforcement processing via actions on the mesolimbic dopamine system. We discuss contemporary perspectives of hypocretin regulation of mesolimbic dopamine signaling in both drug free and drug states, as well as hypocretin regulation of behavioral responses to drugs of abuse, particularly as it relates to cocaine.

Hypocretin/orexin regulation of dopamine signaling: implications for reward and reinforcement mechanisms

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Calipari, Erin S.; España, Rodrigo A.

2012-01-01

The hypocretins/orexins are comprised of two neuroexcitatory peptides that are synthesized exclusively within a circumscribed region of the lateral hypothalamus. These peptides project widely throughout the brain and interact with a variety of regions involved in the regulation of arousal-related processes including those associated with motivated behavior. The current review focuses on emerging evidence indicating that the hypocretins influence reward and reinforcement processing via actions on the mesolimbic dopamine system. We discuss contemporary perspectives of hypocretin regulation of mesolimbic dopamine signaling in both drug free and drug states, as well as hypocretin regulation of behavioral responses to drugs of abuse, particularly as it relates to cocaine. PMID:22933994

Naloxone treatment alters gene expression in the mesolimbic reward system in 'junk food' exposed offspring in a sex-specific manner but does not affect food preferences in adulthood.

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Gugusheff, J R; Ong, Z Y; Muhlhausler, B S

2014-06-22

We have previously reported that the opioid receptor blocker, naloxone, is less effective in reducing palatable food intake in offspring exposed to a maternal cafeteria diet during the perinatal period, implicating a desensitization of the central opioid pathway in the programming of food preferences. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a maternal cafeteria diet and naloxone treatment on the development of the mesolimbic reward pathway and food choices in adulthood. We measured mRNA expression of key components of the reward pathway (mu-opioid receptor, proenkephalin, tyrosine hydroxylase, D1 and D2 receptors and the dopamine active transporter (DAT)) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the offspring of control and cafeteria fed (JF) dams at weaning and after a 10-day naloxone treatment post-weaning and determined food preferences in adulthood in the remaining offspring. Naloxone treatment decreased the expression of DAT by 8.2 fold in female control offspring but increased it by 4.3 fold in female offspring of JF dams relative to the saline-injected reference groups. Proenkephalin mRNA expression was higher in the NAc of female JF offspring compared to controls, independent of naloxone treatment (Pfood preferences in adulthood in either control or JF offspring. These data indicate that prenatal exposure to a cafeteria diet alters the impact of opioid signaling blockade in the early post-weaning period on gene expression in the central reward pathway in a sex specific manner, but that these changes in gene expression do not appear to have any persistent impact on food preferences in adulthood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exposure to elevated levels of dietary fat attenuates psychostimulant reward and mesolimbic dopamine turnover in the rat

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Davis, Jon F.; Tracy, Andrea L.; Schurdak, Jennifer D.; Tschöp, Matthias H.; Lipton, Jack W.; Clegg, Deborah J.; Benoit, Stephen C.

2008-01-01

Recent studies indicate that decreased central dopamine is associated with diet-induced obesity in humans and in animal models. In the current study, we assessed the hypothesis that diet-induced obesity reduces mesolimbic dopamine function. Specifically, we compared dopamine turnover in this region between rats fed a high-fat diet and those consuming a standard low-fat diet. We also assessed behavioral consequences of diet-induced obesity by testing the response of these animals in a conditio...

Influences of social reward experience on behavioral responses to drugs of abuse: Review of shared and divergent neural plasticity mechanisms for sexual reward and drugs of abuse.

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Beloate, Lauren N; Coolen, Lique M

2017-12-01

Different factors influence the development of drug addiction in humans, including social reward experiences. In animals, experience with social rewards, such as sexual behavior, pair bonding, social and environmental enrichment, can be protective. However, loss or lack of social rewards can lead to a vulnerability to drug-seeking behavior. The effects of social reward experience on drug-seeking behavior are associated with changes in the neural pathways that control drug-related behavior. This review will provide an introduction and overview of the mesolimbic pathway and the influence of social reward experience on drug-seeking behavior in rodents. Moreover, the research from our laboratory on effects of sexual experience and loss of sex reward on psychostimulant and opiate reward will be reviewed. Finally, we will review current knowledge of the neural mechanisms that underlie these interactions. Investigations of the neural underpinnings by which social and drug rewards interact contribute to improved understanding of the neural basis of vulnerability for drug addiction and reward-related behaviors in general. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cannabinoid modulation of drug reward and the implications of marijuana legalization.

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Covey, Dan P; Wenzel, Jennifer M; Cheer, Joseph F

2015-12-02

Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug worldwide. Recent trends indicate that this may soon change; not due to decreased marijuana use, but to an amendment in marijuana's illegal status. The cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor mediates marijuana's psychoactive and reinforcing properties. CB1 receptors are also part of the brain endocannabinoid (eCB) system and support numerous forms of learning and memory, including the conditioned reinforcing properties of cues predicting reward or punishment. This is accomplished via eCB-dependent alterations in mesolimbic dopamine function, which plays an obligatory role in reward learning and motivation. Presynaptic CB1 receptors control midbrain dopamine neuron activity and thereby shape phasic dopamine release in target regions, particularly the nucleus accumbens (NAc). By also regulating synaptic input to the NAc, CB1 receptors modulate NAc output onto downstream neurons of the basal ganglia motor circuit, and thereby support goal-directed behaviors. Abused drugs promote short- and long-term adaptations in eCB-regulation of mesolimbic dopamine function, and thereby hijack neural systems related to the pursuit of rewards to promote drug abuse. By pharmacologically targeting the CB1 receptors, marijuana has preferential access to this neuronal system and can potently alter eCB-dependent processing of reward-related stimuli. As marijuana legalization progresses, greater access to this drug should increase the utility of marijuana as a research tool to better understand the eCB system, which has the potential to advance cannabinoid-based treatments for drug addiction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity to reward: implications for overeating and overweight.

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Davis, Caroline; Strachan, Shaelyn; Berkson, Marni

2004-04-01

Sensitivity to reward (STR)-a personality trait firmly rooted in the neurobiology of the mesolimbic dopamine system-has been strongly implicated in the risk for addiction. This construct describes the ability to derive pleasure or reward from natural reinforcers like food, and from pharmacologic rewards like addictive drugs. Recently experts in the field of addiction research have acknowledged that psychomotor stimulant drugs are no longer at the heart of all addictions, and that brain circuits can also be deranged with natural rewards like food. The present study tested a model in which STR was expected to relate positively to overeating, which in turn would be associated with higher body weight in woman aged 25-45 years. As predicted, STR was correlated positively with measures of emotional overeating. Also, overweight woman were significantly more sensitive to reward than those of normal weight. Interestingly, however, the obese woman (Body Mass Index>30) were more anhedonic than the overweight woman (Body Mass Index>25reward circuits. Results also indicate that STR may serve as a risk factor for overeating and overweight, especially in cultures such as ours where palatable, calorically-dense food is plentiful.

Dopamine in the Brain: Hypothesizing Surfeit or Deficit Links to Reward and Addiction.

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Blum, Kenneth; Thanos, Peter K; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Febo, Marcelo; Baron, David; Badgaiyan, Rajendra D; Gardner, Eliot; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Fahlke, Claudia; Haberstick, Brett C; Dushaj, Kristina; Gold, Mark S

Recently there has been debate concerning the role of brain dopamine in reward and addiction. David Nutt and associates eloquently proposed that dopamine (DA) may be central to psycho stimulant dependence and some what important for alcohol, but not important for opiates, nicotine or even cannabis. Others have also argued that surfeit theories can explain for example cocaine seeking behavior as well as non-substance-related addictive behaviors. It seems prudent to distinguish between what constitutes "surfeit" compared to" deficit" in terms of short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) brain reward circuitry responsivity. In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the contributions of mesolimbic DA systems to reward, we review the three main competing explanatory categories: "liking", "learning", and "wanting". They are (a) the hedonic impact -liking reward, (b) the ability to predict rewarding effects-learning and (c) the incentive salience of reward-related stimuli -wanting. In terms of acute effects, most of the evidence seems to favor the "surfeit theory". Due to preferential dopamine release at mesolimbic-VTA-caudate-accumbens loci most drugs of abuse and Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) behaviors have been linked to heightened feelings of well-being and hyperdopaminergic states.The "dopamine hypotheses" originally thought to be simple, is now believed to be quite complex and involves encoding the set point of hedonic tone, encoding attention, reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Importantly, Willuhn et al. shows that in a self-administration paradigm, (chronic) excessive use of cocaine is caused by decreased phasic dopamine signaling in the striatum. In terms of chronic addictions, others have shown a blunted responsivity at brain reward sites with food, nicotine, and even gambling behavior. Finally, we are cognizant of the differences in dopaminergic function as addiction progresses and argue that relapse may be tied to dopamine deficiency

Missing motoric manipulations: rethinking the imaging of the ventral striatum and dopamine in human reward.

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Kareken, David A

2018-01-26

Human neuroimaging studies of natural rewards and drugs of abuse frequently assay the brain's response to stimuli that, through Pavlovian learning, have come to be associated with a drug's rewarding properties. This might be characterized as a 'sensorial' view of the brain's reward system, insofar as the paradigms are designed to elicit responses to a reward's (drug's) sight, aroma, or flavor. A different field of research nevertheless suggests that the mesolimbic dopamine system may also be critically involved in the motor behaviors provoked by such stimuli. This brief review and commentary surveys some of the preclinical data supporting this more "efferent" (motoric) view of the brain's reward system, and discusses what such findings might mean for how human brain imaging studies of natural rewards and drugs of abuse are designed.

The endocannabinoid system in brain reward processes.

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Solinas, M; Goldberg, S R; Piomelli, D

2008-05-01

Food, drugs and brain stimulation can serve as strong rewarding stimuli and are all believed to activate common brain circuits that evolved in mammals to favour fitness and survival. For decades, endogenous dopaminergic and opioid systems have been considered the most important systems in mediating brain reward processes. Recent evidence suggests that the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system also has an important role in signalling of rewarding events. First, CB(1) receptors are found in brain areas involved in reward processes, such as the dopaminergic mesolimbic system. Second, activation of CB(1) receptors by plant-derived, synthetic or endogenous CB(1) receptor agonists stimulates dopaminergic neurotransmission, produces rewarding effects and increases rewarding effects of abused drugs and food. Third, pharmacological or genetic blockade of CB(1) receptors prevents activation of dopaminergic neurotransmission by several addictive drugs and reduces rewarding effects of food and these drugs. Fourth, brain levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are altered by activation of reward processes. However, the intrinsic activity of the endocannabinoid system does not appear to play a facilitatory role in brain stimulation reward and some evidence suggests it may even oppose it. The influence of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward processes may depend on the degree of activation of the different brain areas involved and might represent a mechanism for fine-tuning dopaminergic activity. Although involvement of the various components of the endocannabinoid system may differ depending on the type of rewarding event investigated, this system appears to play a major role in modulating reward processes.

Rewarding and aversive effects of nicotine are segregated within the nucleus accumbens.

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Sellings, Laurie H L; Baharnouri, Golriz; McQuade, Lindsey E; Clarke, Paul B S

2008-07-01

Forebrain dopamine plays a critical role in motivated behavior. According to the classic view, mesolimbic dopamine selectively guides behavior motivated by positive reinforcers. However, this has been challenged in favor of a wider role encompassing aversively motivated behavior. This controversy is particularly striking in the case of nicotine, with opposing claims that either the rewarding or the aversive effect of nicotine is critically dependent on mesolimbic dopamine transmission. In the present study, the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of nucleus accumbens core vs. medial shell on intravenous nicotine conditioned place preference and conditioned taste aversion were examined in male adult rats. Dopaminergic denervation in accumbens medial shell was associated with decreased nicotine conditioned place preference. Conversely, denervation in accumbens core was associated with an increase in conditioned place preference. In addition, dopaminergic denervation of accumbens core but not medial shell abolished conditioned taste aversion for nicotine. We conclude that nucleus accumbens core and medial shell dopaminergic innervation exert segregated effects on rewarding and aversive effects of nicotine. More generally, our findings indicate that dopaminergic transmission may mediate or enable opposing motivational processes within functionally distinct domains of the accumbens.

Goal or gold: overlapping reward processes in soccer players upon scoring and winning money.

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Alexander Niklas Häusler

Full Text Available Social rewards are important incentives for human behavior. This is especially true in team sports such as the most popular one worldwide: soccer. We investigated reward processing upon scoring a soccer goal in a standard two-versus-one situation and in comparison to winning in a monetary incentive task. The results show a strong overlap in brain activity between the two conditions in established reward regions of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, including the ventral striatum and ventromedial pre-frontal cortex. The three main components of reward-associated learning, i.e., reward probability (RP, reward reception (RR and reward prediction errors (RPE showed highly similar activation in both con-texts, with only the RR and RPE components displaying overlapping reward activity. Passing and shooting behavior did not correlate with individual egoism scores, but we observe a positive correlation be-tween egoism and activity in the left middle frontal gyrus upon scoring after a pass versus a direct shot. Our findings suggest that rewards in the context of soccer and monetary incentives are based on similar neural processes.

Goal or Gold: Overlapping Reward Processes in Soccer Players upon Scoring and Winning Money

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Häusler, Alexander Niklas; Becker, Benjamin; Bartling, Marcel; Weber, Bernd

2015-01-01

Social rewards are important incentives for human behavior. This is especially true in team sports such as the most popular one worldwide: soccer. We investigated reward processing upon scoring a soccer goal in a standard two-versus-one situation and in comparison to winning in a monetary incentive task. The results show a strong overlap in brain activity between the two conditions in established reward regions of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, including the ventral striatum and ventromedial pre-frontal cortex. The three main components of reward-associated learning i.e. reward probability (RP), reward reception (RR) and reward prediction errors (RPE) showed highly similar activation in both con-texts, with only the RR and RPE components displaying overlapping reward activity. Passing and shooting behavior did not correlate with individual egoism scores, but we observe a positive correlation be-tween egoism and activity in the left middle frontal gyrus upon scoring after a pass versus a direct shot. Our findings suggest that rewards in the context of soccer and monetary incentives are based on similar neural processes. PMID:25875594

Neurogenetic Impairments of Brain Reward Circuitry Links to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Potential Nutrigenomic Induced Dopaminergic Activation

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Blum, K; Oscar-Berman, M; Giordano, J; Downs, BW; Simpatico, T; Han, D; Femino, John

2012-01-01

Work from our laboratory in both in-patient and outpatient facilities utilizing the Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Drugs (CARD)™ found a significant lack of compliance to prescribed treatment medications and a lack of abstinence from drugs of abuse during active recovery. This unpublished, ongoing research provides an impetus to develop accurate genetic diagnosis and holistic approaches that will safely activate brain reward circuitry in the mesolimbic dopamine system. This editorial focuses on the neurogenetics of brain reward systems with particular reference to genes related to dopaminergic function. The terminology “Reward Deficiency Syndrome” (RDS), used to describe behaviors found to have an association with gene-based hypodopaminergic function, is a useful concept to help expand our understanding of Substance Use Disorder (SUD), process addictions, and other obsessive, compulsive and impulsive behaviors. This editorial covers the neurological basis of pleasure and the role of natural and unnatural reward in motivating and reinforcing behaviors. Additionally, it briefly describes the concept of natural dopamine D2 receptor agonist therapy coupled with genetic testing of a panel of reward genes, the Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARS). It serves as a spring-board for this combination of novel approaches to the prevention and treatment of RDS that was developed from fundamental genomic research. We encourage further required studies. PMID:23264886

Investigating the Impact of a Genome-Wide Supported Bipolar Risk Variant of MAD1L1 on the Human Reward System.

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Trost, Sarah; Diekhof, Esther K; Mohr, Holger; Vieker, Henning; Krämer, Bernd; Wolf, Claudia; Keil, Maria; Dechent, Peter; Binder, Elisabeth B; Gruber, Oliver

2016-10-01

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified MAD1L1 (mitotic arrest deficient-like 1) as a susceptibility gene for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The minor allele of the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11764590 in MAD1L1 was associated with bipolar disorder. Both diseases, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are linked to functional alterations in the reward system. We aimed at investigating possible effects of the MAD1L1 rs11764590 risk allele on reward systems functioning in healthy adults. A large homogenous sample of 224 young (aged 18-31 years) participants was genotyped and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All participants performed the 'Desire-Reason Dilemma' paradigm investigating the neural correlates that underlie reward processing and active reward dismissal in favor of a long-term goal. We found significant hypoactivations of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the bilateral striatum and bilateral frontal and parietal cortices in response to conditioned reward stimuli in the risk allele carriers compared with major allele carriers. In the dilemma situation, functional connectivity between prefrontal brain regions and the ventral striatum was significantly diminished in the risk allele carriers. Healthy risk allele carriers showed a significant deficit of their bottom-up response to conditioned reward stimuli in the bilateral VTA and striatum. Furthermore, functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and prefrontal areas exerting top-down control on the mesolimbic reward system was reduced in this group. Similar alterations in reward processing and disturbances of prefrontal control mechanisms on mesolimbic brain circuits have also been reported in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Together, these findings suggest the existence of an intermediate phenotype associated with MAD1L1.

Gut peptide GLP-1 and its analogue, Exendin-4, decrease alcohol intake and reward.

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Rozita H Shirazi

Full Text Available Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1 is a gut- and neuro-peptide with an important role in the regulation of food intake and glucose metabolism. Interestingly, GLP-1 receptors (GLP-1R are expressed in key mesolimbic reward areas (including the ventral tegmental area, VTA, innervated by hindbrain GLP-1 neurons. Recently GLP-1 has emerged as a potential regulator of food reward behavior, an effect driven by the mesolimbic GLP-1Rs. Its role in other reward behaviors remains largely unexplored. Since a considerable overlap has been suggested for circuitry controlling reward behavior derived from food and alcohol we hypothesized that GLP-1 and GLP-1Rs could regulate alcohol intake and alcohol reward. We sought to determine whether GLP-1 or its clinically safe stable analogue, Exendin-4, reduce alcohol intake and reward. To determine the potential role of the endogenous GLP-1 in alcohol intake we evaluated whether GLP-1R antagonist, Exendin 9-39, can increase alcohol intake. Furthermore, we set out to evaluate whether VTA GLP-1R activation is sufficient to reduce alcohol intake. Male Wistar rats injected peripherally with GLP-1 or Exendin-4 reduced their alcohol intake in an intermittent access two bottle free choice drinking model. Importantly, a contribution of endogenously released GLP-1 is highlighted by our observation that blockade of GLP-1 receptors alone resulted in an increased alcohol intake. Furthermore, GLP-1 injection reduced alcohol reward in the alcohol conditioned place preference test in mice. To evaluate the neuroanatomical substrate linking GLP-1 with alcohol intake/reward, we selectively microinjected GLP-1 or Exendin 4 into the VTA. This direct stimulation of the VTA GLP-1 receptors potently reduced alcohol intake. Our findings implicate GLP-1R signaling as a novel modulator of alcohol intake and reward. We show for the first time that VTA GLP-1R stimulation leads to reduced alcohol intake. Considering that GLP-1 analogues are already

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats.

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Dela Cruz, Julie A D; Coke, Tricia; Bodnar, Richard J

2016-08-24

This study uses cellular c-fos activation to assess effects of novel ingestion of fat and sugar on brain dopamine (DA) pathways in rats. Intakes of sugars and fats are mediated by their innate attractions as well as learned preferences. Brain dopamine, especially meso-limbic and meso-cortical projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), has been implicated in both of these unlearned and learned responses. The concept of distributed brain networks, wherein several sites and transmitter/peptide systems interact, has been proposed to mediate palatable food intake, but there is limited evidence empirically demonstrating such actions. Thus, sugar intake elicits DA release and increases c-fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) from individual VTA DA projection zones including the nucleus accumbens (NAC), amygdala (AMY) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as well as the dorsal striatum. Further, central administration of selective DA receptor antagonists into these sites differentially reduce acquisition and expression of conditioned flavor preferences elicited by sugars or fats. One approach by which to determine whether these sites interacted as a distributed brain network in response to sugar or fat intake would be to simultaneous evaluate whether the VTA and its major mesotelencephalic DA projection zones (prelimbic and infralimbic mPFC, core and shell of the NAc, basolateral and central-cortico-medial AMY) as well as the dorsal striatum would display coordinated and simultaneous FLI activation after oral, unconditioned intake of corn oil (3.5%), glucose (8%), fructose (8%) and saccharin (0.2%) solutions. This approach is a successful first step in identifying the feasibility of using cellular c-fos activation simultaneously across relevant brain sites to study reward-related learning in ingestion of palatable food in rodents.

Imaging human reward processing with positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

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Urban, Nina B L; Slifstein, Mark; Meda, Shashwath; Xu, Xiaoyan; Ayoub, Rawad; Medina, Olga; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Krystal, John H; Abi-Dargham, Anissa

2012-05-01

Functional neuroimaging (fMRI) studies show activation in mesolimbic circuitry in tasks involving reward processing, like the Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MIDT). In voltammetry studies in animals, mesolimbic dopamine release is associated with reward salience. This study examined the relationship between fMRI activation and magnitude of dopamine release measured with Positron emission tomography study (PET) in the same subjects using MIDT in both modalities to test if fMRI activation is related to dopamine release. Eighteen healthy subjects were scanned with [¹¹C]raclopride PET at baseline and after MIDT. Binding potential (BP(ND)) was derived by equilibrium analysis in striatal subregions and percent change across conditions (∆BP(ND)) was measured. Blood oxygen level dependence (BOLD) signal changes with MIDT were measured during fMRI using voxelwise analysis and ROI analysis and correlated with ∆BP(ND). ∆BP(ND) was not significant in the ventral striatum (VST) but reached significance in the posterior caudate. The fMRI BOLD activation was highest in VST. No significant associations between ∆BP(ND) and change in fMRI BOLD were observed with VST using ROI analysis. Voxelwise analysis showed positive correlation between BOLD activation in anticipation of the highest reward and ∆BP(ND) in VST and precommissural putamen. Our study indicates that endogenous dopamine release in VST is of small magnitude and is related to BOLD signal change during performance of the MIDT in only a few voxels when rewarding and nonrewarding conditions are interspersed. The lack of correlation at the ROI level may be due to the small magnitude of release or to the particular dependence of BOLD on glutamatergic signaling.

A Trigger for Opioid Misuse: Chronic Pain and Stress Dysregulate the Mesolimbic Pathway and Kappa Opioid System.

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Massaly, Nicolas; Morón, Jose A; Al-Hasani, Ream

2016-01-01

Pain and stress are protective mechanisms essential in avoiding harmful or threatening stimuli and ensuring survival. Despite these beneficial roles, chronic exposure to either pain or stress can lead to maladaptive hormonal and neuronal modulations that can result in chronic pain and a wide spectrum of stress-related disorders including anxiety and depression. By inducing allostatic changes in the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway, both chronic pain and stress disorders affect the rewarding values of both natural reinforcers, such as food or social interaction, and drugs of abuse. Despite opioids representing the best therapeutic strategy in pain conditions, they are often misused as a result of these allostatic changes induced by chronic pain and stress. The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system is critically involved in these neuronal adaptations in part through its control of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Therefore, it is likely that changes in the kappa opioid system following chronic exposure to pain and stress play a key role in increasing the misuse liability observed in pain patients treated with opioids. In this review, we will discuss how chronic pain and stress-induced pathologies can affect mesolimbic dopaminergic transmission, leading to increased abuse liability. We will also assess how the kappa opioid system may underlie these pathological changes.

A trigger for opioid misuse: Chronic pain and stress dysregulate the mesolimbic pathway and kappa opioid system

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Nicolas Massaly

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Pain and stress are protective mechanisms essential in avoiding harmful or threatening stimuli and ensuring survival. Despite these beneficial roles, chronic exposure to either pain or stress can lead to maladaptive hormonal and neuronal modulations that can result in chronic pain and a wide spectrum of stress-related disorders including anxiety and depression. By inducing allostatic changes in the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway, both chronic pain and stress disorders affect the rewarding values of both natural reinforcers, such as food or social interaction, and drugs of abuse. Despite opioids representing the best therapeutic strategy in acute pain conditions, they are often misused as a result of these allostatic changes induced by chronic pain and stress. The kappa opioid receptor system is critically involved in these neuronal adaptations in part through its control of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Therefore, it is likely that changes in the kappa opioid system following chronic exposure to pain and stress play a key role in increasing the misuse liability observed in pain patients treated with opioids. In this review, we will discuss how chronic pain and stress-induced pathologies can affect mesolimbic dopaminergic transmission, leading to increased abuse liability. We will also assess how the kappa opioid system may underlie these pathological changes.

Increased functional connectivity between prefrontal cortex and reward system in pathological gambling.

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Saskia Koehler

Full Text Available Pathological gambling (PG shares clinical characteristics with substance-use disorders and is thus discussed as a behavioral addiction. Recent neuroimaging studies on PG report functional changes in prefrontal structures and the mesolimbic reward system. While an imbalance between these structures has been related to addictive behavior, whether their dysfunction in PG is reflected in the interaction between them remains unclear. We addressed this question using functional connectivity resting-state fMRI in male subjects with PG and controls. Seed-based functional connectivity was computed using two regions-of-interest, based on the results of a previous voxel-based morphometry study, located in the prefrontal cortex and the mesolimbic reward system (right middle frontal gyrus and right ventral striatum. PG patients demonstrated increased connectivity from the right middle frontal gyrus to the right striatum as compared to controls, which was also positively correlated with nonplanning aspect of impulsiveness, smoking and craving scores in the PG group. Moreover, PG patients demonstrated decreased connectivity from the right middle frontal gyrus to other prefrontal areas as compared to controls. The right ventral striatum demonstrated increased connectivity to the right superior and middle frontal gyrus and left cerebellum in PG patients as compared to controls. The increased connectivity to the cerebellum was positively correlated with smoking in the PG group. Our results provide further evidence for alterations in functional connectivity in PG with increased connectivity between prefrontal regions and the reward system, similar to connectivity changes reported in substance use disorder.

Effects of exogenous testosterone on the ventral striatal BOLD response during reward anticipation in healthy women.

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Hermans, Erno J; Bos, Peter A; Ossewaarde, Lindsey; Ramsey, Nick F; Fernández, Guillén; van Honk, Jack

2010-08-01

Correlational evidence in humans shows that levels of the androgen hormone testosterone are positively related to reinforcement sensitivity and competitive drive. Structurally similar anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are moreover widely abused, and animal studies show that rodents self-administer testosterone. These observations suggest that testosterone exerts activational effects on mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways involved in incentive processing and reinforcement regulation. However, there are no data on humans supporting this hypothesis. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of testosterone administration on neural activity in terminal regions of the mesolimbic pathway. In a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover design, 12 healthy women received a single sublingual administration of .5 mg of testosterone. During MRI scanning, participants performed a monetary incentive delay task, which is known to elicit robust activation of the ventral striatum during reward anticipation. Results show a positive main effect of testosterone on the differential response in the ventral striatum to cues signaling potential reward versus nonreward. Notably, this effect interacted with levels self-reported intrinsic appetitive motivation: individuals with low intrinsic appetitive motivation exhibited larger testosterone-induced increases but had smaller differential responses after placebo. Thus, the present study lends support to the hypothesis that testosterone affects activity in terminal regions of the mesolimbic dopamine system but suggests that such effects may be specific to individuals with low intrinsic appetitive motivation. By showing a potential mechanism underlying central reinforcement of androgen use, the present findings may moreover have implications for our understanding of the pathophysiology of AAS dependency. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pain and suicidality: insights from reward and addiction neuroscience.

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Elman, Igor; Borsook, David; Volkow, Nora D

2013-10-01

Suicidality is exceedingly prevalent in pain patients. Although the pathophysiology of this link remains unclear, it may be potentially related to the partial congruence of physical and emotional pain systems. The latter system's role in suicide is also conspicuous during setbacks and losses sustained in the context of social attachments. Here we propose a model based on the neural pathways mediating reward and anti-reward (i.e., allostatic adjustment to recurrent activation of the reward circuitry); both are relevant etiologic factors in pain, suicide and social attachments. A comprehensive literature search on neurobiology of pain and suicidality was performed. The collected articles were critically reviewed and relevant data were extracted and summarized within four key areas: (1) physical and emotional pain, (2) emotional pain and social attachments, (3) pain- and suicide-related alterations of the reward and anti-reward circuits as compared to addiction, which is the premier probe for dysfunction of these circuits and (4) mechanistically informed treatments of co-occurring pain and suicidality. Pain-, stress- and analgesic drugs-induced opponent and proponent states of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways may render reward and anti-reward systems vulnerable to sensitization, cross-sensitization and aberrant learning of contents and contexts associated with suicidal acts and behaviors. These findings suggest that pain patients exhibit alterations in the brain circuits mediating reward (depressed function) and anti-reward (sensitized function) that may affect their proclivity for suicide and support pain and suicidality classification among other "reward deficiency syndromes" and a new proposal for "enhanced anti-reward syndromes". We suggest that interventions aimed at restoring the balance between the reward and anti-reward networks in patients with chronic pain may help decreasing their suicide risk. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Molecular role of dopamine in anhedonia linked to reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) and anti- reward systems.

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Gold, Mark S; Blum, Kenneth; Febo, Marcelo; Baron, David; Modestino, Edward Justin; Elman, Igor; Badgaiyan, Rajendra D

2018-03-01

Anhedonia is a condition that leads to the loss of feelings pleasure in response to natural reinforcers like food, sex, exercise, and social activities. This disorder occurs in addiction, and an array of related neuropsychiatric syndromes, including schizophrenia, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Anhedonia may by due to derangements in mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways and their terminal fields (e.g., striatum, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex) that persist long after the traces of the causative drugs are eliminated (pharmacokinetically). Here we postulate that anhedonia is not a distinct entity but is rather an epiphenomenon of hypodopaminergic states and traits arising from the interaction of genetic traits and epigenetic neurobiological alterations in response to environmental influences. Moreover, dopaminergic activity is rather complex, and so it may give rise to differential pathophysiological processes such as incentive sensitization, aberrant learning and stress-like "anti-reward" phenomena. These processes may have additive, synergistic or antagonistic interactions with the concurrent reward deficiency states leading in some instances to more severe and long-lasting symptoms. Operant understanding of the neurogenetic antecedents to reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) and the elucidation of reward gene polymorphisms may provide a map for accessing an individual's genetic risk for developing Anhedonia. Prevention techniques that can restore homeostatic balance via physiological activation of dopaminergic receptors (D2/D3) may be instrumental for targeting not only anhedonia per se but also drug craving and relapse.

Placebo neural systems: nitric oxide, morphine and the dopamine brain reward and motivation circuitries.

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Fricchione, Gregory; Stefano, George B

2005-05-01

Evidence suggests that the placebo response is related to the tonic effects of constitutive nitric oxide in neural, vascular and immune tissues. Constitutive nitric oxide levels play a role in the modulation of dopamine outflow in the nigrostriatal movement and the mesolimbic and mesocortical reward and motivation circuitries. Endogenous morphine, which stimulates constitutive nitric oxide, may be an important signal molecule working at mu receptors on gamma aminobutyric acid B interneurons to disinhibit nigral and tegmental dopamine output. We surmise that placebo induced belief will activate the prefrontal cortex with downstream stimulatory effects on these dopamine systems as well as on periaqueductal grey opioid output neurons. Placebo responses in Parkinson's disease, depression and pain disorder may result. In addition, mesolimbic/mesocortical control of the stress response systems may provide a way for the placebo response to benefit other medical conditions.

The Roles of Dopamine and Hypocretin in Reward: A Electroencephalographic Study.

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Mensen, Armand; Poryazova, Rositsa; Huegli, Gordana; Baumann, Christian R; Schwartz, Sophie; Khatami, Ramin

2015-01-01

The proper functioning of the mesolimbic reward system is largely dependent on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system has significant projections to this reward system. We examined the distinct effects of reduced dopamine or reduced hypocretin levels on reward activity in patients with Parkinson's disease, dopamine deficient, as well as patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy, hypocretin depleted, and healthy controls. Participants performed a simple game-like task while high-density electroencephalography was recorded. Topography and timing of event-related potentials for both reward cue, and reward feedback was examined across the entire dataset. While response to reward cue was similar in all groups, two distinct time points were found to distinguish patients and controls for reward feedback. Around 160 ms both patient groups had reduced ERP amplitude compared to controls. Later at 250 ms, both patient groups also showed a clear event-related potential (ERP), which was absent in controls. The initial differences show that both patient groups show a similar, blunted response to reward delivery. The second potential corresponds to the classic feedback-related negativity (FRN) potential which relies on dopamine activity and reflects reward prediction-error signaling. In particular the mismatch between predicted reward and reward subsequently received was significantly higher in PD compared to NC, independent of reward magnitude and valence. The intermediate FRN response in NC highlights the contribution of hypocretin in reward processing, yet also shows that this is not as detrimental to the reward system as in Parkinson's. Furthermore, the inability to generate accurate predictions in NC may explain why hypocretin deficiency mediates cataplexy triggered by both positive and negative emotions.

The Roles of Dopamine and Hypocretin in Reward: A Electroencephalographic Study.

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Armand Mensen

Full Text Available The proper functioning of the mesolimbic reward system is largely dependent on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system has significant projections to this reward system. We examined the distinct effects of reduced dopamine or reduced hypocretin levels on reward activity in patients with Parkinson's disease, dopamine deficient, as well as patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy, hypocretin depleted, and healthy controls. Participants performed a simple game-like task while high-density electroencephalography was recorded. Topography and timing of event-related potentials for both reward cue, and reward feedback was examined across the entire dataset. While response to reward cue was similar in all groups, two distinct time points were found to distinguish patients and controls for reward feedback. Around 160 ms both patient groups had reduced ERP amplitude compared to controls. Later at 250 ms, both patient groups also showed a clear event-related potential (ERP, which was absent in controls. The initial differences show that both patient groups show a similar, blunted response to reward delivery. The second potential corresponds to the classic feedback-related negativity (FRN potential which relies on dopamine activity and reflects reward prediction-error signaling. In particular the mismatch between predicted reward and reward subsequently received was significantly higher in PD compared to NC, independent of reward magnitude and valence. The intermediate FRN response in NC highlights the contribution of hypocretin in reward processing, yet also shows that this is not as detrimental to the reward system as in Parkinson's. Furthermore, the inability to generate accurate predictions in NC may explain why hypocretin deficiency mediates cataplexy triggered by both positive and negative emotions.

Convergence of EEG and fMRI measures of reward anticipation.

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Gorka, Stephanie M; Phan, K Luan; Shankman, Stewart A

2015-12-01

Deficits in reward anticipation are putative mechanisms for multiple psychopathologies. Research indicates that these deficits are characterized by reduced left (relative to right) frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) activity and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal abnormalities in mesolimbic and prefrontal neural regions during reward anticipation. Although it is often assumed that these two measures capture similar mechanisms, no study to our knowledge has directly examined the convergence between frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during reward anticipation in the same sample. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate if and where in the brain frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and fMRI measures were correlated in a sample of 40 adults. All participants completed two analogous reward anticipation tasks--once during EEG data collection and the other during fMRI data collection. Results indicated that the two measures do converge and that during reward anticipation, increased relative left frontal activity is associated with increased left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activation. This suggests that the two measures may similarly capture PFC functioning, which is noteworthy given the role of these regions in reward processing and the pathophysiology of disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reward Prediction Errors in Drug Addiction and Parkinson's Disease: from Neurophysiology to Neuroimaging.

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García-García, Isabel; Zeighami, Yashar; Dagher, Alain

2017-06-01

Surprises are important sources of learning. Cognitive scientists often refer to surprises as "reward prediction errors," a parameter that captures discrepancies between expectations and actual outcomes. Here, we integrate neurophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results addressing the processing of reward prediction errors and how they might be altered in drug addiction and Parkinson's disease. By increasing phasic dopamine responses, drugs might accentuate prediction error signals, causing increases in fMRI activity in mesolimbic areas in response to drugs. Chronic substance dependence, by contrast, has been linked with compromised dopaminergic function, which might be associated with blunted fMRI responses to pleasant non-drug stimuli in mesocorticolimbic areas. In Parkinson's disease, dopamine replacement therapies seem to induce impairments in learning from negative outcomes. The present review provides a holistic overview of reward prediction errors across different pathologies and might inform future clinical strategies targeting impulsive/compulsive disorders.

Cigarette smoking modulates medication-associated deficits in a monetary reward task in patients with schizophrenia.

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Lernbass, Birgit; Grön, Georg; Wolf, Nadine D; Abler, Birgit

2013-09-01

Imaging studies of reward processing have demonstrated a mesolimbic-mesocortical dopaminergic dysfunction in schizophrenia. Such studies on reward processing in patients and also in healthy controls showed that differential activations of dopaminergic brain areas are associated with adaptive changes in response speed related to different reward values. Given this relationship, we investigated reward processing on the behavioural level in a larger sample of 49 medicated patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (ICD-10 F20) and 49 healthy controls. Subjects were instructed to react by button press upon two different stimuli in order to retain a 60 % chance winning a previously announced high (1$) or low (20¢) amount of money paid to participants after the experiment. Concordant with previous reports on deficits in reward processing, acceleration of reaction times in patients upon low rewards differed significantly (p non-smoking subgroup of patients (n = 24). In this subgroup, we also observed a significant (p monetary reward task might constitute a feasible behavioural proxy for dopaminergic dysfunction and its different dimensions regarding psychopathology but also medication in patients with schizophrenia. In line with clinical observations, our findings support the notion that smoking modulates medication-associated side effects on reward processing in patients with schizophrenia.

Divergent circuitry underlying food reward and intake effects of ghrelin: dopaminergic VTA-accumbens projection mediates ghrelin's effect on food reward but not food intake.

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Skibicka, Karolina P; Shirazi, Rozita H; Rabasa-Papio, Cristina; Alvarez-Crespo, Mayte; Neuber, Corinna; Vogel, Heike; Dickson, Suzanne L

2013-10-01

Obesity has reached global epidemic proportions and creating an urgent need to understand mechanisms underlying excessive and uncontrolled food intake. Ghrelin, the only known circulating orexigenic hormone, potently increases food reward behavior. The neurochemical circuitry that links ghrelin to the mesolimbic reward system and to the increased food reward behavior remains unclear. Here we examine whether VTA-NAc dopaminergic signaling is required for the effects of ghrelin on food reward and intake. In addition, we examine the possibility of endogenous ghrelin acting on the VTA-NAc dopamine neurons. A D1-like or a D2 receptor antagonist was injected into the NAc in combination with ghrelin microinjection into the VTA to investigate whether this blockade attenuates ghrelin-induced food reward behavior. VTA injections of ghrelin produced a significant increase in food motivation/reward behavior, as measured by sucrose-induced progressive ratio operant conditioning, and chow intake. Pretreatment with either a D1-like or D2 receptor antagonist into the NAc, completely blocked the reward effect of ghrelin, leaving chow intake intact. We also found that this circuit is potentially relevant for the effects of endogenously released ghrelin as both antagonists reduced fasting (a state of high circulating levels of ghrelin) elevated sucrose-motivated behavior but not chow hyperphagia. Taken together our data identify the VTA to NAc dopaminergic projections, along with D1-like and D2 receptors in the NAc, as essential elements of the ghrelin responsive circuits controlling food reward behavior. Interestingly results also suggest that food reward behavior and simple intake of chow are controlled by divergent circuitry, where NAc dopamine plays an important role in food reward but not in food intake. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Use of Player-centered Positive Reinforcement to Schedule In-game Rewards Increases Enjoyment and Performance in a Serious Game

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Aniket Nagle

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Among the methods used to increase enjoyment and performance in serious games, reward schedules, i.e., determining when in-game rewards should be given, have not been sufficiently explored. In the present study, we designed a simple memory training serious game and compared two methods of scheduling rewards, both based on the paradigm of positive reinforcement: fixed ratio schedule, in which rewards were given after a fixed number of correct responses, and variable ratio schedule, in which rewards were given after an unpredictable number of correct responses. To account for the variability in player preference for rewards, a player-centered sub-mode was included in both schedules by adjusting the schedule ratio according to player preference for rewards. The effectiveness of this approach was tested by comparing it against two more sub-modes: one which used a predetermined ratio, and another which set the ratio to the opposite of player preference. The game was put online and tested with 210 participants. Enjoyment, performance, duration of gameplay, and likelihood to play again were significantly higher in the player-centered sub-mode than the other sub-modes. On average, the variable-ratio schedule was better in the outcome measures than the fixed-ratio schedule. The results highlight the importance of in-game rewards, and indicate that giving rewards according to a player-centered variable-ratio schedule has the potential to make serious games more effective.

Nalmefene Reduces Reward Anticipation in Alcohol Dependence: An Experimental Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

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Quelch, Darren R; Mick, Inge; McGonigle, John; Ramos, Anna C; Flechais, Remy S A; Bolstridge, Mark; Rabiner, Eugenii; Wall, Matthew B; Newbould, Rexford D; Steiniger-Brach, Björn; van den Berg, Franz; Boyce, Malcolm; Østergaard Nilausen, Dorrit; Breuning Sluth, Lasse; Meulien, Didier; von der Goltz, Christoph; Nutt, David; Lingford-Hughes, Anne

2017-06-01

Nalmefene is a µ and δ opioid receptor antagonist, κ opioid receptor partial agonist that has recently been approved in Europe for treating alcohol dependence. It offers a treatment approach for alcohol-dependent individuals with "high-risk drinking levels" to reduce their alcohol consumption. However, the neurobiological mechanism underpinning its effects on alcohol consumption remains to be determined. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject crossover design we aimed to determine the effect of a single dose of nalmefene on striatal blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal change during anticipation of monetary reward using the monetary incentive delay task following alcohol challenge. Twenty-two currently heavy-drinking, non-treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent males were recruited. The effect of single dose nalmefene (18 mg) on changes in a priori defined striatal region of interest BOLD signal change during reward anticipation compared with placebo was investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Both conditions were performed under intravenous alcohol administration (6% vol/vol infusion to achieve a target level of 80 mg/dL). Datasets from 18 participants were available and showed that in the presence of the alcohol infusion, nalmefene significantly reduced the BOLD response in the striatal region of interest compared with placebo. Nalmefene did not alter brain perfusion. Nalmefene blunts BOLD response in the mesolimbic system during anticipation of monetary reward and an alcohol infusion. This is consistent with nalmefene's actions on opioid receptors, which modulate the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, and provides a neurobiological basis for its efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Leptin Suppresses the Rewarding Effects of Running via STAT3 Signaling in Dopamine Neurons.

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Fernandes, Maria Fernanda A; Matthys, Dominique; Hryhorczuk, Cécile; Sharma, Sandeep; Mogra, Shabana; Alquier, Thierry; Fulton, Stephanie

2015-10-06

The adipose hormone leptin potently influences physical activity. Leptin can decrease locomotion and running, yet the mechanisms involved and the influence of leptin on the rewarding effects of running ("runner's high") are unknown. Leptin receptor (LepR) signaling involves activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3), including in dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that are essential for reward-relevant behavior. We found that mice lacking STAT3 in dopamine neurons exhibit greater voluntary running, an effect reversed by viral-mediated STAT3 restoration. STAT3 deletion increased the rewarding effects of running whereas intra-VTA leptin blocked it in a STAT3-dependent manner. Finally, STAT3 loss-of-function reduced mesolimbic dopamine overflow and function. Findings suggest that leptin influences the motivational effects of running via LepR-STAT3 modulation of dopamine tone. Falling leptin is hypothesized to increase stamina and the rewarding effects of running as an adaptive means to enhance the pursuit and procurement of food. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amphetamine sensitization alters reward processing in the human striatum and amygdala.

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Owen G O'Daly

Full Text Available Dysregulation of mesolimbic dopamine transmission is implicated in a number of psychiatric illnesses characterised by disruption of reward processing and goal-directed behaviour, including schizophrenia, drug addiction and impulse control disorders associated with chronic use of dopamine agonists. Amphetamine sensitization (AS has been proposed to model the development of this aberrant dopamine signalling and the subsequent dysregulation of incentive motivational processes. However, in humans the effects of AS on the dopamine-sensitive neural circuitry associated with reward processing remains unclear. Here we describe the effects of acute amphetamine administration, following a sensitising dosage regime, on blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD signal in dopaminoceptive brain regions during a rewarded gambling task performed by healthy volunteers. Using a randomised, double-blind, parallel-groups design, we found clear evidence for sensitization to the subjective effects of the drug, while rewarded reaction times were unchanged. Repeated amphetamine exposure was associated with reduced dorsal striatal BOLD signal during decision making, but enhanced ventromedial caudate activity during reward anticipation. The amygdala BOLD response to reward outcomes was blunted following repeated amphetamine exposure. Positive correlations between subjective sensitization and changes in anticipation- and outcome-related BOLD signal were seen for the caudate nucleus and amygdala, respectively. These data show for the first time in humans that AS changes the functional impact of acute stimulant exposure on the processing of reward-related information within dopaminoceptive regions. Our findings accord with pathophysiological models which implicate aberrant dopaminergic modulation of striatal and amygdala activity in psychosis and drug-related compulsive disorders.

Increased 3H-spiperone binding sites in mesolimbic area related to methamphetamine-induced behavioral hypersensitivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akiyama, K.; Sato, M.; Otsuki, S.

1982-01-01

The specific 3 H-spiperone binding to membrane homogenates of the striatum, mesolimbic area, and frontal cortex was examined in two groups of rats pretreated once daily with saline or 4 mg/kg of methamphetamine (MAP) for 14 days. At 7 days following cessation of chronic pretreatment, all rats received an injection of 4 mg/kg of MAP and were decapitated 1 hr after the injection. In the chronic saline-pretreatment group, the single administration of MAP induced significant changes in the number (Bmax) of specific 3 H-spiperone binding sites (a decrease in the striatum and an increase in the mesolimbic area and frontal cortex), but no significant changes in the affinity (KD) in any brain area. The chronic MAP pretreatment markedly augmented the changes in Bmax in the striatum and mesolimbic area. The increase in specific 3 H-spiperone binding sites in the mesolimbic area is discussed in relation to MAP-induced behavioral hypersensitivity

Maladaptive Reward-Learning and Impulse Control Disorders in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Clinical Overview and Pathophysiology Update

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Jee-Young Lee

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Impulse control disorders (ICD in Parkinson’s disease (PD are a disabling non-motor symptom with frequencies of 13–35% among patients receiving dopamine replacement therapy. ICD in PD is strongly associated with dopaminergic drug use, especially non-ergot dopamine agonists (DA. However, individual susceptibility and disease-related neural changes are also important contributors to the development of ICD. Discrepancies between nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic degeneration and non-physiological administration of dopaminergic drugs may induce abnormal ’hyperstimulation’ of the mesolimbic system, which alters reward-learning behaviors in PD patients. In addition, DA can make patients more impulsive during decision-making and seek risk-taking behaviors. DA intake is also related to the biased representation of rewards. Ultimately, loss of negative feedback control due to dysfunctional frontostriatal connections is necessary for the establishment of ICD in PD. The subsequent behavioral and neural changes are affected by PD treatment and disease progression; thus, proper treatment guidelines for physicians are needed to prevent the development of ICD. Future studies aimed at producing novel therapeutics to control the risk factors for ICD or treat ICD behaviors in PD are warranted. This review summarizes recent advances from epidemiological and pathophysiological studies on ICD in PD. Management principles and limitations of current therapeutics are briefly discussed.

Reward, motivation and emotion of pain and its relief

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Porreca, Frank; Navratilova, Edita

2016-01-01

The experience of pain depends on interpretation of context and past experience that guide the choice of an immediate behavioral response and influence future decisions of actions to avoid harm. The aversive qualities of pain underlie its physiological role in learning and motivation. In this review, we highlight findings from human and animal investigations that suggest that both pain, and the relief of pain, are complex emotions that are comprised of feelings and their motivational consequences. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. How relief of pain aversiveness occurs is not well understood. Termination of aversive states can directly provide relief as well as reinforce behaviors that result in avoidance of pain. Emerging preclinical data also suggests that relief may elicit a positive hedonic value that results from activation of neural cortical and mesolimbic brain circuits that may also motivate behavior. Brain circuits mediating the reward of pain relief, as well as relief-induced motivation are significantly impacted as pain becomes chronic. In chronic pain states, the negative motivational value of nociception may be increased while the value of the reward of pain relief may decrease. As a consequence, the impact of pain on these ancient, and conserved brain limbic circuits suggest a path forward for discovery of new pain therapies. PMID:28106670

Adolescents, adults and rewards: comparing motivational neurocircuitry recruitment using fMRI.

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James M Bjork

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adolescent risk-taking, including behaviors resulting in injury or death, has been attributed in part to maturational differences in mesolimbic incentive-motivational neurocircuitry, including ostensible oversensitivity of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc to rewards. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To test whether adolescents showed increased NAcc activation by cues for rewards, or by delivery of rewards, we scanned 24 adolescents (age 12-17 and 24 adults age (22-42 with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed a monetary incentive delay (MID task. The MID task was configured to temporally disentangle potential reward or potential loss anticipation-related brain signal from reward or loss notification-related signal. Subjects saw cues signaling opportunities to win or avoid losing $0, $.50, or $5 for responding quickly to a subsequent target. Subjects then viewed feedback of their trial success after a variable interval from cue presentation of between 6 to 17 s. Adolescents showed reduced NAcc recruitment by reward-predictive cues compared to adult controls in a linear contrast with non-incentive cues, and in a volume-of-interest analysis of signal change in the NAcc. In contrast, adolescents showed little difference in striatal and frontocortical responsiveness to reward deliveries compared to adults. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In light of divergent developmental difference findings between neuroimaging incentive paradigms (as well as at different stages within the same task, these data suggest that maturational differences in incentive-motivational neurocircuitry: 1 may be sensitive to nuances of incentive tasks or stimuli, such as behavioral or learning contingencies, and 2 may be specific to the component of the instrumental behavior (such as anticipation versus notification.

High on food: the interaction between the neural circuits for feeding and for reward.

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Liu, Jing-Jing; Mukherjee, Diptendu; Haritan, Doron; Ignatowska-Jankowska, Bogna; Liu, Ji; Citri, Ami; Pang, Zhiping P

2015-04-01

Hunger, mostly initiated by a deficiency in energy, induces food seeking and intake. However, the drive toward food is not only regulated by physiological needs, but is motivated by the pleasure derived from ingestion of food, in particular palatable foods. Therefore, feeding is viewed as an adaptive motivated behavior that involves integrated communication between homeostatic feeding circuits and reward circuits. The initiation and termination of a feeding episode are instructed by a variety of neuronal signals, and maladaptive plasticity in almost any component of the network may lead to the development of pathological eating disorders. In this review we will summarize the latest understanding of how the feeding circuits and reward circuits in the brain interact. We will emphasize communication between the hypothalamus and the mesolimbic dopamine system and highlight complexities, discrepancies, open questions and future directions for the field.

A translational systems biology approach in both animals and humans identifies a functionally related module of accumbal genes involved in the regulation of reward processing and binge drinking in males.

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Stacey, David; Lourdusamy, Anbarasu; Ruggeri, Barbara; Maroteaux, Matthieu; Jia, Tianye; Cattrell, Anna; Nymberg, Charlotte; Banaschewski, Tobias; Bhattacharyya, Sohinee; Band, Hamid; Barker, Gareth; Bokde, Arun; Buchel, Christian; Carvalho, Fabiana; Conrod, Patricia; Desrivieres, Sylvane; Easton, Alanna; Fauth-Buehler, Mira; Fernandez-Medarde, Alberto; Flor, Herta; Frouin, Vincent; Gallinat, Jurgen; Garavanh, Hugh; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Lathrop, Mark; Lawrence, Claire; Loth, Eva; Mann, Karl; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Nees, Frauke; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Rietschel, Marcella; Rotter, Andrea; Santos, Eugenio; Smolka, Michael; Sommer, Wolfgang; Mameli, Manuel; Spanagel, Rainer; Girault, Jean-Antoine; Mueller, Christian; Schumann, Gunter

2016-04-01

The mesolimbic dopamine system, composed primarily of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area that project to striatal structures, is considered to be the key mediator of reinforcement-related mechanisms in the brain. Prompted by a genome-wide association meta-analysis implicating the Ras-specific guanine nucleotide-releasing factor 2 (RASGRF2) gene in the regulation of alcohol intake in men, we have recently shown that male Rasgrf2(-/-) mice exhibit reduced ethanol intake and preference accompanied by a perturbed mesolimbic dopamine system. We therefore propose that these mice represent a valid model to further elucidate the precise genes and mechanisms regulating mesolimbic dopamine functioning. Transcriptomic data from the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) of male Rasgrf2(-/-) mice and wild-type controls were analyzed by weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). We performed follow-up genetic association tests in humans using a sample of male adolescents from the IMAGEN study characterized for binge drinking (n = 905) and ventral striatal activation during an fMRI reward task (n = 608). The WGCNA analyses using accumbal transcriptomic data revealed 37 distinct "modules," or functionally related groups of genes. Two of these modules were significantly associated with Rasgrf2 knockout status: M5 (p reward task (pempirical < 0.001). It was not possible to determine the extent to which the M5 module was dysregulated in Rasgrf2(-/-) mice by perturbed mesolimbic dopamine signalling or by the loss of Rasgrf2 function in the NAcc. Taken together, our findings indicate that the accumbal M5 module, initially identified as being dysregulated in male Rasgrf2(-/-) mice, is also relevant for human alcohol-related phenotypes potentially through the modulation of reinforcement mechanisms in the NAcc. We therefore propose that the genes comprising this module represent important candidates for further elucidation within the context of alcohol-related phenotypes.

Convergent dysregulation of frontal cortical cognitive and reward systems in eating disorders.

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Stefano, George B; Ptáček, Radek; Kuželová, Hana; Mantione, Kirk J; Raboch, Jiří; Papezova, Hana; Kream, Richard M

2013-05-10

A substantive literature has drawn a compelling case for the functional involvement of mesolimbic/prefrontal cortical neural reward systems in normative control of eating and in the etiology and persistence of severe eating disorders that affect diverse human populations. Presently, we provide a short review that develops an equally compelling case for the importance of dysregulated frontal cortical cognitive neural networks acting in concert with regional reward systems in the regulation of complex eating behaviors and in the presentation of complex pathophysiological symptoms associated with major eating disorders. Our goal is to highlight working models of major eating disorders that incorporate complementary approaches to elucidate functionally interactive neural circuits defined by their regulatory neurochemical phenotypes. Importantly, we also review evidence-based linkages between widely studied psychiatric and neurodegenerative syndromes (e.g., autism spectrum disorders and Parkinson's disease) and co-morbid eating disorders to elucidate basic mechanisms involving dopaminergic transmission and its regulation by endogenously expressed morphine in these same cortical regions.

Differential mesolimbic and prefrontal alterations during reward anticipation and consummation in positive and negative schizotypy.

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Yan, Chao; Wang, Yi; Su, Li; Xu, Ting; Yin, Da-Zhi; Fan, Ming-Xia; Deng, Ci-Ping; Wang, Zhao-Xin; Lui, Simon S Y; Cheung, Eric F C; Chan, Raymond C K

2016-08-30

Schizotypy is associated with anhedonia. However, previous findings on the neural substrates of anhedonia in schizotypy are mixed. In the present study, we measured the neural substrates associated with reward anticipation and consummation in positive and negative schizotypy using functional MRI. The Monetary Incentive Delay task was administered to 33 individuals with schizotypy (18 positive schizotypy (PS),15 negative schizotypy (NS)) and 22 healthy controls. Comparison between schizotypy individuals and controls were performed using two-sample T tests for contrast images involving gain versus non-gain anticipation condition and gain versus non-gain consummation condition. Multiple comparisons were corrected using Monte Carlo Simulation correction of panticipation or consummation. However, during the consummatory phase, NS individuals rather than PS individuals showed diminished left amygdala and left putamen activity compared with controls. We observed significantly weaker activation at the left ventral striatum during gain anticipation in NS individuals compared with controls. PS individuals, however, exhibited enhanced right ventral lateral prefrontal activity. These findings suggest that different dimensions of schizotypy may be underlied by different neural dysfunctions in reward anticipation and consummation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phasic Mesolimbic Dopamine Signaling Encodes the Facilitation of Incentive Motivation Produced by Repeated Cocaine Exposure

OpenAIRE

Ostlund, SB; LeBlanc, KH; Kosheleff, AR; Wassum, KM; Maidment, NT

2014-01-01

Drug addiction is marked by pathological drug seeking and intense drug craving, particularly in response to drug-related stimuli. Repeated psychostimulant administration is known to induce long-term alterations in mesolimbic dopamine (DA) signaling that are hypothesized to mediate this heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli. However, there is little direct evidence that drug-induced alteration in mesolimbic DA function underlies this hypersensitivity to motivational cues. In the curr...

Reward signals, attempted suicide, and impulsivity in late-life depression.

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Dombrovski, Alexandre Y; Szanto, Katalin; Clark, Luke; Reynolds, Charles F; Siegle, Greg J

2013-10-01

IMPORTANCE—Suicide can be viewed as an escape from unendurable punishment at the cost of any future rewards. Could faulty estimation of these outcomes predispose to suicidal behavior? In behavioral studies, many of those who have attempted suicide misestimate expected rewards on gambling and probabilistic learning tasks.OBJECTIVES—To describe the neural circuit abnormalities that underlie disadvantageous choices in people at risk for suicide and to relate these abnormalities to impulsivity, which is one of the components of vulnerability to suicide.DESIGN—Case-control functional magnetic resonance imaging study of reward learning using are inforcement learning model.SETTING—University hospital and outpatient clinic.PATIENTS—Fifty-three participants 60 years or older, including 15 depressed patients who had attempted suicide, 18 depressed patients who had never attempted suicide (depressed control subjects), and 20 psychiatrically healthy controls.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES—Components of the cortical blood oxygenation level–dependent response tracking expected and unpredicted rewards.RESULTS—Depressed elderly participants displayed 2 distinct disruptions of control over reward-guided behavior. First, impulsivity and a history of suicide attempts (particularly poorly planned ones) were associated with a weakened expected reward signal in the paralimbic cortex,which in turn predicted the behavioral insensitivity to contingency change. Second, depression was associated with disrupted corticostriatothalamic encoding of unpredicted rewards, which in turn predicted the behavioral over sensitivity to punishment. These results were robust to the effects of possible brain damage from suicide attempts, depressive severity, co-occurring substance use and anxiety disorders, antidepressant and anticholinergic exposure, lifetime exposure to electroconvulsive therapy, vascular illness, and incipient dementia.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE—Altered paralimbic reward

Endogenous fatty acid ethanolamides suppress nicotine-induced activation of mesolimbic dopamine neurons through nuclear receptors.

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Melis, Miriam; Pillolla, Giuliano; Luchicchi, Antonio; Muntoni, Anna Lisa; Yasar, Sevil; Goldberg, Steven R; Pistis, Marco

2008-12-17

Nicotine stimulates the activity of mesolimbic dopamine neurons, which is believed to mediate the rewarding and addictive properties of tobacco use. Accumulating evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system might play a major role in neuronal mechanisms underlying the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, including nicotine. Here, we investigated the modulation of nicotine effects by the endocannabinoid system on dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area with electrophysiological techniques in vivo and in vitro. We discovered that pharmacological inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the enzyme that catabolizes fatty acid ethanolamides, among which the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) is the best known, suppressed nicotine-induced excitation of dopamine cells. Importantly, this effect was mimicked by the administration of the FAAH substrates oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), but not methanandamide, the hydrolysis resistant analog of AEA. OEA and PEA are naturally occurring lipid signaling molecules structurally related to AEA, but devoid of affinity for cannabinoid receptors. They blocked the effects of nicotine by activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha), a nuclear receptor transcription factor involved in several aspects of lipid metabolism and energy balance. Activation of PPAR-alpha triggered a nongenomic stimulation of tyrosine kinases, which might lead to phosphorylation and negative regulation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These data indicate for the first time that the anorexic lipids OEA and PEA possess neuromodulatory properties as endogenous ligands of PPAR-alpha in the brain and provide a potential new target for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Gender-specific roles for the melanocortin-3 receptor in the regulation of the mesolimbic dopamine system in mice.

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Lippert, Rachel N; Ellacott, Kate L J; Cone, Roger D

2014-05-01

The melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) and MC4R are known to play critical roles in energy homeostasis. However, the physiological functions of the MC3R remain poorly understood. Earlier reports indicated that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is one of the highest sites of MC3R expression, and we sought to determine the function of the receptor in this brain region. A MC3R-green-fluorescent protein transgenic mouse and a MC3R knockout mouse strain were used to characterize the neurochemical identity of the MC3R neurons in the VTA and to determine the effects of global MC3R deletion on VTA dopamine (DA) homeostasis. We demonstrate that the MC3R, but not MC4R, is expressed in up to a third of dopaminergic neurons of the VTA. Global deletion of the MC3R increases total dopamine by 42% in the VTA and decreases sucrose intake and preference in female but not male mice. Ovariectomy restores dopamine levels to normal, but aberrant decreased VTA dopamine levels are also observed in prepubertal female mice. Because arcuate Agouti-related peptide/neuropeptide Y neurons are known to innervate and regulate VTA signaling, the MC3R in dopaminergic neurons provides a specific input for communication of nutritional state within the mesolimbic dopamine system. Data provided here suggest that this input may be highly sexually dimorphic, functioning as a specific circuit regulating effects of estrogen on VTA dopamine levels and on sucrose preference. Overall, this data support a sexually dimorphic function of MC3R in regulation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and reward.

Craving love? Enduring grief activates brain's reward center.

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O'Connor, Mary-Frances; Wellisch, David K; Stanton, Annette L; Eisenberger, Naomi I; Irwin, Michael R; Lieberman, Matthew D

2008-08-15

Complicated Grief (CG) occurs when an individual experiences prolonged, unabated grief. The neural mechanisms distinguishing CG from Noncomplicated Grief (NCG) are unclear, but hypothesized mechanisms include both pain-related activity (related to the social pain of loss) and reward-related activity (related to attachment behavior). Bereaved women (11 CG, 12 NCG) participated in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, during grief elicitation with idiographic stimuli. Analyses revealed that whereas both CG and NCG participants showed pain-related neural activity in response to reminders of the deceased, only those with CG showed reward-related activity in the nucleus accumbens (NA). This NA cluster was positively correlated with self-reported yearning, but not with time since death, participant age, or positive/negative affect. This study supports the hypothesis that attachment activates reward pathways. For those with CG, reminders of the deceased still activate neural reward activity, which may interfere with adapting to the loss in the present.

Ghrelin Signalling on Food Reward: A Salient Link Between the Gut and the Mesolimbic System

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Perello, M.; Dickson, S. L.

2015-01-01

?Hunger is the best spice? is an old and wise saying that acknowledges the fact that almost any food tastes better when we are hungry. The neurobiological underpinnings of this lore include activation of the brain's reward system and the stimulation of this system by the hunger?promoting hormone ghrelin. Ghrelin is produced largely from the stomach and levels are higher preprandially. The ghrelin receptor is expressed in many brain areas important for feeding control, including not only the h...

Lateral hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum roles in eating and hunger: interactions between homeostatic and reward circuitry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Charles Castro

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The study of the neural bases of eating behavior, hunger, and reward has consistently implicated the lateral hypothalamus (LH and its interactions with mesocorticolimbic circuitry, such as mesolimbic dopamine projections to nucleus accumbens (NAc and ventral pallidum (VP, in controlling motivation to eat. The NAc and VP play special roles in mediating the hedonic impact (‘liking’ and motivational incentive salience (‘wanting’ of food rewards, and their interactions with LH help permit regulatory hunger/satiety modulation of food motivation and reward. Here, we review some progress that has been made regarding this circuitry and its functions: the identification of localized anatomical hedonic hotspots within NAc and VP for enhancing hedonic impact; interactions of NAc/VP hedonic hotspots with specific LH signals such as orexin; an anterior-posterior gradient of sites in NAc shell for producing intense appetitive eating versus intense fearful reactions; and anatomically distributed appetitive functions of dopamine and mu opioid signals in NAc shell and related structures. Such findings help improve our understanding of NAc, VP, and LH interactions in mediating affective and motivation functions, including ‘liking’ and ‘wanting’ for food rewards.

Sexual behavior and sex-associated environmental cues activate the mesolimbic system in male rats.

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Balfour, Margaret E; Yu, Lei; Coolen, Lique M

2004-04-01

The mesolimbic system plays an important role in the regulation of both pathological behaviors such as drug addiction and normal motivated behaviors such as sexual behavior. The present study investigated the mechanism by which this system is endogenously activated during sexual behavior. Specifically, the effects of sexual experience and sex-related environmental cues on the activation of several components of the mesolimbic system were studied. The mesolimbic system consists of a dopaminergic projection from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Previous studies suggest that these neurons are under tonic inhibition by local GABA interneurons, which are in turn modulated by mu opioid receptor (MOR) ligands. To test the hypothesis that opioids are acting in the VTA during sexual behavior, visualization of MOR internalization in VTA was used as a marker for ligand-induced activation of the receptor. Significant increases in MOR internalization were observed following copulation or exposure to sex-related environmental cues. The next goal was to determine if sexual behavior activates dopamine neurons in the VTA, using tyrosine hydroxylase as a marker for dopaminergic neurons and Fos-immunoreactivity as a marker for neuronal activation. Significant increases in the percentage of activated dopaminergic neurons were observed following copulation or exposure to sex-related environmental cues. In addition, mating and sex-related cues activated a large population of nondopaminergic neurons in VTA as well as neurons in both the NAc Core and Shell. Taken together, our results provide functional neuroanatomical evidence that the mesolimbic system is activated by both sexual behavior and exposure to sex-related environmental cues.

Dopamine and glucose, obesity and Reward Deficiency Syndrome

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Kenneth eBlum

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Obesity and many well described eating disorders are accurately considered a global epidemic. The consequences of Reward Deficiency Syndrome, a genetic and epigenetic phenomena that involves the interactions of powerful neurotransmitters, are impairments of brain reward circuitry, hypodopaminergic function and abnormal craving behavior. Numerous sound neurochemical and genetic studies provide strong evidence that food addiction is similar to psychoactive drug addiction. Important facts which could translate to potential therapeutic targets espoused in this review include: 1 brain dopamine (DA production and use is stimulated by consumption of alcohol in large quantities or carbohydrates bingeing; 2 in the mesolimbic system the enkephalinergic neurons are in close proximity, to glucose receptors; 3 highly concentrated glucose activates the calcium channel to stimulate dopamine release from P12 cells; 4 blood glucose and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of homovanillic acid, the dopamine metabolite, are significantly correlated and 5 2-deoxyglucose the glucose analogue, in pharmacological doses associates with enhanced dopamine turnover and causes acute glucoprivation. Evidence from animal studies and human fMRI support the hypothesis that multiple, but similar brain circuits are disrupted in obesity and drug dependence and DA-modulated reward circuits are involved in pathologic eating behaviors. Treatment for addiction to glucose and drugs alike, based on a consensus of neuroscience research, should incorporate dopamine agonist therapy, in contrast to current theories and practices that use dopamine antagonists. Until now, powerful dopamine-D2 agonists have failed clinically, due to chronic down regulation of D2 receptors instead, consideration of novel less powerful D2 agonists that up-regulate D2 receptors seems prudent. We encourage new strategies targeted at improving DA function in the treatment and prevention of obesity a subtype of

Diet-induced obesity causes ghrelin resistance in reward processing tasks.

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Lockie, Sarah H; Dinan, Tara; Lawrence, Andrew J; Spencer, Sarah J; Andrews, Zane B

2015-12-01

Diet-induced obesity (DIO) causes ghrelin resistance in hypothalamic Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons. However, ghrelin promotes feeding through actions at both the hypothalamus and mesolimbic dopamine reward pathways. Therefore, we hypothesized that DIO would also establish ghrelin resistance in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a major site of dopaminergic cell bodies important in reward processing. We observed reduced sucrose and saccharin consumption in Ghrelin KO vs Ghrelin WT mice. Moreover, DIO reduced saccharin consumption relative to chow-fed controls. These data suggest that the deletion of ghrelin and high fat diet both cause anhedonia. To assess if these are causally related, we tested whether DIO caused ghrelin resistance in a classic model of drug reward, conditioned place preference (CPP). Chow or high fat diet (HFD) mice were conditioned with ghrelin (1mg/kg in 10ml/kg ip) in the presence or absence of food in the conditioning chamber. We observed a CPP to ghrelin in chow-fed mice but not in HFD-fed mice. HFD-fed mice still showed a CPP for cocaine (20mg/kg), indicating that they maintained the ability to develop conditioned behaviour. The absence of food availability during ghrelin conditioning sessions induced a conditioned place aversion, an effect that was still present in both chow and HFD mice. Bilateral intra-VTA ghrelin injection (0.33μg/μl in 0.5μl) robustly increased feeding in both chow-fed and high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice; however, this was correlated with body weight only in the chow-fed mice. Our results suggest that DIO causes ghrelin resistance albeit not directly in the VTA. We suggest there is impaired ghrelin sensitivity in upstream pathways regulating reward pathways, highlighting a functional role for ghrelin linking appropriate metabolic sensing with reward processing. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Role of ghrelin in drug abuse and reward-relevant behaviors: a burgeoning field and gaps in the literature.

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Revitsky, A R; Klein, L C

2013-09-01

Ghrelin is a gut-brain hormone that regulates energy balance through food consumption. While ghrelin is well known for its role in hypothalamic activation and homeostatic feeding, more recent evidence suggests that ghrelin also is involved in hedonic feeding through the dopaminergic reward pathway. This paper investigated how ghrelin administration (intraperitoneal, intracerebroventricular, or directly into dopaminergic reward-relevant brain regions) activates the dopaminergic reward pathway and associated reward-relevant behavioral responses in rodents. A total of 19 empirical publications that examined one or more of these variables were included in this review. Overall, ghrelin administration increases dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, as well as reward-relevant behaviors such as food (both standard chow and palatable foods) and alcohol consumption. Ghrelin administration also increases operant responding for sucrose, and conditioned place preference. Following a review of the small body of literature examining the effects of ghrelin administration on the dopamine reward pathway, we present a model of the relationship between ghrelin and dopaminergic reward activation. Specifically, ghrelin acts on ghrelin receptors (GHS-R1A) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and lateral dorsal tegmental nucleus (LDTg) to stimulate the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway, which results in increased rewarding behaviors in rodents. Results from this review suggest that selective antagonism of the ghrelin system may serve as potential treatment for addictive drug use. This review highlights gaps in the literature, including a lack of examination of sex- or age-related differences in the effects of ghrelin on dopamine reward processes. In light of vulnerability to drug abuse among female and adolescent populations, future studies should target these individual difference factors.

Selectivity in Postencoding Connectivity with High-Level Visual Cortex Is Associated with Reward-Motivated Memory.

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Murty, Vishnu P; Tompary, Alexa; Adcock, R Alison; Davachi, Lila

2017-01-18

anterior hippocampus and the VTA with high-level visual cortex selectively predicts memory for high-reward memoranda at a 24 h delay. These findings provide evidence for a novel mechanism guiding the consolidation of memories for valuable events, namely, postencoding interactions between neural systems supporting mesolimbic dopamine activation, episodic memory, and perception. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/370537-09$15.00/0.

Reward-based behaviors and emotional processing in human with narcolepsy-cataplexy

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Sophie eBayard

2013-05-01

Full Text Available ajor advances in the past decade have led a better understanding of the pathophysiology of narcolepsy with cataplexy caused by the early loss of hypothalamic hypocretin neurons. Although a role for hypocretin in the regulation of sleep/wakefulness state is widely recognized, other functions, not necessarily related to arousal, have been identified. Hence, the hypocretin system enhances signaling in the mesolimbic pathways regulating reward processing, emotion and mood regulation, and addiction. Although studies on hypocretin-deficient mice have shown that hypocretin plays an essential role in reward-seeking, depression-like behavior and addiction, results in human narcolepsy remained subject to debate. Most of studies revealed that hypocretin-deficient narcolepsy patients either drug-free or medicated with psychostimulant had preferences towards risky choices in a decision-making task under ambiguity together with higher frequency of depressive symptoms and binge eating disorder compared to controls. However, human studies mostly reported the lack of association with pathological impulsivity and gambling, and substance and alcohol abuse in the context of narcolepsy-cataplexy. Prospective larger studies are required to confirm these findings in drug-free and medicated patients with narcolepsy. Inclusion of patients with other central hypersomnias without hypocretin deficiency will provide answer to the major question of the role of the hypocretin system in reward-based behaviors and emotional processing in humans.

Pharmacological Modulation of 5-HT2C Receptor Activity Produces Bidirectional Changes in Locomotor Activity, Responding for a Conditioned Reinforcer, and Mesolimbic DA Release in C57BL/6 Mice.

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Browne, Caleb J; Ji, Xiaodong; Higgins, Guy A; Fletcher, Paul J; Harvey-Lewis, Colin

2017-10-01

Converging lines of behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical evidence suggest that 5-HT 2C receptor signaling may bidirectionally influence reward-related behavior through an interaction with the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. Here we directly test this hypothesis by examining how modulating 5-HT 2C receptor activity affects DA-dependent behaviors and relate these effects to changes in nucleus accumbens (NAc) DA release. In C57BL/6 mice, locomotor activity and responding for a conditioned reinforcer (CRf), a measure of incentive motivation, were examined following treatment with three 5-HT 2C receptor ligands: the agonist CP809101 (0.25-3 mg/kg), the antagonist SB242084 (0.25-1 mg/kg), or the antagonist/inverse agonist SB206553 (1-5 mg/kg). We further tested whether doses of these compounds that changed locomotor activity and responding for a CRf (1 mg/kg CP809101, 0.5 mg/kg SB242084, or 2.5 mg/kg SB206553) also altered NAc DA release using in vivo microdialysis in anesthetized mice. CP809101 reduced locomotor activity, responding for a CRf, and NAc DA release. In contrast, both SB242084 and SB206553 enhanced locomotor activity, responding for a CRf, and NAc DA release, although higher doses of SB206553 produced opposite behavioral effects. Pretreatment with the non-selective DA receptor antagonist α-flupenthixol prevented SB242084 from enhancing responding for a CRf. Thus blocking tonic 5-HT 2C receptor signaling can release serotonergic inhibition of mesolimbic DA activity and enhance reward-related behavior. The observed bidirectional effects of 5-HT 2C receptor ligands may have important implications when considering the 5-HT 2C receptor as a therapeutic target for psychiatric disorders, particularly those presenting with motivational dysfunctions.

Glutamate Receptors within the Mesolimbic Dopamine System Mediate Alcohol Relapse Behavior.

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Eisenhardt, Manuela; Leixner, Sarah; Luján, Rafael; Spanagel, Rainer; Bilbao, Ainhoa

2015-11-25

Glutamatergic input within the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway plays a critical role in the development of addictive behavior. Although this is well established for some drugs of abuse, it is not known whether glutamate receptors within the mesolimbic system are involved in mediating the addictive properties of chronic alcohol use. Here we evaluated the contribution of mesolimbic NMDARs and AMPARs in mediating alcohol-seeking responses induced by environmental stimuli and relapse behavior using four inducible mutant mouse lines lacking the glutamate receptor genes Grin1 or Gria1 in either DA transporter (DAT) or D1R-expressing neurons. We first demonstrate the lack of GluN1 or GluA1 in either DAT- or D1R-expressing neurons in our mutant mouse lines by colocalization studies. We then show that GluN1 and GluA1 receptor subunits within these neuronal subpopulations mediate the alcohol deprivation effect, while having no impact on context- plus cue-induced reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behavior. We further validated these results pharmacologically by demonstrating similar reductions in the alcohol deprivation effect after infusion of the NMDAR antagonist memantine into the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area of control mice, and a rescue of the mutant phenotype via pharmacological potentiation of AMPAR activity using aniracetam. In conclusion, dopamine neurons as well as D1R-expressing medium spiny neurons and their glutamatergic inputs via NMDARs and AMPARs act in concert to influence relapse responses. These results provide a neuroanatomical and molecular substrate for relapse behavior and emphasize the importance of glutamatergic drugs in modulating relapse behavior. Here we provide genetic and pharmacological evidence that glutamate receptors within the mesolimbic dopamine system play an essential role in alcohol relapse. Using various inducible and site-specific transgenic mouse models and pharmacological validation experiments, we show that critical

Mesolimbic dopamine function is not altered during continuous chronic treatment of rats with typical or atypical neuroleptic drugs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rupniak, N M.J.; Hall, M D; Kelly, E; Fleminger, S; Kilpatrick, G; Jenner, P; Marsden, C D

1985-01-01

Rats were treated continuously for up to 20 months with either haloperidol (1.4-1.6 mg/kg/day), sulpiride (102-109 mg/kg/day) or clozapine (24-27 mg/kg/day). Bsub(max) for specific mesolimbic binding of TH-spiperone, TH-N, n-propylnorapomorphine or TH-piflutixol did not differ in tissue taken from animals treated for up to 12 months with haloperidol, sulpiride or clozapine by comparison to age-matched control rats. Mesolimbic dopamine (50 M)-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was not altered in any drug treatment group. Spontaneous locomotor activity was transiently decreased during treatment with haloperidol for 1 or 3 months, but not by chronic sulpiride or clozapine treatment. Locomotor activity was not consistently increased in any drug treatment group. After 20 months of continuous drug treatment, focal bilateral application of dopamine (12.5 or 25 g) into the nucleus accumbens caused equivalent increases in locomotor activity in control rats and in animals receiving haloperidol, sulpiride of clozapine. These findings suggest that dopamine receptor blockade is not maintained in the mesolimbic area following chronic treatment with haloperidol, sulpiride or clozapine, and indicate that, under these conditions, clozapine and sulpiride may not act selectively on mesolimbic dopamine receptors. (Author).

Mesolimbic dopamine function is not altered during continuous chronic treatment of rats with typical or atypical neuroleptic drugs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rupniak, N.M.J.; Hall, M.D.; Kelly, E.; Fleminger, S.; Kilpatrick, G.; Jenner, P.; Marsden, C.D.

1985-01-01

Rats were treated continuously for up to 20 months with either haloperidol (1.4-1.6 mg/kg/day), sulpiride (102-109 mg/kg/day) or clozapine (24-27 mg/kg/day). Bsub(max) for specific mesolimbic binding of 3 H-spiperone, 3 H-N, n-propylnorapomorphine or 3 H-piflutixol did not differ in tissue taken from animals treated for up to 12 months with haloperidol, sulpiride or clozapine by comparison to age-matched control rats. Mesolimbic dopamine (50 μM)-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was not altered in any drug treatment group. Spontaneous locomotor activity was transiently decreased during treatment with haloperidol for 1 or 3 months, but not by chronic sulpiride or clozapine treatment. Locomotor activity was not consistently increased in any drug treatment group. After 20 months of continuous drug treatment, focal bilateral application of dopamine (12.5 or 25 μg) into the nucleus accumbens caused equivalent increases in locomotor activity in control rats and in animals receiving haloperidol, sulpiride of clozapine. These findings suggest that dopamine receptor blockade is not maintained in the mesolimbic area following chronic treatment with haloperidol, sulpiride or clozapine, and indicate that, under these conditions, clozapine and sulpiride may not act selectively on mesolimbic dopamine receptors. (Author)

Changes in functioning of mesolimbic incentive processing circuits during the premenstrual phase

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ossewaarde, Lindsey; van Wingen, Guido A.; Kooijman, Sabine C.; Bäckström, Torbjörn; Fernández, Guillén; Hermans, Erno J.

2011-01-01

The premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle is associated with marked changes in normal and abnormal motivated behaviors. Animal studies suggest that such effects may result from actions of gonadal hormones on the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. We therefore investigated premenstrual changes in

Culture shapes a mesolimbic response to signals of dominance and subordination that associates with behavior.

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Freeman, Jonathan B; Rule, Nicholas O; Adams, Reginald B; Ambady, Nalini

2009-08-01

It has long been understood that culture shapes individuals' behavior, but how this is accomplished in the human brain has remained largely unknown. To examine this, we made use of a well-established cross-cultural difference in behavior: American culture tends to reinforce dominant behavior whereas, conversely, Japanese culture tends to reinforce subordinate behavior. In 17 Americans and 17 Japanese individuals, we assessed behavioral tendencies towards dominance versus subordination and measured neural responses using fMRI during the passive viewing of stimuli related to dominance and subordination. In Americans, dominant stimuli selectively engaged the caudate nucleus, bilaterally, and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), whereas these were selectively engaged by subordinate stimuli in Japanese. Correspondingly, Americans self-reported a tendency towards more dominant behavior whereas Japanese self-reported a tendency towards more subordinate behavior. Moreover, activity in the right caudate and mPFC correlated with behavioral tendencies towards dominance versus subordination, such that stronger responses in the caudate and mPFC to dominant stimuli were associated with more dominant behavior and stronger responses in the caudate and mPFC to subordinate stimuli were associated with more subordinate behavior. The findings provide a first demonstration that culture can flexibly shape functional activity in the mesolimbic reward system, which in turn may guide behavior.

Reward-related genes and personality traits in alcohol-dependent individuals: a pilot case control study.

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Landgren, Sara; Berglund, Kristina; Jerlhag, Elisabet; Fahlke, Claudia; Balldin, Jan; Berggren, Ulf; Zetterberg, Henrik; Blennow, Kaj; Engel, Jörgen A

2011-01-01

Components of the brain reward system, i.e. the mesolimbic dopamine, laterodorsal cholinergic and ghrelin signaling systems, have been implicated in alcohol reward in preclinical studies. Genetic variants of these systems have previously been linked to alcohol dependence. Here, we genotyped 31 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): 1 SNP in the dopamine D₂ receptor (DRD2) gene, 20 SNPs in 5 different nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit (CHRN*) genes, and 10 SNPs in the genes encoding pro-ghrelin (GHRL) and its receptor (GHSR), in a pilot study of type 1 alcoholics (n = 84) and healthy controls (n = 32). These individuals were characterized using the Temperament and Character Inventory. None of the SNPs were associated with risk of alcohol dependence in this population. The GG genotype of SNP rs13261190 in the CHRNB3 was associated with increased novelty seeking, while SNPs of the ghrelin signaling system were associated with decreased self-directedness (AA of rs495225, GHSR) and alterations in self-transcendence (AA of both rs42451 and rs35680, GHRL). In conclusion, this pilot study suggests that reward-related genes are associated with altered personality scores in type 1 alcohol dependence, which warrants future studies of these associations in larger study samples. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Internet sex addiction treated with naltrexone.

Science.gov (United States)

Bostwick, J Michael; Bucci, Jeffrey A

2008-02-01

Malfunctioning of the brain's reward center is increasingly understood to underlie all addictive behavior. Composed of mesolimbic incentive salience circuitry, the reward center governs all behavior in which motivation has a central role, including acquiring food, nurturing young, and having sex. To the detriment of normal functioning, basic survival activities can pale in importance when challenged by the allure of addictive substances or behaviors. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter driving both normal and addictive behavior. Other neurotransmitters modulate the amount of dopamine released in response to a stimulus, with the salience determined by the intensity of the dopamine pulse. Opiates (either endogenous or exogenous) exemplify such modulators. Prescribed for treating alcoholism, naltrexone blocks opiates' capacity to augment dopamine release. This article reviews naltrexone's mechanism of action in the reward center and describes a novel use for naltrexone in suppressing a euphorically compulsive and interpersonally devastating addiction to Internet pornography.

Amphetamine-induced sensitization and reward uncertainty similarly enhance incentive salience for conditioned cues

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Mike J.F.; Anselme, Patrick; Suchomel, Kristen; Berridge, Kent C.

2015-01-01

Amphetamine and stress can sensitize mesolimbic dopamine-related systems. In Pavlovian autoshaping, repeated exposure to uncertainty of reward prediction can enhance motivated sign-tracking or attraction to a discrete reward-predicting cue (lever CS+), as well as produce cross-sensitization to amphetamine. However, it remains unknown how amphetamine-sensitization or repeated restraint stress interact with uncertainty in controlling CS+ incentive salience attribution reflected in sign-tracking. Here rats were tested in three successive phases. First, different groups underwent either induction of amphetamine sensitization or repeated restraint stress, or else were not sensitized or stressed as control groups (either saline injections only, or no stress or injection at all). All next received Pavlovian autoshaping training under either certainty conditions (100% CS-UCS association) or uncertainty conditions (50% CS-UCS association and uncertain reward magnitude). During training, rats were assessed for sign-tracking to the lever CS+ versus goal-tracking to the sucrose dish. Finally, all groups were tested for psychomotor sensitization of locomotion revealed by an amphetamine challenge. Our results confirm that reward uncertainty enhanced sign-tracking attraction toward the predictive CS+ lever, at the expense of goal-tracking. We also report that amphetamine sensitization promoted sign-tracking even in rats trained under CS-UCS certainty conditions, raising them to sign-tracking levels equivalent to the uncertainty group. Combining amphetamine sensitization and uncertainty conditions together did not add together to elevate sign-tracking further above the relatively high levels induced by either manipulation alone. In contrast, repeated restraint stress enhanced subsequent amphetamine-elicited locomotion, but did not enhance CS+ attraction. PMID:26076340

Who, what, where, when (and maybe even why)? How the experience of sexual reward connects sexual desire, preference, and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfaus, James G; Kippin, Tod E; Coria-Avila, Genaro A; Gelez, Hélène; Afonso, Veronica M; Ismail, Nafissa; Parada, Mayte

2012-02-01

Although sexual behavior is controlled by hormonal and neurochemical actions in the brain, sexual experience induces a degree of plasticity that allows animals to form instrumental and Pavlovian associations that predict sexual outcomes, thereby directing the strength of sexual responding. This review describes how experience with sexual reward strengthens the development of sexual behavior and induces sexually-conditioned place and partner preferences in rats. In both male and female rats, early sexual experience with partners scented with a neutral or even noxious odor induces a preference for scented partners in subsequent choice tests. Those preferences can also be induced by injections of morphine or oxytocin paired with a male rat's first exposure to scented females, indicating that pharmacological activation of opioid or oxytocin receptors can "stand in" for the sexual reward-related neurochemical processes normally activated by sexual stimulation. Conversely, conditioned place or partner preferences can be blocked by the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone. A somatosensory cue (a rodent jacket) paired with sexual reward comes to elicit sexual arousal in male rats, such that paired rats with the jacket off show dramatic copulatory deficits. We propose that endogenous opioid activation forms the basis of sexual reward, which also sensitizes hypothalamic and mesolimbic dopamine systems in the presence of cues that predict sexual reward. Those systems act to focus attention on, and activate goal-directed behavior toward, reward-related stimuli. Thus, a critical period exists during an individual's early sexual experience that creates a "love map" or Gestalt of features, movements, feelings, and interpersonal interactions associated with sexual reward.

Impact of early life adversity on reward processing in young adults: EEG-fMRI results from a prospective study over 25 years.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Boecker

Full Text Available Several lines of evidence have implicated the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway in altered brain function resulting from exposure to early adversity. The present study examined the impact of early life adversity on different stages of neuronal reward processing later in life and their association with a related behavioral phenotype, i.e. attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD. 162 healthy young adults (mean age = 24.4 years; 58% female from an epidemiological cohort study followed since birth participated in a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study using a monetary incentive delay task. Early life adversity according to an early family adversity index (EFA and lifetime ADHD symptoms were assessed using standardized parent interviews conducted at the offspring's age of 3 months and between 2 and 15 years, respectively. fMRI region-of-interest analysis revealed a significant effect of EFA during reward anticipation in reward-related areas (i.e. ventral striatum, putamen, thalamus, indicating decreased activation when EFA increased. EEG analysis demonstrated a similar effect for the contingent negative variation (CNV, with the CNV decreasing with the level of EFA. In contrast, during reward delivery, activation of the bilateral insula, right pallidum and bilateral putamen increased with EFA. There was a significant association of lifetime ADHD symptoms with lower activation in the left ventral striatum during reward anticipation and higher activation in the right insula during reward delivery. The present findings indicate a differential long-term impact of early life adversity on reward processing, implicating hyporesponsiveness during reward anticipation and hyperresponsiveness when receiving a reward. Moreover, a similar activation pattern related to lifetime ADHD suggests that the impact of early life stress on ADHD may possibly be mediated by a dysfunctional reward pathway.

Amphetamine-induced sensitization and reward uncertainty similarly enhance incentive salience for conditioned cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Mike J F; Anselme, Patrick; Suchomel, Kristen; Berridge, Kent C

2015-08-01

Amphetamine and stress can sensitize mesolimbic dopamine-related systems. In Pavlovian autoshaping, repeated exposure to uncertainty of reward prediction can enhance motivated sign-tracking or attraction to a discrete reward-predicting cue (lever-conditioned stimulus; CS+), as well as produce cross-sensitization to amphetamine. However, it remains unknown how amphetamine sensitization or repeated restraint stress interact with uncertainty in controlling CS+ incentive salience attribution reflected in sign-tracking. Here rats were tested in 3 successive phases. First, different groups underwent either induction of amphetamine sensitization or repeated restraint stress, or else were not sensitized or stressed as control groups (either saline injections only, or no stress or injection at all). All next received Pavlovian autoshaping training under either certainty conditions (100% CS-UCS association) or uncertainty conditions (50% CS-UCS association and uncertain reward magnitude). During training, rats were assessed for sign-tracking to the CS+ lever versus goal-tracking to the sucrose dish. Finally, all groups were tested for psychomotor sensitization of locomotion revealed by an amphetamine challenge. Our results confirm that reward uncertainty enhanced sign-tracking attraction toward the predictive CS+ lever, at the expense of goal-tracking. We also reported that amphetamine sensitization promoted sign-tracking even in rats trained under CS-UCS certainty conditions, raising them to sign-tracking levels equivalent to the uncertainty group. Combining amphetamine sensitization and uncertainty conditions did not add together to elevate sign-tracking further above the relatively high levels induced by either manipulation alone. In contrast, repeated restraint stress enhanced subsequent amphetamine-elicited locomotion, but did not enhance CS+ attraction. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Hypothalamic interaction with the mesolimbic DA system in the control of the maternal and sexual behaviors in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolzenberg, Danielle S; Numan, Michael

2011-01-01

The medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the hypothalamus regulates maternal behavior, male sexual behavior, and female sexual behavior. Functional neuroanatomical evidence indicates that the appetitive aspects of maternal behavior are regulated through MPOA interactions with the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system; a major focus of this review is to explore whether or not the MPOA participates in the appetitive aspects of sexual behavior via its interaction with the mesolimbic DA system. A second focus of this review is to examine the extent to which estradiol interactions with DA within this circuit regulate all three reproductive behaviors. One mechanism through which estradiol activates male sexual behavior is through the potentiation of DA activity in the MPOA. In the hypothalamus, estradiol has also been found to act in concert with DA, through the activation of similar intracellular signaling pathways, in order to stimulate female sexual behavior. Finally, recent evidence suggests that some effects of estradiol are mediated by direct action of estradiol on the mesolimbic DA system. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of reward signalling and appetite regulating peptide systems in the control of food-cue responses.

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Reichelt, A C; Westbrook, R F; Morris, M J

2015-11-01

Understanding the neurobiological substrates that encode learning about food-associated cues and how those signals are modulated is of great clinical importance especially in light of the worldwide obesity problem. Inappropriate or maladaptive responses to food-associated cues can promote over-consumption, leading to excessive energy intake and weight gain. Chronic exposure to foods rich in fat and sugar alters the reinforcing value of foods and weakens inhibitory neural control, triggering learned, but maladaptive, associations between environmental cues and food rewards. Thus, responses to food-associated cues can promote cravings and food-seeking by activating mesocorticolimbic dopamine neurocircuitry, and exert physiological effects including salivation. These responses may be analogous to the cravings experienced by abstaining drug addicts that can trigger relapse into drug self-administration. Preventing cue-triggered eating may therefore reduce the over-consumption seen in obesity and binge-eating disorder. In this review we discuss recent research examining how cues associated with palatable foods can promote reward-based feeding behaviours and the potential involvement of appetite-regulating peptides including leptin, ghrelin, orexin and melanin concentrating hormone. These peptide signals interface with mesolimbic dopaminergic regions including the ventral tegmental area to modulate reactivity to cues associated with palatable foods. Thus, a novel target for anti-obesity therapeutics is to reduce non-homeostatic, reward driven eating behaviour, which can be triggered by environmental cues associated with highly palatable, fat and sugar rich foods. © 2015 The British Pharmacological Society.

Taking two to tango: a role for ghrelin receptor heterodimerization in stress and reward.

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Schellekens, Harriët; Dinan, Timothy G; Cryan, John F

2013-08-30

The gut hormone, ghrelin, is the only known peripherally derived orexigenic signal. It activates its centrally expressed receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a), to stimulate food intake. The ghrelin signaling system has recently been suggested to play a key role at the interface of homeostatic control of appetite and the hedonic aspects of food intake, as a critical role for ghrelin in dopaminergic mesolimbic circuits involved in reward signaling has emerged. Moreover, enhanced plasma ghrelin levels are associated with conditions of physiological stress, which may underline the drive to eat calorie-dense "comfort-foods" and signifies a role for ghrelin in stress-induced food reward behaviors. These complex and diverse functionalities of the ghrelinergic system are not yet fully elucidated and likely involve crosstalk with additional signaling systems. Interestingly, accumulating data over the last few years has shown the GHS-R1a receptor to dimerize with several additional G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) involved in appetite signaling and reward, including the GHS-R1b receptor, the melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3), dopamine receptors (D1 and D2), and more recently, the serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2C). GHS-R1a dimerization was shown to affect downstream signaling and receptor trafficking suggesting a potential novel mechanism for fine-tuning GHS-R1a receptor mediated activity. This review summarizes ghrelin's role in food reward and stress and outlines the GHS-R1a dimer pairs identified to date. In addition, the downstream signaling and potential functional consequences of dimerization of the GHS-R1a receptor in appetite and stress-induced food reward behavior are discussed. The existence of multiple GHS-R1a heterodimers has important consequences for future pharmacotherapies as it significantly increases the pharmacological diversity of the GHS-R1a receptor and has the potential to enhance specificity of novel ghrelin-targeted drugs.

Taking Two to Tango: A Role for Ghrelin Receptor Heterodimerization in Stress and Reward

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Harriet eSchellekens

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The gut hormone, ghrelin, is the only known peripherally derived orexigenic signal. It activates its centrally expressed receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a, to stimulate food intake. The ghrelin signalling system has recently been suggested to play a key role at the interface of homeostatic control of appetite and the hedonic aspects of food intake, as a critical role for ghrelin in dopaminergic mesolimbic circuits involved in reward signalling has emerged. Moreover, enhanced plasma ghrelin levels are associated with conditions of physiological stress, which may underline the drive to eat calorie-dense ‘comfort-foods’ and signifies a role for ghrelin in stress-induced food reward behaviours. These complex and diverse functionalities of the ghrelinergic system are not yet fully elucidated and likely involve crosstalk with additional signalling systems. Interestingly, accumulating data over the last few years has shown the GHS-R1a receptor to dimerize with several additional G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs involved in appetite signalling and reward, including the GHS-R1b receptor, the melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3, dopamine receptors (D1 and D2, and more recently, the serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2C. GHS-R1a dimerization was shown to affect downstream signalling and receptor trafficking suggesting a potential novel mechanism for fine-tuning GHS-R1a receptor mediated activity. This review summarizes ghrelin’s role in food reward and stress and outlines the GHS-R1a dimer pairs identified to date. In addition, the downstream signalling and potential functional consequences of dimerization of the GHS-R1a receptor in appetite and stress-induced food reward behaviour are discussed. The existence of multiple GHS-R1a heterodimers has important consequences for future pharmacotherapies as it significantly increases the pharmacological diversity of the GHS-R1a receptor and has the potential to enhance specificity of novel

Reward deficiency syndrome: a biogenetic model for the diagnosis and treatment of impulsive, addictive, and compulsive behaviors.

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Blum, K; Braverman, E R; Holder, J M; Lubar, J F; Monastra, V J; Miller, D; Lubar, J O; Chen, T J; Comings, D E

2000-11-01

The dopaminergic system, and in particular the dopamine D2 receptor, has been implicated in reward mechanisms. The net effect of neurotransmitter interaction at the mesolimbic brain region induces "reward" when dopamine (DA) is released from the neuron at the nucleus accumbens and interacts with a dopamine D2 receptor. "The reward cascade" involves the release of serotonin, which in turn at the hypothalmus stimulates enkephalin, which in turn inhibits GABA at the substania nigra, which in turn fine tunes the amount of DA released at the nucleus accumbens or "reward site." It is well known that under normal conditions in the reward site DA works to maintain our normal drives. In fact, DA has become to be known as the "pleasure molecule" and/or the "antistress molecule." When DA is released into the synapse, it stimulates a number a DA receptors (D1-D5) which results in increased feelings of well-being and stress reduction. A consensus of the literature suggests that when there is a dysfunction in the brain reward cascade, which could be caused by certain genetic variants (polygenic), especially in the DA system causing a hypodopaminergic trait, the brain of that person requires a DA fix to feel good. This trait leads to multiple drug-seeking behavior. This is so because alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, nicotine, and glucose all cause activation and neuronal release of brain DA, which could heal the abnormal cravings. Certainly after ten years of study we could say with confidence that carriers of the DAD2 receptor A1 allele have compromised D2 receptors. Therefore lack of D2 receptors causes individuals to have a high risk for multiple addictive, impulsive and compulsive behavioral propensities, such as severe alcoholism, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and nicotine use, glucose bingeing, pathological gambling, sex addiction, ADHD, Tourette's Syndrome, autism, chronic violence, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizoid/avoidant cluster, conduct disorder and antisocial

Oxytocin receptors are expressed on dopamine and glutamate neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area that project to nucleus accumbens and other mesolimbic targets.

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Peris, Joanna; MacFadyen, Kaley; Smith, Justin A; de Kloet, Annette D; Wang, Lei; Krause, Eric G

2017-04-01

The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) circuitry determines which behaviors are positively reinforcing and therefore should be encoded in the memory to become a part of the behavioral repertoire. Natural reinforcers, like food and sex, activate this pathway, thereby increasing the likelihood of further consummatory, social, and sexual behaviors. Oxytocin (OT) has been implicated in mediating natural reward and OT-synthesizing neurons project to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc); however, direct neuroanatomical evidence of OT regulation of DA neurons within the VTA is sparse. To phenotype OT-receptor (OTR) expressing neurons originating within the VTA, we delivered Cre-inducible adeno-associated virus that drives the expression of fluorescent marker into the VTA of male mice that had Cre-recombinase driven by OTR gene expression. OTR-expressing VTA neurons project to NAc, prefrontal cortex, the extended amygdala, and other forebrain regions but less than 10% of these OTR-expressing neurons were identified as DA neurons (defined by tyrosine hydroxylase colocalization). Instead, almost 50% of OTR-expressing cells in the VTA were glutamate (GLU) neurons, as indicated by expression of mRNA for the vesicular GLU transporter (vGluT). About one-third of OTR-expressing VTA neurons did not colocalize with either DA or GLU phenotypic markers. Thus, OTR expression by VTA neurons implicates that OT regulation of reward circuitry is more complex than a direct action on DA neurotransmission. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:1094-1108, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson's Disease are Associated with Alterations in Reward-Related Cortical Oscillations.

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Carriere, Nicolas; Bourriez, Jean-Louis; Delval, Arnaud; Derambure, Philippe; Defebvre, Luc; Dujardin, Kathy

2016-06-28

Impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) are related to treatment with dopamine agonists, which is thought to deregulate the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway and impair reward evaluation. EEG studies in healthy controls (HCs) have suggested that the increase in theta power observed after negative outcome is a marker of reward processing. To compare outcome-locked, event-related spectral perturbation in a gambling task in PD patients with and without ICDs and in HCs. Twelve PD patients with ICDs, 12 PD patients without ICDs and 14 HCs underwent EEG while performing a gambling task. The groups were compared in terms of (i) the peak EEG power in the theta (4-7 Hz), alpha (8-14 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) frequency bands between 200 and 500 ms after the outcome, and (ii) time-frequency plots at Fz, FCz and Cz. Positive outcomes were associated with greater theta power than negative outcomes in patients without ICDs and in HCs, but not in patients with ICDs. Patients with ICDs and HCs displayed greater theta power following unexpectedly high outcomes. HCs displayed greater beta power following high amplitude than low amplitude outcomes, whereas patients with ICD showed the opposite pattern. In PD, ICDs are associated with (i) weaker modulation of frontocentral theta power by reward valence, (ii) greater frontocentral theta power following unexpected, high outcomes, and (iii) a reversal of the effect of risk on beta oscillations. These observations are consistent with an impairment in prediction error computation in the medial prefrontal cortex.

The effects of HIV-1 regulatory TAT protein expression on brain reward function, response to psychostimulants and delay-dependent memory in mice.

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Kesby, James P; Markou, Athina; Semenova, Svetlana

2016-10-01

Depression and psychostimulant abuse are common comorbidities among humans with immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. The HIV regulatory protein TAT is one of multiple HIV-related proteins associated with HIV-induced neurotoxicity. TAT-induced dysfunction of dopamine and serotonin systems in corticolimbic brain areas may result in impaired reward function, thus, contributing to depressive symptoms and psychostimulant abuse. Transgenic mice with doxycycline-induced TAT protein expression in the brain (TAT+, TAT- control) show neuropathology resembling brain abnormalities in HIV+ humans. We evaluated brain reward function in response to TAT expression, nicotine and methamphetamine administration in TAT+ and TAT- mice using the intracranial self-stimulation procedure. We evaluated the brain dopamine and serotonin systems with high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of TAT expression on delay-dependent working memory in TAT+ and TAT- mice using the operant delayed nonmatch-to-position task were also assessed. During doxycycline administration, reward thresholds were elevated by 20% in TAT+ mice compared with TAT- mice. After the termination of doxycycline treatment, thresholds of TAT+ mice remained significantly higher than those of TAT- mice and this was associated with changes in mesolimbic serotonin and dopamine levels. TAT+ mice showed a greater methamphetamine-induced threshold lowering compared with TAT- mice. TAT expression did not alter delay-dependent working memory. These results indicate that TAT expression in mice leads to reward deficits, a core symptom of depression, and a greater sensitivity to methamphetamine-induced reward enhancement. Our findings suggest that the TAT protein may contribute to increased depressive-like symptoms and continued methamphetamine use in HIV-positive individuals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Cell Activation during Male Rat Sexual Behavior Regulates Neuroplasticity and d-Amphetamine Cross-Sensitization following Sex Abstinence.

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Beloate, Lauren N; Omrani, Azar; Adan, Roger A; Webb, Ian C; Coolen, Lique M

2016-09-21

Experience with sexual behavior causes cross-sensitization of amphetamine reward, an effect dependent on a period of sexual reward abstinence. We previously showed that ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key mediator of this cross-sensitization, potentially via dopamine receptor activation. However, the role of mesolimbic dopamine for sexual behavior or cross-sensitization between natural and drug reward is unknown. This was tested using inhibitory designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs in ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine cells. rAAV5/hSvn-DIO-hm4D-mCherry was injected into the VTA of TH::Cre adult male rats. Males received clozapine N-oxide (CNO) or vehicle injections before each of 5 consecutive days of mating or handling. Following an abstinence period of 7 d, males were tested for amphetamine conditioned place preference (CPP). Next, males were injected with CNO or vehicle before mating or handling for analysis of mating-induced cFos, sex experience-induced ΔFosB, and reduction of VTA dopamine soma size. Results showed that CNO did not affect mating behavior. Instead, CNO prevented sexual experience-induced cross-sensitization of amphetamine CPP, ΔFosB in the NAc and medial prefrontal cortex, and decreases in VTA dopamine soma size. Expression of hm4D-mCherry was specific to VTA dopamine cells and CNO blocked excitation and mating-induced cFos expression in VTA dopamine cells. These findings provide direct evidence that VTA dopamine activation is not required for initiation or performance of sexual behavior. Instead, VTA dopamine directly contributes to increased vulnerability for drug use following loss of natural reward by causing neuroplasticity in the mesolimbic pathway during the natural reward experience. Drugs of abuse act on the neural pathways that mediate natural reward learning and memory. Exposure to natural reward behaviors can alter subsequent drug-related reward. Specifically, experience with sexual behavior

The neuroscience of positive memory deficits in depression

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Dillon, Daniel G.

2015-01-01

Adults with unipolar depression typically show poor episodic memory for positive material, but the neuroscientific mechanisms responsible for this deficit have not been characterized. I suggest a simple hypothesis: weak memory for positive material in depression reflects disrupted communication between the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory systems during encoding. This proposal draws on basic research showing that dopamine release in the hippocampus is critical for the transition from early- to late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP) that marks the conversion of labile, short-term memories into stable, long-term memories. Neuroimaging and pharmacological data from healthy humans paint a similar picture: activation of the mesolimbic reward circuit enhances encoding and boosts retention. Unipolar depression is characterized by anhedonia–loss of pleasure–and reward circuit dysfunction, which is believed to reflect negative effects of stress on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Thus, I propose that the MTL is deprived of strengthening reward signals in depressed adults and memory for positive events suffers accordingly. Although other mechanisms are important, this hypothesis holds promise as an explanation for positive memory deficits in depression. PMID:26441703

The neuroscience of positive memory deficits in depression

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Daniel Gerard Dillon

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Adults with unipolar depression typically show poor episodic memory for positive material, but the neuroscientific mechanisms responsible for this deficit have not been characterized. I suggest a simple hypothesis: weak memory for positive material in depression reflects disrupted communication between the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and medial temporal lobe (MTL memory systems during encoding. This proposal draws on basic research showing that dopamine release in the hippocampus is critical for the transition from early- to late-phase long-term potentiation (LTP that marks the conversion of labile, short-term memories into stable, long-term memories. Neuroimaging and pharmacological data from healthy humans paint a similar picture: activation of the mesolimbic reward circuit enhances encoding and boosts retention. Unipolar depression is characterized by anhedonia--loss of pleasure--and reward circuit dysfunction, which is believed to reflect negative effects of stress on the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Thus, I propose that the MTL is deprived of strengthening reward signals in depressed adults and memory for positive events suffers accordingly. Although other mechanisms are important, this hypothesis holds promise as an explanation for positive memory deficits in depression.

Reward, addiction, and emotion regulation systems associated with rejection in love.

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Fisher, Helen E; Brown, Lucy L; Aron, Arthur; Strong, Greg; Mashek, Debra

2010-07-01

Romantic rejection causes a profound sense of loss and negative affect. It can induce clinical depression and in extreme cases lead to suicide and/or homicide. To begin to identify the neural systems associated with this natural loss state, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study 10 women and 5 men who had recently been rejected by a partner but reported they were still intensely "in love." Participants alternately viewed a photograph of their rejecting beloved and a photograph of a familiar, individual, interspersed with a distraction-attention task. Their responses while looking at their rejecter included love, despair, good, and bad memories, and wondering why this happened. Activation specific to the image of the beloved occurred in areas associated with gains and losses, craving and emotion regulation and included the ventral tegmental area (VTA) bilaterally, ventral striatum, medial and lateral orbitofrontal/prefrontal cortex, and cingulate gyrus. Compared with data from happily-in-love individuals, the regional VTA activation suggests that mesolimbic reward/survival systems are involved in romantic passion regardless of whether one is happily or unhappily in love. Forebrain activations associated with motivational relevance, gain/loss, cocaine craving, addiction, and emotion regulation suggest that higher-order systems subject to experience and learning also may mediate the rejection reaction. The results show activation of reward systems, previously identified by monetary stimuli, in a natural, endogenous, negative emotion state. Activation of areas involved in cocaine addiction may help explain the obsessive behaviors associated with rejection in love.

Volatile solvents as drugs of abuse: focus on the cortico-mesolimbic circuitry.

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Beckley, Jacob T; Woodward, John J

2013-12-01

Volatile solvents such as those found in fuels, paints, and thinners are found throughout the world and are used in a variety of industrial applications. However, these compounds are also often intentionally inhaled at high concentrations to produce intoxication. While solvent use has been recognized as a potential drug problem for many years, research on the sites and mechanisms of action of these compounds lags behind that of other drugs of abuse. In this review, we first discuss the epidemiology of voluntary solvent use throughout the world and then consider what is known about their basic pharmacology and how this may explain their use as drugs of abuse. We next present data from preclinical and clinical studies indicating that these substances induce common addiction sequelae such as dependence, withdrawal, and cognitive impairments. We describe how toluene, the most commonly studied psychoactive volatile solvent, alters synaptic transmission in key brain circuits such as the mesolimbic dopamine system and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that are thought to underlie addiction pathology. Finally, we make the case that activity in mPFC circuits is a critical regulator of the mesolimbic dopamine system's ability to respond to volatile solvents like toluene. Overall, this review provides evidence that volatile solvents have high abuse liability because of their selective effects on critical nodes of the addiction neurocircuitry, and underscores the need for more research into how these compounds induce adaptations in neural circuits that underlie addiction pathology.

Intersection of reward and memory in monkey rhinal cortex.

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Clark, Andrew M; Bouret, Sebastien; Young, Adrienne M; Richmond, Barry J

2012-05-16

In humans and other animals, the vigor with which a reward is pursued depends on its desirability, that is, on the reward's predicted value. Predicted value is generally context-dependent, varying according to the value of rewards obtained in the recent and distant past. Signals related to reward prediction and valuation are believed to be encoded in a circuit centered around midbrain dopamine neurons and their targets in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. Notably absent from this hypothesized reward pathway are dopaminergic targets in the medial temporal lobe. Here we show that a key part of the medial temporal lobe memory system previously reported to be important for sensory mnemonic and perceptual processing, the rhinal cortex (Rh), is required for using memories of previous reward values to predict the value of forthcoming rewards. We tested monkeys with bilateral Rh lesions on a task in which reward size varied across blocks of uncued trials. In this experiment, the only cues for predicting current reward value are the sizes of rewards delivered in previous blocks. Unexpectedly, monkeys with Rh ablations, but not intact controls, were insensitive to differences in predicted reward, responding as if they expected all rewards to be of equal magnitude. Thus, it appears that Rh is critical for using memory of previous rewards to predict the value of forthcoming rewards. These results are in agreement with accumulating evidence that Rh is critical for establishing the relationships between temporally interleaved events, which is a key element of episodic memory.

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Drives Mesolimbic Dopaminergic Regions to Initiate Motivated Behavior

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Ballard, Ian C.; Murty, Vishnu P.; Carter, R. McKell; MacInnes, Jeffrey J.; Huettel, Scott A.; Adcock, R. Alison

2011-01-01

How does the brain translate information signaling potential rewards into motivation to get them? Motivation to obtain reward is thought to depend on the midbrain, (particularly the ventral tegmental area, VTA), the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), but it is not clear how the interactions amongst these regions relate to reward-motivated behavior. To study the influence of motivation on these reward-responsive regions and on their interactions, we used ...

Incentive-Elicited Mesolimbic Activation and Externalizing Symptomatology in Adolescents

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Bjork, James M.; Chen, Gang; Smith, Ashley R.; Hommer, Daniel W.

2010-01-01

Background: Opponent-process theories of externalizing disorders (ExD) attribute them to some combination of overactive reward processing systems and/or underactive behavior inhibition systems. Reward processing has been indexed by recruitment of incentive-motivational neurocircuitry of the ventral striatum (VS), including nucleus accumbens…

Decision Utility, Incentive Salience, and Cue-Triggered "Wanting"

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Berridge, Kent C; Aldridge, J Wayne

2009-01-01

This chapter examines brain mechanisms of reward utility operating at particular decision moments in life-moments such as when one encounters an image, sound, scent, or other cue associated in the past with a particular reward or perhaps just when one vividly imagines that cue. Such a cue can often trigger a sudden motivational urge to pursue its reward and sometimes a decision to do so. Drawing on a utility taxonomy that distinguishes among subtypes of reward utility-predicted utility, decision utility, experienced utility, and remembered utility-it is shown how cue-triggered cravings, such as an addict's surrender to relapse, can hang on special transformations by brain mesolimbic systems of one utility subtype, namely, decision utility. The chapter focuses on a particular form of decision utility called incentive salience, a type of "wanting" for rewards that is amplified by brain mesolimbic systems. Sudden peaks of intensity of incentive salience, caused by neurobiological mechanisms, can elevate the decision utility of a particular reward at the moment its cue occurs. An understanding of what happens at such moments leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms at work in decision making in general.

Model Checking Markov Reward Models with Impulse Rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cloth, Lucia; Katoen, Joost-Pieter; Khattri, Maneesh; Pulungan, Reza; Bondavalli, Andrea; Haverkort, Boudewijn; Tang, Dong

This paper considers model checking of Markov reward models (MRMs), continuous-time Markov chains with state rewards as well as impulse rewards. The reward extension of the logic CSL (Continuous Stochastic Logic) is interpreted over such MRMs, and two numerical algorithms are provided to check the

Moving beyond energy homeostasis: new roles for glucagon-like peptide-1 in food and drug reward.

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Reddy, India A; Stanwood, Gregg D; Galli, Aurelio

2014-07-01

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone and neuropeptide, is known to regulate energy homeostasis in part through an established central role in controlling food intake. Historically this central role has largely been attributed to GLP-1 receptor signaling in the brainstem and hypothalamus. However, emerging data indicate that GLP-1 also contributes to non-homeostatic regulation of food reward and motivated behaviors in brain reward centers, including the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. The hypothesis that GLP-1 signaling modulates reward circuitry has provided the impetus for studies demonstrating that GLP-1 attenuates reward for psychostimulants and alcohol. Here, we examine current evidence for GLP-1-mediated regulation of food and drug reward and use these findings to hypothesize mechanisms of action within brain reward centers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Behavioral Pharmacology of Effort-Related Choice Behavior: Dopamine, Adenosine and beyond

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Salamone, John D.; Correa, Merce; Nunes, Eric J.; Randall, Patrick A.; Pardo, Marta

2012-01-01

For many years, it has been suggested that drugs that interfere with dopamine (DA) transmission alter the "rewarding" impact of primary reinforcers such as food. Research and theory related to the functions of mesolimbic DA are undergoing a substantial conceptual restructuring, with the traditional emphasis on hedonia and primary reward yielding…

Behavioral and Neural Manifestations of Reward Memory in Carriers of Low-Expressing versus High-Expressing Genetic Variants of the Dopamine D2 Receptor

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Richter, Anni; Barman, Adriana; Wüstenberg, Torsten; Soch, Joram; Schanze, Denny; Deibele, Anna; Behnisch, Gusalija; Assmann, Anne; Klein, Marieke; Zenker, Martin; Seidenbecher, Constanze; Schott, Björn H.

2017-01-01

Dopamine is critically important in the neural manifestation of motivated behavior, and alterations in the human dopaminergic system have been implicated in the etiology of motivation-related psychiatric disorders, most prominently addiction. Patients with chronic addiction exhibit reduced dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) availability in the striatum, and the DRD2 TaqIA (rs1800497) and C957T (rs6277) genetic polymorphisms have previously been linked to individual differences in striatal dopamine metabolism and clinical risk for alcohol and nicotine dependence. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that the variants of these polymorphisms would show increased reward-related memory formation, which has previously been shown to jointly engage the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and the hippocampus, as a potential intermediate phenotype for addiction memory. To this end, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 62 young, healthy individuals genotyped for DRD2 TaqIA and C957T variants. Participants performed an incentive delay task, followed by a recognition memory task 24 h later. We observed effects of both genotypes on the overall recognition performance with carriers of low-expressing variants, namely TaqIA A1 carriers and C957T C homozygotes, showing better performance than the other genotype groups. In addition to the better memory performance, C957T C homozygotes also exhibited a response bias for cues predicting monetary reward. At the neural level, the C957T polymorphism was associated with a genotype-related modulation of right hippocampal and striatal fMRI responses predictive of subsequent recognition confidence for reward-predicting items. Our results indicate that genetic variations associated with DRD2 expression affect explicit memory, specifically for rewarded stimuli. We suggest that the relatively better memory for rewarded stimuli in carriers of low-expressing DRD2 variants may reflect an intermediate phenotype of addiction memory. PMID

Behavioral and Neural Manifestations of Reward Memory in Carriers of Low-Expressing versus High-Expressing Genetic Variants of the Dopamine D2 Receptor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anni Richter

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Dopamine is critically important in the neural manifestation of motivated behavior, and alterations in the human dopaminergic system have been implicated in the etiology of motivation-related psychiatric disorders, most prominently addiction. Patients with chronic addiction exhibit reduced dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2 availability in the striatum, and the DRD2 TaqIA (rs1800497 and C957T (rs6277 genetic polymorphisms have previously been linked to individual differences in striatal dopamine metabolism and clinical risk for alcohol and nicotine dependence. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that the variants of these polymorphisms would show increased reward-related memory formation, which has previously been shown to jointly engage the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and the hippocampus, as a potential intermediate phenotype for addiction memory. To this end, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI in 62 young, healthy individuals genotyped for DRD2 TaqIA and C957T variants. Participants performed an incentive delay task, followed by a recognition memory task 24 h later. We observed effects of both genotypes on the overall recognition performance with carriers of low-expressing variants, namely TaqIA A1 carriers and C957T C homozygotes, showing better performance than the other genotype groups. In addition to the better memory performance, C957T C homozygotes also exhibited a response bias for cues predicting monetary reward. At the neural level, the C957T polymorphism was associated with a genotype-related modulation of right hippocampal and striatal fMRI responses predictive of subsequent recognition confidence for reward-predicting items. Our results indicate that genetic variations associated with DRD2 expression affect explicit memory, specifically for rewarded stimuli. We suggest that the relatively better memory for rewarded stimuli in carriers of low-expressing DRD2 variants may reflect an intermediate phenotype of

BOLD responses in reward regions to hypothetical and imaginary monetary rewards.

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Miyapuram, Krishna P; Tobler, Philippe N; Gregorios-Pippas, Lucy; Schultz, Wolfram

2012-01-16

Monetary rewards are uniquely human. Because money is easy to quantify and present visually, it is the reward of choice for most fMRI studies, even though it cannot be handed over to participants inside the scanner. A typical fMRI study requires hundreds of trials and thus small amounts of monetary rewards per trial (e.g. 5p) if all trials are to be treated equally. However, small payoffs can have detrimental effects on performance due to their limited buying power. Hypothetical monetary rewards can overcome the limitations of smaller monetary rewards but it is less well known whether predictors of hypothetical rewards activate reward regions. In two experiments, visual stimuli were associated with hypothetical monetary rewards. In Experiment 1, we used stimuli predicting either visually presented or imagined hypothetical monetary rewards, together with non-rewarding control pictures. Activations to reward predictive stimuli occurred in reward regions, namely the medial orbitofrontal cortex and midbrain. In Experiment 2, we parametrically varied the amount of visually presented hypothetical monetary reward keeping constant the amount of actually received reward. Graded activation in midbrain was observed to stimuli predicting increasing hypothetical rewards. The results demonstrate the efficacy of using hypothetical monetary rewards in fMRI studies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changes in mu-opioid receptor expression and function in the mesolimbic system after long-term access to a palatable diet.

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Pitman, Kimberley A; Borgland, Stephanie L

2015-10-01

The incidence of obesity in both adults and children is rising. In order to develop effective treatments for obesity, it is important to understand how diet can induce changes in the brain that could promote excessive intake of high-calorie foods and alter the efficacy of therapeutic targets. The mu-opioid receptor is involved in regulating the motivation for and hedonic reaction to food. Here, we review the literature examining changes in the expression and function of mu-opioid receptors in the mesolimbic system of rodents after extended access to a high-fat diet. We also review how maternal diet can induce long-term changes in the expression or function of mu-opioid receptors in the mesolimbic system of offspring. Understanding the behavioural and therapeutic implications of these changes requires further study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reward deficiency and anti-reward in pain chronification

OpenAIRE

Borsook, D.; Linnman, C.; Faria, Vanda; Strassman, A. M.; Becerra, L.; Elman, I.

2016-01-01

Converging lines of evidence suggest that the pathophysiology of pain is mediated to a substantial degree via allostatic neuroadaptations in reward- and stress-related brain circuits. Thus, reward deficiency (RD) represents a within-system neuroadaptation to pain-induced protracted activation of the reward circuits that leads to depletion-like hypodopaminergia, clinically manifested anhedonia, and diminished motivation for natural reinforcers. Anti-reward (AR) conversely pertains to a between...

Reward positivity: Reward prediction error or salience prediction error?

Science.gov (United States)

Heydari, Sepideh; Holroyd, Clay B

2016-08-01

The reward positivity is a component of the human ERP elicited by feedback stimuli in trial-and-error learning and guessing tasks. A prominent theory holds that the reward positivity reflects a reward prediction error signal that is sensitive to outcome valence, being larger for unexpected positive events relative to unexpected negative events (Holroyd & Coles, 2002). Although the theory has found substantial empirical support, most of these studies have utilized either monetary or performance feedback to test the hypothesis. However, in apparent contradiction to the theory, a recent study found that unexpected physical punishments also elicit the reward positivity (Talmi, Atkinson, & El-Deredy, 2013). The authors of this report argued that the reward positivity reflects a salience prediction error rather than a reward prediction error. To investigate this finding further, in the present study participants navigated a virtual T maze and received feedback on each trial under two conditions. In a reward condition, the feedback indicated that they would either receive a monetary reward or not and in a punishment condition the feedback indicated that they would receive a small shock or not. We found that the feedback stimuli elicited a typical reward positivity in the reward condition and an apparently delayed reward positivity in the punishment condition. Importantly, this signal was more positive to the stimuli that predicted the omission of a possible punishment relative to stimuli that predicted a forthcoming punishment, which is inconsistent with the salience hypothesis. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Rewards.

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Gunderman, Richard B; Kamer, Aaron P

2011-05-01

For much of the 20th century, psychologists and economists operated on the assumption that work is devoid of intrinsic rewards, and the only way to get people to work harder is through the use of rewards and punishments. This so-called carrot-and-stick model of workplace motivation, when applied to medical practice, emphasizes the use of financial incentives and disincentives to manipulate behavior. More recently, however, it has become apparent that, particularly when applied to certain kinds of work, such approaches can be ineffective or even frankly counterproductive. Instead of focusing on extrinsic rewards such as compensation, organizations and their leaders need to devote more attention to the intrinsic rewards of work itself. This article reviews this new understanding of rewards and traces out its practical implications for radiology today. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The role of reward and reward uncertainty in episodic memory

OpenAIRE

Mason, Alice; Farrell, Simon; Howard-Jones, Paul; Ludwig, Casimir

2017-01-01

Declarative memory has been found to be sensitive to reward-related changes in the environment. The reward signal can be broken down into information regarding the expected value of the reward, reward uncertainty and the prediction error. Research has established that high as opposed to low reward values enhance declarative memory. Research in neuroscience suggests that high uncertainty activates the reward system, which could lead to enhanced learning and memory. Here we present the results ...

Reconsidering Food Reward, Brain Stimulation, and Dopamine: Incentives Act Forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Newquist, Gunnar; Gardner, R Allen

2015-01-01

In operant conditioning, rats pressing levers and pigeons pecking keys depend on contingent food reinforcement. Food reward agrees with Skinner's behaviorism, undergraduate textbooks, and folk psychology. However, nearly a century of experimental evidence shows, instead, that food in an operant conditioning chamber acts forward to evoke species-specific feeding behavior rather than backward to reinforce experimenter-defined responses. Furthermore, recent findings in neuroscience show consistently that intracranial stimulation to reward centers and dopamine release, the proposed reward molecule, also act forward to evoke inborn species-specific behavior. These results challenge longstanding views of hedonic learning and must be incorporated into contemporary learning theory.

A Fly's Eye View of Natural and Drug Reward.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowenstein, Eve G; Velazquez-Ulloa, Norma A

2018-01-01

Animals encounter multiple stimuli each day. Some of these stimuli are innately appetitive or aversive, while others are assigned valence based on experience. Drugs like ethanol can elicit aversion in the short term and attraction in the long term. The reward system encodes the predictive value for different stimuli, mediating anticipation for attractive or punishing stimuli and driving animal behavior to approach or avoid conditioned stimuli. The neurochemistry and neurocircuitry of the reward system is partly evolutionarily conserved. In both vertebrates and invertebrates, including Drosophila melanogaster , dopamine is at the center of a network of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators acting in concert to encode rewards. Behavioral assays in D. melanogaster have become increasingly sophisticated, allowing more direct comparison with mammalian research. Moreover, recent evidence has established the functional modularity of the reward neural circuits in Drosophila . This functional modularity resembles the organization of reward circuits in mammals. The powerful genetic and molecular tools for D. melanogaster allow characterization and manipulation at the single-cell level. These tools are being used to construct a detailed map of the neural circuits mediating specific rewarding stimuli and have allowed for the identification of multiple genes and molecular pathways that mediate the effects of reinforcing stimuli, including their rewarding effects. This report provides an overview of the research on natural and drug reward in D. melanogaster , including natural rewards such as sugar and other food nutrients, and drug rewards including ethanol, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and nicotine. We focused mainly on the known genetic and neural mechanisms underlying appetitive reward for sugar and reward for ethanol. We also include genes, molecular pathways, and neural circuits that have been identified using assays that test the palatability of the rewarding

Individual differences in pavlovian autoshaping of lever pressing in rats predict stress-induced corticosterone release and mesolimbic levels of monoamines.

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Tomie, A; Aguado, A S; Pohorecky, L A; Benjamin, D

2000-03-01

Pavlovian autoshaping CRs are directed and reflexive consummatory responses targeted at objects repeatedly paired with rewarding substances. To evaluate the hypothesis that autoshaping may provide an animal learning model of vulnerability to drug abuse, this study relates individual differences in lever-press autoshaping CR performance in rats to stress-induced corticosterone release and tissue monoamine levels in the mesolimbic dopamine tract. Long-Evans rats (n = 14) were given 20 sessions of Pavlovian autoshaping training wherein the insertion of a retractable lever CS was followed by the response-independent presentation of food US. Large between-subjects differences in lever-press autoshaping CR performance were observed, with group high CR frequency (n = 5) performing many more lever press CRs than group low CR frequency (n = 9). Tail-blood samples were obtained before and after the 20th autoshaping session, then 24 h later the rats were sacrificed and dissection yielded tissue samples of nucleus accumbens (NAC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), caudate putamen (CP), and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Serum levels of postsession corticosterone were elevated in group high CR frequency. HPLC revealed that group high CR frequency had higher tissue levels of dopamine and DOPAC in NAC, lower levels of DOPAC/DA turnover in CP, and lower levels of 5-HIAA and lower 5-HIAA/5-HT turnover in VTA. The neurochemical profile of rats that perform more autoshaping CRs share some features of vulnerability to drug abuse.

Listening to music in a risk-reward context: The roles of the temporoparietal junction and the orbitofrontal/insular cortices in reward-anticipation, reward-gain, and reward-loss.

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Li, Chia-Wei; Chen, Jyh-Horng; Tsai, Chen-Gia

2015-12-10

Artificial rewards, such as visual arts and music, produce pleasurable feelings. Popular songs in the verse-chorus form provide a useful model for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of artificial rewards, because the chorus is usually the most rewarding element of a song. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the stimuli were excerpts of 10 popular songs with a tensioned verse-to-chorus transition. We examined the neural correlates of three phases of reward processing: (1) reward-anticipation during the verse-to-chorus transition, (2) reward-gain during the first phrase of the chorus, and (3) reward-loss during the unexpected noise followed by the verse-to-chorus transition. Participants listened to these excerpts in a risk-reward context because the verse was followed by either the chorus or noise with equal probability. The results showed that reward-gain and reward-loss were associated with left- and right-biased temporoparietal junction activation, respectively. The bilateral temporoparietal junctions were active during reward-anticipation. Moreover, we observed left-biased lateral orbitofrontal activation during reward-anticipation, whereas the medial orbitofrontal cortex was activated during reward-gain. The findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive and emotional aspects of reward processing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus is recruited by both natural rewards and drugs of abuse: recent evidence of a pivotal role for orexin/hypocretin signaling in this thalamic nucleus in drug-seeking behavior

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Alessandra eMatzeu

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A major challenge for the successful treatment of drug addiction is the long-lasting susceptibility to relapse and multiple processes that have been implicated in the compulsion to resume drug intake during abstinence. Recently, the orexin/hypocretin (Orx/Hcrt system has been shown to play a role in drug-seeking behavior. The Orx/Hcrt system regulates a wide range of physiological processes, including feeding, energy metabolism, and arousal. It has also been shown to be recruited by drugs of abuse. Orx/Hcrt neurons are predominantly located in the lateral hypothalamus that projects to the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT, a region that has been identified as a way-station that processes information and then modulates the mesolimbic reward and extrahypothalamic stress systems. Although not thought to be part of the drug addiction circuitry, recent evidence indicates that the PVT is involved in the modulation of reward function in general and drug-directed behavior in particular. Evidence indicates a role for Orx/Hcrt transmission in the PVT in the modulation of reward function in general and drug-directed behavior in particular. One hypothesis is that following repeated drug exposure, the Orx/Hcrt system acquires a preferential role in mediating the effects of drugs vs. natural rewards. The present review discusses recent findings that suggest maladaptive recruitment of the PVT by drugs of abuse, specifically Orx/Hcrt-PVT neurotransmission.

Neural substrates of trait impulsivity, anhedonia, and irritability: Mechanisms of heterotypic comorbidity between externalizing disorders and unipolar depression.

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Zisner, Aimee; Beauchaine, Theodore P

2016-11-01

Trait impulsivity, which is often defined as a strong preference for immediate over delayed rewards and results in behaviors that are socially inappropriate, maladaptive, and short-sighted, is a predisposing vulnerability to all externalizing spectrum disorders. In contrast, anhedonia is characterized by chronically low motivation and reduced capacity to experience pleasure, and is common to depressive disorders. Although externalizing and depressive disorders have virtually nonoverlapping diagnostic criteria in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, heterotypic comorbidity between them is common. Here, we review common neural substrates of trait impulsivity, anhedonia, and irritability, which include both low tonic mesolimbic dopamine activity and low phasic mesolimbic dopamine responding to incentives during reward anticipation and associative learning. We also consider how other neural networks, including bottom-up emotion generation systems and top-down emotion regulation systems, interact with mesolimbic dysfunction to result in alternative manifestations of psychiatric illness. Finally, we present a model that emphasizes a translational, transdiagnostic approach to understanding externalizing/depression comorbidity. This model should refine ways in which internalizing and externalizing disorders are studied, classified, and treated.

Music and the nucleus accumbens.

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Mavridis, Ioannis N

2015-03-01

Music is a universal feature of human societies over time, mainly because it allows expression and regulation of strong emotions, thus influencing moods and evoking pleasure. The nucleus accumbens (NA), the most important pleasure center of the human brain (dominates the reward system), is the 'king of neurosciences' and dopamine (DA) can be rightfully considered as its 'crown' due to the fundamental role that this neurotransmitter plays in the brain's reward system. Purpose of this article was to review the existing literature regarding the relation between music and the NA. Studies have shown that reward value for music can be coded by activity levels in the NA, whose functional connectivity with auditory and frontal areas increases as a function of increasing musical reward. Listening to music strongly modulates activity in a network of mesolimbic structures involved in reward processing including the NA. The functional connectivity between brain regions mediating reward, autonomic and cognitive processing provides insight into understanding why listening to music is one of the most rewarding and pleasurable human experiences. Musical stimuli can significantly increase extracellular DA levels in the NA. NA DA and serotonin were found significantly higher in animals exposed to music. Finally, passive listening to unfamiliar although liked music showed activations in the NA.

Reward deficiency and anti-reward in pain chronification.

Science.gov (United States)

Borsook, D; Linnman, C; Faria, V; Strassman, A M; Becerra, L; Elman, I

2016-09-01

Converging lines of evidence suggest that the pathophysiology of pain is mediated to a substantial degree via allostatic neuroadaptations in reward- and stress-related brain circuits. Thus, reward deficiency (RD) represents a within-system neuroadaptation to pain-induced protracted activation of the reward circuits that leads to depletion-like hypodopaminergia, clinically manifested anhedonia, and diminished motivation for natural reinforcers. Anti-reward (AR) conversely pertains to a between-systems neuroadaptation involving over-recruitment of key limbic structures (e.g., the central and basolateral amygdala nuclei, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the lateral tegmental noradrenergic nuclei of the brain stem, the hippocampus and the habenula) responsible for massive outpouring of stressogenic neurochemicals (e.g., norepinephrine, corticotropin releasing factor, vasopressin, hypocretin, and substance P) giving rise to such negative affective states as anxiety, fear and depression. We propose here the Combined Reward deficiency and Anti-reward Model (CReAM), in which biopsychosocial variables modulating brain reward, motivation and stress functions can interact in a 'downward spiral' fashion to exacerbate the intensity, chronicity and comorbidities of chronic pain syndromes (i.e., pain chronification). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Psychological intervention with working memory training increases basal ganglia volume: A VBM study of inpatient treatment for methamphetamine use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.J. Brooks, PhD

2016-01-01

Conclusions: While psychological intervention is associated with larger volume in mesolimbic reward regions, the utilisation of additional working memory training as an adjunct to treatment may further normalize frontostriatal structure and function.

Rewards and Performance Incentives.

Science.gov (United States)

Zigon, Jack

1994-01-01

Discusses rewards and performance incentives for employees, including types of rewards; how rewards help in managing; dysfunctional awards; selecting the right reward; how to find rewards that fit; and delivering rewards effectively. Examples are included. (three references) (LRW)

A Fly’s Eye View of Natural and Drug Reward

Science.gov (United States)

Lowenstein, Eve G.; Velazquez-Ulloa, Norma A.

2018-01-01

Animals encounter multiple stimuli each day. Some of these stimuli are innately appetitive or aversive, while others are assigned valence based on experience. Drugs like ethanol can elicit aversion in the short term and attraction in the long term. The reward system encodes the predictive value for different stimuli, mediating anticipation for attractive or punishing stimuli and driving animal behavior to approach or avoid conditioned stimuli. The neurochemistry and neurocircuitry of the reward system is partly evolutionarily conserved. In both vertebrates and invertebrates, including Drosophila melanogaster, dopamine is at the center of a network of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators acting in concert to encode rewards. Behavioral assays in D. melanogaster have become increasingly sophisticated, allowing more direct comparison with mammalian research. Moreover, recent evidence has established the functional modularity of the reward neural circuits in Drosophila. This functional modularity resembles the organization of reward circuits in mammals. The powerful genetic and molecular tools for D. melanogaster allow characterization and manipulation at the single-cell level. These tools are being used to construct a detailed map of the neural circuits mediating specific rewarding stimuli and have allowed for the identification of multiple genes and molecular pathways that mediate the effects of reinforcing stimuli, including their rewarding effects. This report provides an overview of the research on natural and drug reward in D. melanogaster, including natural rewards such as sugar and other food nutrients, and drug rewards including ethanol, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and nicotine. We focused mainly on the known genetic and neural mechanisms underlying appetitive reward for sugar and reward for ethanol. We also include genes, molecular pathways, and neural circuits that have been identified using assays that test the palatability of the rewarding

A Fly’s Eye View of Natural and Drug Reward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eve G. Lowenstein

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Animals encounter multiple stimuli each day. Some of these stimuli are innately appetitive or aversive, while others are assigned valence based on experience. Drugs like ethanol can elicit aversion in the short term and attraction in the long term. The reward system encodes the predictive value for different stimuli, mediating anticipation for attractive or punishing stimuli and driving animal behavior to approach or avoid conditioned stimuli. The neurochemistry and neurocircuitry of the reward system is partly evolutionarily conserved. In both vertebrates and invertebrates, including Drosophila melanogaster, dopamine is at the center of a network of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators acting in concert to encode rewards. Behavioral assays in D. melanogaster have become increasingly sophisticated, allowing more direct comparison with mammalian research. Moreover, recent evidence has established the functional modularity of the reward neural circuits in Drosophila. This functional modularity resembles the organization of reward circuits in mammals. The powerful genetic and molecular tools for D. melanogaster allow characterization and manipulation at the single-cell level. These tools are being used to construct a detailed map of the neural circuits mediating specific rewarding stimuli and have allowed for the identification of multiple genes and molecular pathways that mediate the effects of reinforcing stimuli, including their rewarding effects. This report provides an overview of the research on natural and drug reward in D. melanogaster, including natural rewards such as sugar and other food nutrients, and drug rewards including ethanol, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and nicotine. We focused mainly on the known genetic and neural mechanisms underlying appetitive reward for sugar and reward for ethanol. We also include genes, molecular pathways, and neural circuits that have been identified using assays that test the palatability of

Reward loss and the basolateral amygdala: A function in reward comparisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawasaki, Katsuyoshi; Annicchiarico, Iván; Glueck, Amanda C; Morón, Ignacio; Papini, Mauricio R

2017-07-28

The neural circuitry underlying behavior in reward loss situations is poorly understood. We considered two such situations: reward devaluation (from large to small rewards) and reward omission (from large rewards to no rewards). There is evidence that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in the negative emotion accompanying reward loss. However, little is known about the function of the basolateral nucleus (BLA) in reward loss. Two hypotheses of BLA function in reward loss, negative emotion and reward comparisons, were tested in an experiment involving pretraining excitotoxic BLA lesions followed by training in four tasks: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), autoshaping (AS) acquisition and extinction, anticipatory negative contrast (ANC), and open field testing (OF). Cell counts in the BLA (but not in the CeA) were significantly lower in animals with lesions vs. shams. BLA lesions eliminated cSNC and ANC, and accelerated extinction of lever pressing in AS. BLA lesions had no effect on OF testing: higher activity in the periphery than in the central area. This pattern of results provides support for the hypothesis that BLA neurons are important for reward comparison. The three affected tasks (cSNC, ANC, and AS extinction) involve reward comparisons. However, ANC does not seem to involve negative emotions and it was affected, whereas OF activity is known to involve negative emotion, but it was not affected. It is hypothesized that a circuit involving the thalamus, insular cortex, and BLA is critically involved in the mechanism comparing current and expected rewards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Data from ‘Placebo Enhances Reward Learning in Healthy Individuals’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsolt Turi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This dataset contains three repeated measures of a standard reward-based reinforcement-learning task from 29 healthy male individuals who participated in three experimental sessions exploring cognitive placebo effects on reward learning. The dataset includes behavioural data (accuracy, reaction times during learning and transfer, estimates of model-free computational analysis, self-reported arousal values, and expectations about the interventions’ efficacy. The data were collected in 2014 at the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany. The data collection and formal analysis used a triple-blind study design as participants, operator and analyst were unaware of conditions. A github repository contains data and analyses for the paper “Placebo Intervention Enhances Reward Learning in Healthy Individuals”. The dataset can be used for further analysis, reference, validation studies, teaching purposes, and collaborative research. Funding statement: This study was supported by the DFG (PA 419/15-1 awarded to WP. The preparation of this manuscript was supported by the “Research program, University Medical Center, University of Goettingen” awarded to Z.T.

Combating Drug Abuse by Targeting Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

the treatment of addiction . 2. Keywords Drug reward Addiction Opioid Morphine Heroine Cocaine Dopamine Mesolimbic dopamine pathway...there is some other less selective explanation for this phenomenon. Current pharmacological treatments for opioid addiction /abuse tend to be only...toll like receptor 4 in both opioid and cocaine reward / reinforcement. In addition it has successfully documented the potential of (+)naltrexone (a

Beyond Rewards

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Philip S.

2009-01-01

Using rewards to impact students' behavior has long been common practice. However, using reward systems to enhance student learning conveniently masks the larger and admittedly more difficult task of finding and implementing the structure and techniques that children with special needs require to learn. More important, rewarding the child for good…

Using food as a reward: An examination of parental reward practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Lindsey; Marx, Jenna M; Musher-Eizenman, Dara R

2018-01-01

Eating patterns and taste preferences are often established early in life. Many studies have examined how parental feeding practices may affect children's outcomes, including food intake and preference. The current study focused on a common food parenting practice, using food as a reward, and used Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to examine whether mothers (n = 376) and fathers (n = 117) of children ages 2.8 to 7.5 (M = 4.7; SD = 1.1) grouped into profiles (i.e., subgroups) based on how they use of food as a reward. The 4-class model was the best-fitting LPA model, with resulting classes based on both the frequency and type of reward used. Classes were: infrequent reward (33%), tangible reward (21%), food reward (27%), and frequent reward (19%). The current study also explored whether children's eating styles (emotional overeating, rood fussiness, food responsiveness, and satiety responsiveness) and parenting style (Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive) varied by reward profile. Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that the four profiles differed significantly for all outcome variables except satiety responsiveness. It appears that the use of tangible and food-based rewards have important implications in food parenting. More research is needed to better understand how the different rewarding practices affect additional child outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dysregulation of Brain Reward Systems in Eating Disorders: Neurochemical Information from Animal Models of Binge Eating, Bulimia Nervosa, and Anorexia Nervosa

Science.gov (United States)

Avena, Nicole M.; Bocarsly, Miriam E.

2012-01-01

Food intake is mediated, in part, through brain pathways for motivation and reinforcement. Dysregulation of these pathways may underlay some of the behaviors exhibited by patients with eating disorders. Research using animal models of eating disorders has greatly contributed to the detailed study of potential brain mechanisms that many underlie the causes or consequences of aberrant eating behaviors. This review focuses on neurochemical evidence of reward-related brain dysfunctions obtained through animal models of binge eating, bulimia nervosa, or anorexia nervosa. The findings suggest that alterations in dopamine (DA), acetylcholine (ACh) and opioid systems in reward-related brain areas occur in response to binge eating of palatable foods. Moreover, animal models of bulimia nervosa suggest that while bingeing on palatable food releases DA, purging attenuates the release of ACh that might otherwise signal satiety. Animal models of anorexia nervosa suggest that restricted access to food enhances the reinforcing effects of DA when the animal does eat. The activity-based anorexia model suggests alterations in mesolimbic DA and serotonin occur as a result of starvation coupled with excessive wheel running. These findings with animal models complement data obtained through neuroimaging and pharmacotherapy studies of clinical populations. Finally, information on the neurochemical consequences of the behaviors associated with these eating disorders will be useful in understanding these complex disorders and may inform future therapeutic approaches, as discussed here. PMID:22138162

Self-stimulating rats combine subjective reward magnitude and subjective reward rate multiplicatively.

Science.gov (United States)

Leon, M I; Gallistel, C R

1998-07-01

For rats that bar pressed for intracranial electrical stimulation in a 2-lever matching paradigm with concurrent variable interval schedules of reward, the authors found that the time allocation ratio is based on a multiplicative combination of the ratio of subjective reward magnitudes and the ratio of the rates of reward. Multiplicative combining was observed in a range covering approximately 2 orders of magnitude in the ratio of the rates of reward from about 1:10 to 10:1) and an order of magnitude change in the size of rewards. After determining the relation between the pulse frequency of stimulation and subjective reward magnitude, the authors were able to predict from knowledge of the subjective magnitudes of the rewards and the obtained relative rates of reward the subject's time allocation ratio over a range in which it varied by more than 3 orders of magnitude.

Dopamine or opioid stimulation of nucleus accumbens similarly amplify cue-triggered 'wanting' for reward: entire core and medial shell mapped as substrates for PIT enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Peciña, Susana; Berridge, Kent C

2013-05-01

Pavlovian cues [conditioned stimulus (CS+)] often trigger intense motivation to pursue and consume related reward [unconditioned stimulus (UCS)]. But cues do not always trigger the same intensity of motivation. Encountering a reward cue can be more tempting on some occasions than on others. What makes the same cue trigger more intense motivation to pursue reward on a particular encounter? The answer may be the level of incentive salience ('wanting') that is dynamically generated by mesocorticolimbic brain systems, influenced especially by dopamine and opioid neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) at that moment. We tested the ability of dopamine stimulation (by amphetamine microinjection) vs. mu opioid stimulation [by d-Ala, nMe-Phe, Glyol-enkephalin (DAMGO) microinjection] of either the core or shell of the NAc to amplify cue-triggered levels of motivation to pursue sucrose reward, measured with a Pavlovian-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) procedure, a relatively pure assay of incentive salience. Cue-triggered 'wanting' in PIT was enhanced by amphetamine or DAMGO microinjections equally, and also equally at nearly all sites throughout the entire core and medial shell (except for a small far-rostral strip of shell). NAc dopamine/opioid stimulations specifically enhanced CS+ ability to trigger phasic peaks of 'wanting' to obtain UCS, without altering baseline efforts when CS+ was absent. We conclude that dopamine/opioid stimulation throughout nearly the entire NAc can causally amplify the reactivity of mesocorticolimbic circuits, and so magnify incentive salience or phasic UCS 'wanting' peaks triggered by a CS+. Mesolimbic amplification of incentive salience may explain why a particular cue encounter can become irresistibly tempting, even when previous encounters were successfully resisted before. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Abnormal Striatal BOLD Responses to Reward Anticipation and Reward Delivery in ADHD

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Furukawa, Emi; Bado, Patricia; Tripp, Gail; Mattos, Paulo; Wickens, Jeff R.; Bramati, Ivanei E.; Alsop, Brent; Ferreira, Fernanda Meireles; Lima, Debora; Tovar-Moll, Fernanda; Sergeant, Joseph A.; Moll, Jorge

2014-01-01

Altered reward processing has been proposed to contribute to the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The neurobiological mechanism underlying this alteration remains unclear. We hypothesize that the transfer of dopamine release from reward to reward-predicting cues, as normally observed in animal studies, may be deficient in ADHD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate striatal responses to reward-predicting cues and reward delivery in a classical conditioning paradigm. Data from 14 high-functioning and stimulant-naïve young adults with elevated lifetime symptoms of ADHD (8 males, 6 females) and 15 well-matched controls (8 males, 7 females) were included in the analyses. During reward anticipation, increased blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the right ventral and left dorsal striatum were observed in controls, but not in the ADHD group. The opposite pattern was observed in response to reward delivery; the ADHD group demonstrated significantly greater BOLD responses in the ventral striatum bilaterally and the left dorsal striatum relative to controls. In the ADHD group, the number of current hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms was inversely related to ventral striatal responses during reward anticipation and positively associated with responses to reward. The BOLD response patterns observed in the striatum are consistent with impaired predictive dopamine signaling in ADHD, which may explain altered reward-contingent behaviors and symptoms of ADHD. PMID:24586543

Segregated encoding of reward-identity and stimulus-reward associations in human orbitofrontal cortex.

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Klein-Flügge, Miriam Cornelia; Barron, Helen Catharine; Brodersen, Kay Henning; Dolan, Raymond J; Behrens, Timothy Edward John

2013-02-13

A dominant focus in studies of learning and decision-making is the neural coding of scalar reward value. This emphasis ignores the fact that choices are strongly shaped by a rich representation of potential rewards. Here, using fMRI adaptation, we demonstrate that responses in the human orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) encode a representation of the specific type of food reward predicted by a visual cue. By controlling for value across rewards and by linking each reward with two distinct stimuli, we could test for representations of reward-identity that were independent of associative information. Our results show reward-identity representations in a medial-caudal region of OFC, independent of the associated predictive stimulus. This contrasts with a more rostro-lateral OFC region encoding reward-identity representations tied to the predicate stimulus. This demonstration of adaptation in OFC to reward specific representations opens an avenue for investigation of more complex decision mechanisms that are not immediately accessible in standard analyses, which focus on correlates of average activity.

Functionally distinct dopamine signals in nucleus accumbens core and shell in the freely moving rat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dreyer, Jakob K.; Vander Weele, Caitlin M.; Lovic, Vedran

2016-01-01

Dynamic signaling of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons has been implicated in reward learning, drug abuse, and motivation. However, this system is complex because firing patterns of these neurons are heterogeneous; subpopulations receive distinct synaptic inputs, and project to anatomically...

Dopamine reward prediction error coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Wolfram

2016-03-01

Reward prediction errors consist of the differences between received and predicted rewards. They are crucial for basic forms of learning about rewards and make us strive for more rewards-an evolutionary beneficial trait. Most dopamine neurons in the midbrain of humans, monkeys, and rodents signal a reward prediction error; they are activated by more reward than predicted (positive prediction error), remain at baseline activity for fully predicted rewards, and show depressed activity with less reward than predicted (negative prediction error). The dopamine signal increases nonlinearly with reward value and codes formal economic utility. Drugs of addiction generate, hijack, and amplify the dopamine reward signal and induce exaggerated, uncontrolled dopamine effects on neuronal plasticity. The striatum, amygdala, and frontal cortex also show reward prediction error coding, but only in subpopulations of neurons. Thus, the important concept of reward prediction errors is implemented in neuronal hardware.

Reward, Context, and Human Behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clare L. Blaukopf

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Animal models of reward processing have revealed an extensive network of brain areas that process different aspects of reward, from expectation and prediction to calculation of relative value. These results have been confirmed and extended in human neuroimaging to encompass secondary rewards more unique to humans, such as money. The majority of the extant literature covers the brain areas associated with rewards whilst neglecting analysis of the actual behaviours that these rewards generate. This review strives to redress this imbalance by illustrating the importance of looking at the behavioural outcome of rewards and the context in which they are produced. Following a brief review of the literature of reward-related activity in the brain, we examine the effect of reward context on actions. These studies reveal how the presence of reward vs. reward and punishment, or being conscious vs. unconscious of reward-related actions, differentially influence behaviour. The latter finding is of particular importance given the extent to which animal models are used in understanding the reward systems of the human mind. It is clear that further studies are needed to learn about the human reaction to reward in its entirety, including any distinctions between conscious and unconscious behaviours. We propose that studies of reward entail a measure of the animal's (human or nonhuman knowledge of the reward and knowledge of its own behavioural outcome to achieve that reward.

No difference in striatal dopamine transporter availability between active smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers using [I-123]FP-CIT (DaTSCAN) and SPECT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thomsen, Gerda; Knudsen, Gitte Moos; Jensen, Peter S.; Ziebell, Morten; Holst, Klaus K.; Asenbaum, Susanne; Booij, Jan; Darcourt, Jacques; Dickson, John C.; Kapucu, Ozlem L.; Nobili, Flavio; Sabri, Osama; Sera, Terez; Tatsch, Klaus; Tossici-Bolt, Livia; van Laere, Koen; Borght, Thierry Vander; Varrone, Andrea; Pagani, Marco; Pinborg, Lars Hageman

2013-01-01

Background: Mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways play important roles in both the rewarding and conditioning effects of drugs. The dopamine transporter (DAT) is of central importance in regulating dopaminergic neurotransmission and in particular in activating the striatal D-2-like

Heterogeneity of reward mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Lajtha, A; Sershen, H

2010-06-01

The finding that many drugs that have abuse potential and other natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity cause similar chemical changes in the brain, an increase in extracellular dopamine (DA) in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAccS), indicated some time ago that the reward mechanism is at least very similar for all stimuli and that the mechanism is relatively simple. The presently available information shows that the mechanisms involved are more complex and have multiple elements. Multiple brain regions, multiple receptors, multiple distinct neurons, multiple transmitters, multiple transporters, circuits, peptides, proteins, metabolism of transmitters, and phosphorylation, all participate in reward mechanisms. The system is variable, is changed during development, is sex-dependent, and is influenced by genetic differences. Not all of the elements participate in the reward of all stimuli. Different set of mechanisms are involved in the reward of different drugs of abuse, yet different mechanisms in the reward of natural stimuli such as food or sexual activity; thus there are different systems that distinguish different stimuli. Separate functions of the reward system such as anticipation, evaluation, consummation and identification; all contain function-specific elements. The level of the stimulus also influences the participation of the elements of the reward system, there are possible reactions to even below threshold stimuli, and excessive stimuli can change reward to aversion involving parts of the system. Learning and memory of past reward is an important integral element of reward and addictive behavior. Many of the reward elements are altered by repeated or chronic stimuli, and chronic exposure to one drug is likely to alter the response to another stimulus. To evaluate and identify the reward stimulus thus requires heterogeneity of the reward components in the brain.

Dopamine reward prediction error coding

OpenAIRE

Schultz, Wolfram

2016-01-01

Reward prediction errors consist of the differences between received and predicted rewards. They are crucial for basic forms of learning about rewards and make us strive for more rewards?an evolutionary beneficial trait. Most dopamine neurons in the midbrain of humans, monkeys, and rodents signal a reward prediction error; they are activated by more reward than predicted (positive prediction error), remain at baseline activity for fully predicted rewards, and show depressed activity with less...

Synaptic plasticity in drug reward circuitry.

Science.gov (United States)

Winder, Danny G; Egli, Regula E; Schramm, Nicole L; Matthews, Robert T

2002-11-01

Drug addiction is a major public health issue worldwide. The persistence of drug craving coupled with the known recruitment of learning and memory centers in the brain has led investigators to hypothesize that the alterations in glutamatergic synaptic efficacy brought on by synaptic plasticity may play key roles in the addiction process. Here we review the present literature, examining the properties of synaptic plasticity within drug reward circuitry, and the effects that drugs of abuse have on these forms of plasticity. Interestingly, multiple forms of synaptic plasticity can be induced at glutamatergic synapses within the dorsal striatum, its ventral extension the nucleus accumbens, and the ventral tegmental area, and at least some of these forms of plasticity are regulated by behaviorally meaningful administration of cocaine and/or amphetamine. Thus, the present data suggest that regulation of synaptic plasticity in reward circuits is a tractable candidate mechanism underlying aspects of addiction.

Effort-reward imbalance and depression among private practice physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsutsumi, Akizumi; Kawanami, Shoko; Horie, Seichi

2012-02-01

Current private practice physicians provide medical services in a harsh economic situation. The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model puts its emphasis on an imbalance between high efforts spent and low rewards received in occupational life. ERI model includes three different reward factors from task to organizational levels. We examined whether ERI in terms of low organizational reward (poor prospective and job insecurity) could be the most relevant and strongly associated with depression among private practice physicians. This is a cross-sectional questionnaire study of 1,103 private practice physicians who were currently working in clinical settings and completed the data of exposure and outcome. The study questionnaire was mailed to all the physicians listed as members of a local branch of the Japan Medical Association (n = 3,441) between November and December 2008. Outcomes were prevalence of depression as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and adjusted odds ratios (OR) of depression with respect to ERI. Fifty-seven percent of physicians were exposed to ERI, and 18% of the physicians were depressed. Logistic regression analyses revealed that ERI was significantly associated with depression (OR and 95% confidence interval = 3.57; 2.43-5.26). ERI with regard to organizational reward was most prevalent (60%) and had the strongest association with depression (5.14; 3.36-7.92). Predominant prevalence of ERI in terms of organizational level low reward and strong associations between the ERI component and depression suggests that countermeasures from social perspective are crucial.

Commitment to Self-Rewards

OpenAIRE

Koch, Alexander K.; Nafziger, Julia

2009-01-01

Self-administered rewards are ubiquitous. They serve as incentives for personal accomplish¬ments and are widely recommended as tools for overcoming self-control problems. However, it seems puzzling why self-rewards can work: the prospect of a reward has a motivating force only if the threat of self-denial of the reward after low performance is credible. We explain how a rational forward-looking individual may achieve commitment to self-rewards, by applying Köszegi and Rabin's (2006) model of ...

Adaptive neural reward processing during anticipation and receipt of monetary rewards in mindfulness meditators.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Ulrich; Brown, Kirk Warren; Downar, Jonathan

2015-05-01

Reward seeking is ubiquitous and adaptive in humans. But excessive reward seeking behavior, such as chasing monetary rewards, may lead to diminished subjective well-being. This study examined whether individuals trained in mindfulness meditation show neural evidence of lower susceptibility to monetary rewards. Seventy-eight participants (34 meditators, 44 matched controls) completed the monetary incentive delay task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The groups performed equally on the task, but meditators showed lower neural activations in the caudate nucleus during reward anticipation, and elevated bilateral posterior insula activation during reward anticipation. Meditators also evidenced reduced activations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during reward receipt compared with controls. Connectivity parameters between the right caudate and bilateral anterior insula were attenuated in meditators during incentive anticipation. In summary, brain regions involved in reward processing-both during reward anticipation and receipt of reward-responded differently in mindfulness meditators than in nonmeditators, indicating that the former are less susceptible to monetary incentives. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

No correlation between body mass index and striatal dopamine transporter availability in healthy volunteers using SPECT and ^[123I]PE2I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, G; Ziebell, M; Jensen, Peter Steen

2013-01-01

Objective: Dopamine plays an important role in both the rewarding and conditioning effects of food. These effects involve mesolimbic, mesocortical, and nigrostriatal pathways. In humans, the most consistent finding has been reduced striatal dopamine D-2/3 receptor availability. In striatum...... controls (BMI...

Adaptive increase in D3 dopamine receptors in the brain reward circuits of human cocaine fatalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Staley, J K; Mash, D C

1996-10-01

The mesolimbic dopaminergic system plays a primary role in mediating the euphoric and rewarding effects of most abused drugs. Chronic cocaine use is associated with an increase in dopamine neurotransmission resulting from the blockade of dopamine uptake and is mediated by the activation of dopamine receptors. Recent studies have suggested that the D3 receptor subtype plays a pivotal role in the reinforcing effects of cocaine. The D3 receptor-preferring agonist 7-hydroxy-N,N-di-n-propyl-2-aminotetralin (7-OH-DPAT) is a reinforcer in rhesus monkeys trained to self-administer cocaine, but not in cocainenaive monkeys. In vitro autoradiographic localization of [3H]-(+)-7-OH-DPAT binding in the human brain demonstrated that D3 receptors were prevalent and highly localized over the ventromedial sectors of the striatum. Pharmacological characterization of [3H]-(+)-7-OH-DPAT binding to the human nucleus accumbens demonstrated a rank order of potency similar to that observed for binding to the cloned D3 receptor expressed in transfected cell lines. Region-of-interest analysis of [3H]-(+)-7-OH-DPAT binding to the D3 receptor demonstrated a one- to threefold elevation in the number of binding sites over particular sectors of the striatum and substantia nigra in cocaine overdose victims as compared with age-matched and drug-free control subjects. The elevated number of [3H]-(+)-7-OH-DPAT binding sites demonstrates that adaptive changes in the D3 receptor in the reward circuitry of the brain are associated with chronic cocaine abuse. These results suggest that the D3 receptor may be a useful target for drug development of anticocaine medications.

VTA GABA neurons modulate specific learning behaviours through the control of dopamine and cholinergic systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meaghan C Creed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The mesolimbic reward system is primarily comprised of the ventral tegmental area (VTA and the nucleus accumbens (NAc as well as their afferent and efferent connections. This circuitry is essential for learning about stimuli associated with motivationally-relevant outcomes. Moreover, addictive drugs affect and remodel this system, which may underlie their addictive properties. In addition to DA neurons, the VTA also contains approximately 30% ɣ-aminobutyric acid (GABA neurons. The task of signalling both rewarding and aversive events from the VTA to the NAc has mostly been ascribed to DA neurons and the role of GABA neurons has been largely neglected until recently. GABA neurons provide local inhibition of DA neurons and also long-range inhibition of projection regions, including the NAc. Here we review studies using a combination of in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiology, pharmacogenetic and optogenetic manipulations that have characterized the functional neuroanatomy of inhibitory circuits in the mesolimbic system, and describe how GABA neurons of the VTA regulate reward and aversion-related learning. We also discuss pharmacogenetic manipulation of this system with benzodiazepines (BDZs, a class of addictive drugs, which act directly on GABAA receptors located on GABA neurons of the VTA. The results gathered with each of these approaches suggest that VTA GABA neurons bi-directionally modulate activity of local DA neurons, underlying reward or aversion at the behavioural level. Conversely, long-range GABA projections from the VTA to the NAc selectively target cholinergic interneurons (CINs to pause their firing and temporarily reduce cholinergic tone in the NAc, which modulates associative learning. Further characterization of inhibitory circuit function within and beyond the VTA is needed in order to fully understand the function of the mesolimbic system under normal and pathological conditions.

Random reward priming is task-contingent: The robustness of the 1-trial reward priming effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Árni Gunnar Ásgeirsson

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Consistent financial reward of particular features influences the allocation of visual attention in many ways. More surprising are 1-trial reward priming effects on attention where reward schedules are random and reward on one trial influences attentional allocation on the next. Those findings are thought to reflect that rewarded features become more salient than unrewarded ones on the subsequent trial. Here we attempt to conceptually replicate this effect, testing its generalizability. In three versions of an analogous paradigm to the additional singleton paradigm involving singleton search for a Gabor patch of odd spatial frequency we found no evidence of reward priming, while we only partially replicate the reward priming in the exact original paradigm tested by Hickey and colleagues. The results cast doubt on the proposal that random reward enhances salience, suggested in the original papers, and highlight the need for a more nuanced account. In many other paradigms reward effects have been found to progress gradually, becoming stronger as they build up, and we argue that for robust reward priming, reward schedules need to be more consistent than in the original 1-trial reward priming paradigm.

A correction term for the covariance of renewal-reward processes with multivariate rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Patch, B.; Nazarathy, Y.; Taimre, T.

We consider a renewal-reward process with multivariate rewards. Such a process is constructed from an i.i.d. sequence of time periods, to each of which there is associated a multivariate reward vector. The rewards in each time period may depend on each other and on the period length, but not on the

The glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue Exendin-4 attenuates the nicotine-induced locomotor stimulation, accumbal dopamine release, conditioned place preference as well as the expression of locomotor sensitization in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil Egecioglu

Full Text Available The gastrointestinal peptide glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1 is known to regulate consummatory behavior and is released in response to nutrient ingestion. Analogues of this peptide recently emerged as novel pharmacotherapies for treatment of type II diabetes since they reduce gastric emptying, glucagon secretion as well as enhance glucose-dependent insulin secretion. The findings that GLP-1 targets reward related areas including mesolimbic dopamine areas indicate that the physiological role of GLP-1 extends beyond food intake and glucose homeostasis control to include reward regulation. The present series of experiments was therefore designed to investigate the effects of the GLP-1 receptor agonist, Exendin-4 (Ex4, on established nicotine-induced effects on the mesolimbic dopamine system in mice. Specifically, we show that treatment with Ex4, at a dose with no effect per se, attenuate nicotine-induced locomotor stimulation, accumbal dopamine release as well as the expression of conditioned place preference in mice. In accordance, Ex4 also blocks nicotine-induced expression of locomotor sensitization in mice. Given that development of nicotine addiction largely depends on the effects of nicotine on the mesolimbic dopamine system these findings indicate that the GLP-1 receptor may be a potential target for the development of novel treatment strategies for nicotine cessations in humans.

Intense Passionate Love Attenuates Cigarette Cue-Reactivity in Nicotine-Deprived Smokers: An fMRI Study

OpenAIRE

Xu, Xiaomeng; Wang, Jin; Aron, Arthur; Lei, Wei; Westmaas, J. Lee; Weng, Xuchu

2012-01-01

Self-expanding experiences like falling in love or engaging in novel, exciting and interesting activities activate the same brain reward mechanism (mesolimbic dopamine pathway) that reinforces drug use and abuse, including tobacco smoking. This suggests the possibility that reward from smoking is substitutable by self-expansion (through competition with the same neural system), potentially aiding cessation efforts. Using a model of self-expansion in the context of romantic love, the present f...

Effects of haloperidol and aripiprazole on the human mesolimbic motivational system: A pharmacological fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolstad, Ingeborg; Andreassen, Ole A; Groote, Inge; Server, Andres; Sjaastad, Ivar; Kapur, Shitij; Jensen, Jimmy

2015-12-01

The atypical antipsychotic drug aripiprazole is a partial dopamine (DA) D2 receptor agonist, which differentiates it from most other antipsychotics. This study compares the brain activation characteristic produced by aripiprazole with that of haloperidol, a typical D2 receptor antagonist. Healthy participants received an acute oral dose of haloperidol, aripiprazole or placebo, and then performed an active aversive conditioning task with aversive and neutral events presented as sounds, while blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was carried out. The fMRI task, targeting the mesolimbic motivational system that is thought to be disturbed in psychosis, was based on the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) animal model - a widely used test of therapeutic potential of antipsychotic drugs. In line with the CAR animal model, the present results show that subjects given haloperidol were not able to avoid more aversive than neutral task trials, even though the response times were shorter during aversive events. In the aripiprazole and placebo groups more aversive than neutral events were avoided. Accordingly, the task-related BOLD-fMRI response in the mesolimbic motivational system was diminished in the haloperidol group compared to the placebo group, particularly in the ventral striatum, whereas the aripiprazole group showed task-related activations intermediate of the placebo and haloperidol groups. The current results show differential effects on brain function by aripiprazole and haloperidol, probably related to altered DA transmission. This supports the use of pharmacological fMRI to study antipsychotic properties in humans. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Extending overjustification: the effect of perceived reward-giver intention on response to rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Forehand, M R

2000-12-01

The perceived intention model incorporates a new moderator, beliefs about reward-giver intention, into the overjustification paradigm. In 2 simulated shopping studies featuring products paired with promotional rewards, consumers who believed the marketer was promotion focused (reward used to encourage purchase) reported lower purchase intentions and brand attitudes for promoted products after promotion, whereas consumers who believed the marketer was reward focused (promotion used to distribute the reward) showed no attitude change. Promotion-focus beliefs lowered attitudes by heightening the contingency between the promotion and purchase and thereby increasing the perceived causal role of the reward. This effect was contingent on initial behavior--postpromotion attitude change occurred for consumers who actively engaged in product decisions but not for consumers who passively observed the choice sets.

Neural Processing of Calories in Brain Reward Areas Can be Modulated by Reward Sensitivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rijn, Inge; Griffioen-Roose, Sanne; de Graaf, Cees; Smeets, Paul A M

A food's reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food's acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity), however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth

Unitizing worker expertise and maximizing the brain reward centers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, Anthony Bert [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

People are experts when it comes to the work they do; unfortunately their expertise is not utilized as frequently as it could be. More opportunities need to be provided that allow people to participate in the design of their work including: accident investigations, job planning, and process improvements. Many employers use some form of job hazard analysis process to identify and document hazards and controls, but the front line worker is rarely involved. This presentation will show the core principles supporting employee involvement, provide examples where workers had brilliant ideas but no one listened, and provide examples where workers were given the opportunity to use their expertise to improve occupational safety. According to Abraham Maslow's Hierarch of Needs model, one essential human need is to be innovative and solve problems. Advances in brain science have proven, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the brain reward pathway is activated when people are recognized for their intellectual contributions. As people contribute their expertise to improve occupational safety more frequently they will feel a sense of gratification. In addition, safety professionals will have more time to spend on strategic planning of emerging occupational safety issues. One effect of the current global recession is that SH&E professionals are asked to do more with less. Therefore, to be successful it is essential that SH&E professionals incorporate worker expertise in job planning. This will be illustrated in the presentation through an example where a worker had the answer to a difficult decision on appropriate personal protective equipment for a job but no one asked the worker for his idea during the job planning phase. Fortunately the worker was eventually consulted and his recommendation for the appropriate personal protective equipment for the job was implemented before work began. The goal of this presentation is to expand the awareness and

The self-perceived survival ability and reproductive fitness (SPFit) theory of substance use disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Newlin, David B

2002-04-01

A new theory of substance use disorders is proposed-the SPFit theory-that is based on evolutionary biology and adaptive systems. Self-perceived survival ability and reproductive fitness (SPFit) is proposed as a human psychobiological construct that prioritizes and organizes (i.e. motivates) behavior, but is highly vulnerable to temporary, artificial activation by drugs of abuse. Autoshaping/sign-tracking/feature positive phenomena are proposed to underlie the development of craving and expectations about drugs as the individual learns that abused drugs will easily and reliably inflate SPFit. The cortico-mesolimbic dopamine system and its modulating interconnections are viewed as the biological substrate of SPFit; it is proposed to be a survival and reproductive motivation system rather than a reward center or reward pathway. Finally, the concept of modularity of mind is applied to the SPFit construct. Although considerable empirical data are consistent with the theory, new research is needed to test specific hypotheses derived from SPFit theory.

Motivation and reward systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eerde, W.; Vodosek, M.; den Hartog, D.N.; McNett, J.M.

2014-01-01

Reward systems are identified as one of the human resource management (HRM) practices that may impact motivation. Reward systems may consist of several components, including financial and nonfinancial rewards, in fixed and variable amounts. Reinforcement, expectancy, and equity principles are

Major depressive disorder is characterized by greater reward network activation to monetary than pleasant image rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Smoski, Moria J; Rittenberg, Alison; Dichter, Gabriel S

2011-12-30

Anhedonia, the loss of interest or pleasure in normally rewarding activities, is a hallmark feature of unipolar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). A growing body of literature has identified frontostriatal dysfunction during reward anticipation and outcomes in MDD. However, no study to date has directly compared responses to different types of rewards such as pleasant images and monetary rewards in MDD. To investigate the neural responses to monetary and pleasant image rewards in MDD, a modified Monetary Incentive Delay task was used during functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess neural responses during anticipation and receipt of monetary and pleasant image rewards. Participants included nine adults with MDD and 13 affectively healthy controls. The MDD group showed lower activation than controls when anticipating monetary rewards in right orbitofrontal cortex and subcallosal cortex, and when anticipating pleasant image rewards in paracingulate and supplementary motor cortex. The MDD group had relatively greater activation in right putamen when anticipating monetary versus pleasant image rewards, relative to the control group. Results suggest reduced reward network activation in MDD when anticipating rewards, as well as relatively greater hypoactivation to pleasant image than monetary rewards. 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple reward-cue contingencies favor expectancy over uncertainty in shaping the reward-cue attentional salience.

Science.gov (United States)

De Tommaso, Matteo; Mastropasqua, Tommaso; Turatto, Massimo

2018-01-25

Reward-predicting cues attract attention because of their motivational value. A debated question regards the conditions under which the cue's attentional salience is governed more by reward expectancy rather than by reward uncertainty. To help shedding light on this relevant issue, here, we manipulated expectancy and uncertainty using three levels of reward-cue contingency, so that, for example, a high level of reward expectancy (p = .8) was compared with the highest level of reward uncertainty (p = .5). In Experiment 1, the best reward-cue during conditioning was preferentially attended in a subsequent visual search task. This result was replicated in Experiment 2, in which the cues were matched in terms of response history. In Experiment 3, we implemented a hybrid procedure consisting of two phases: an omission contingency procedure during conditioning, followed by a visual search task as in the previous experiments. Crucially, during both phases, the reward-cues were never task relevant. Results confirmed that, when multiple reward-cue contingencies are explored by a human observer, expectancy is the major factor controlling both the attentional and the oculomotor salience of the reward-cue.

The amygdala, reward and emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Elisabeth A

2007-11-01

Recent research provides new insights into amygdala contributions to positive emotion and reward. Studies of neuronal activity in the monkey amygdala and of autonomic responses mediated by the monkey amygdala show that, contrary to a widely held view, the amygdala is just as important for processing positive reward and reinforcement as it is for negative. In addition, neuropsychological studies reveal that the amygdala is essential for only a fraction of what might be considered 'stimulus-reward processing', and that the neural substrates for emotion and reward are partially nonoverlapping. Finally, evidence suggests that two systems within the amygdala, operating in parallel, enable reward-predicting cues to influence behavior; one mediates a general, arousing effect of reward and the other links the sensory properties of reward to emotion.

High temporal discounters overvalue immediate rewards rather than undervalue future rewards: an event-related brain potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherniawsky, Avital S; Holroyd, Clay B

2013-03-01

Impulsivity is characterized in part by heightened sensitivity to immediate relative to future rewards. Although previous research has suggested that "high discounters" in intertemporal choice tasks tend to prefer immediate over future rewards because they devalue the latter, it remains possible that they instead overvalue immediate rewards. To investigate this question, we recorded the reward positivity, a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) associated with reward processing, with participants engaged in a task in which they received both immediate and future rewards and nonrewards. The participants also completed a temporal discounting task without ERP recording. We found that immediate but not future rewards elicited the reward positivity. High discounters also produced larger reward positivities to immediate rewards than did low discounters, indicating that high discounters relatively overvalued immediate rewards. These findings suggest that high discounters may be more motivated than low discounters to work for monetary rewards, irrespective of the time of arrival of the incentives.

Addictive drugs and brain stimulation reward.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, R A

1996-01-01

Direct electrical or chemical stimulation of specific brain regions can establish response habits similar to those established by natural rewards such as food or sexual contact. Cocaine, mu and delta opiates, nicotine, phencyclidine, and cannabis each have actions that summate with rewarding electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). The reward-potentiating effects of amphetamine and opiates are associated with central sites of action where these drugs also have their direct rewarding effects, suggesting common mechanisms for drug reward per se and for drug potentiation of brain stimulation reward. The central sites at which these and perhaps other drugs of abuse potentiate brain stimulation reward and are rewarding in their own right are consistent with the hypothesis that the laboratory reward of brain stimulation and the pharmacological rewards of addictive drugs are habit forming because they act in the brain circuits that subserve more natural and biologically significant rewards.

A Markov reward model checker

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katoen, Joost P.; Maneesh Khattri, M.; Zapreev, I.S.; Zapreev, I.S.

2005-01-01

This short tool paper introduces MRMC, a model checker for discrete-time and continuous-time Markov reward models. It supports reward extensions of PCTL and CSL, and allows for the automated verification of properties concerning long-run and instantaneous rewards as well as cumulative rewards. In

No differences in ventral striatum responsivity between adolescents with a positive family history of alcoholism and controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Kathrin U; Gan, Gabriela; Banaschewski, Tobias; Barker, Gareth J; Bokde, Arun L W; Büchel, Christian; Conrod, Patricia; Fauth-Bühler, Mira; Flor, Herta; Gallinat, Jürgen; Garavan, Hugh; Gowland, Penny; Heinz, Andreas; Ittermann, Bernd; Lawrence, Claire; Loth, Eva; Mann, Karl; Martinot, Jean-Luc; Nees, Frauke; Paus, Tomáš; Pausova, Zdenka; Rietschel, Marcella; Ströhle, Andreas; Struve, Maren; Schumann, Gunter; Smolka, Michael N

2015-05-01

Individuals with alcohol-dependent parents show an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related problems themselves. Modulations of the mesolimbic reward circuit have been postulated as a pre-existing marker of alcoholism. We tested whether a positive family history of alcoholism is correlated with ventral striatum functionality during a reward task. All participants performed a modified version of the monetary incentive delay task while their brain responses were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. We compared 206 healthy adolescents (aged 13-15) who had any first- or second-degree relative with alcoholism to 206 matched controls with no biological relative with alcoholism. Reward anticipation as well as feedback of win recruited the ventral striatum in all participants, but adolescents with a positive family history of alcoholism did not differ from their matched peers. Also we did not find any correlation between family history density and reward anticipation or feedback of win. This finding of no differences did not change when we analyzed a subsample of 77 adolescents with at least one parent with alcohol use disorder and their matched controls. Because this result is in line with another study reporting no differences between children with alcohol-dependent parents and controls at young age, but contrasts with studies of older individuals, one might conclude that at younger age the effect of family history has not yet exerted its influence on the still developing mesolimbic reward circuit. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Premotor and Motor Cortices Encode Reward.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavan Ramkumar

Full Text Available Rewards associated with actions are critical for motivation and learning about the consequences of one's actions on the world. The motor cortices are involved in planning and executing movements, but it is unclear whether they encode reward over and above limb kinematics and dynamics. Here, we report a categorical reward signal in dorsal premotor (PMd and primary motor (M1 neurons that corresponds to an increase in firing rates when a trial was not rewarded regardless of whether or not a reward was expected. We show that this signal is unrelated to error magnitude, reward prediction error, or other task confounds such as reward consumption, return reach plan, or kinematic differences across rewarded and unrewarded trials. The availability of reward information in motor cortex is crucial for theories of reward-based learning and motivational influences on actions.

Impaired reward responsiveness in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Nicholas; Hollis, Jeffrey P; Corcoran, Sarah; Gross, Robin; Cuthbert, Bruce; Swails, Lisette W; Duncan, Erica

2018-03-08

Anhedonia is a core negative symptom of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients report largely intact pleasure in consuming rewards, but have impairments in generating motivated behavior to pursue rewards, and show reduced fMRI activation of the reward pathway during presentation of rewarded stimuli. A computer based task measuring the development of a response bias in favor of rewarded stimuli permits assessment of reward-induced motivation. We hypothesized that subjects with schizophrenia would be impaired on this task. 58 schizophrenia subjects (SCZ) and 52 healthy controls (CON) were studied with a signal detection task to assess reward responsiveness. In multiple trials over three blocks subjects were asked to correctly identify two stimuli that were paired with unequal chance of monetary reward. The critical outcome variable was response bias, the development of a greater percent correct identification of the stimulus that was rewarded more often. An ANOVA on response bias with Block as a repeated-measures factor and Diagnosis as a between-group factor indicated that SCZ subjects achieved a lower bias to rewarded stimuli than CON subjects (F(1,105)=8.82, p=0.004, η 2 =0.078). Post hoc tests indicated that SCZ subjects had significantly impaired bias in Block 1 (p=0.002) and Block 2 (p=0.05), indicating that SCZ were slower to achieve normal levels of bias during the session. SCZ subjects were slower to develop response bias to rewarded stimuli than CON subjects. This finding is consonant with the hypothesis that people with schizophrenia have a blunted capacity to modify behavior in response to reward. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Monetary rewards modulate inhibitory control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Marcela Herrera

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The ability to override a dominant response, often referred to as behavioural inhibiton, is considered a key element of executive cognition. Poor behavioural inhibition is a defining characteristic of several neurological and psychiatric populations. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the motivational dimension of behavioural inhibition, with some experiments incorporating emotional contingencies in classical inhibitory paradigms such as the Go/Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks. Several studies have reported a positive modulatory effect of reward on the performance of such tasks in pathological conditions such as substance abuse, pathological gambling, and ADHD. However, experiments that directly investigate the modulatory effects of reward magnitudes on the performance of inhibitory paradigms are rare and consequently, little is known about the finer grained relationship between motivation and self-control. Here, we probed the effect of reward and reward magnitude on behavioural inhibition using two modified version of the widely used Stop Signal Task. The first task compared no reward with reward, whilst the other compared two different reward magnitudes. The reward magnitude effect was confirmed by the second study, whereas it was less compelling in the first study, possibly due to the effect of having no reward in some conditions. In addition, our results showed a kick start effect over global performance measures. More specifically, there was a long lasting improvement in performance throughout the task, when participants received the highest reward magnitudes at the beginning of the protocol. These results demonstrate that individuals’ behavioural inhibition capacities are dynamic not static because they are modulated by the reward magnitude and initial reward history of the task at hand.

Cognitive Neurostimulation: Learning to Volitionally Sustain Ventral Tegmental Area Activation.

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MacInnes, Jeff J; Dickerson, Kathryn C; Chen, Nan-Kuei; Adcock, R Alison

2016-03-16

Activation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and mesolimbic networks is essential to motivation, performance, and learning. Humans routinely attempt to motivate themselves, with unclear efficacy or impact on VTA networks. Using fMRI, we found untrained participants' motivational strategies failed to consistently activate VTA. After real-time VTA neurofeedback training, however, participants volitionally induced VTA activation without external aids, relative to baseline, Pre-test, and control groups. VTA self-activation was accompanied by increased mesolimbic network connectivity. Among two comparison groups (no neurofeedback, false neurofeedback) and an alternate neurofeedback group (nucleus accumbens), none sustained activation in target regions of interest nor increased VTA functional connectivity. The results comprise two novel demonstrations: learning and generalization after VTA neurofeedback training and the ability to sustain VTA activation without external reward or reward cues. These findings suggest theoretical alignment of ideas about motivation and midbrain physiology and the potential for generalizable interventions to improve performance and learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ghrelin modulates the fMRI BOLD response of homeostatic and hedonic brain centers regulating energy balance in the rat.

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Miklós Sárvári

Full Text Available The orexigenic gut-brain peptide, ghrelin and its G-protein coupled receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHS-R1A are pivotal regulators of hypothalamic feeding centers and reward processing neuronal circuits of the brain. These systems operate in a cooperative manner and receive a wide array of neuronal hormone/transmitter messages and metabolic signals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed in the current study to map BOLD responses to ghrelin in different brain regions with special reference on homeostatic and hedonic regulatory centers of energy balance. Experimental groups involved male, ovariectomized female and ovariectomized estradiol-replaced rats. Putative modulation of ghrelin signaling by endocannabinoids was also studied. Ghrelin-evoked effects were calculated as mean of the BOLD responses 30 minutes after administration. In the male rat, ghrelin evoked a slowly decreasing BOLD response in all studied regions of interest (ROI within the limbic system. This effect was antagonized by pretreatment with GHS-R1A antagonist JMV2959. The comparison of ghrelin effects in the presence or absence of JMV2959 in individual ROIs revealed significant changes in the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens of the telencephalon, and also within hypothalamic centers like the lateral hypothalamus, ventromedial nucleus, paraventricular nucleus and suprachiasmatic nucleus. In the female rat, the ghrelin effects were almost identical to those observed in males. Ovariectomy and chronic estradiol replacement had no effect on the BOLD response. Inhibition of the endocannabinoid signaling by rimonabant significantly attenuated the response of the nucleus accumbens and septum. In summary, ghrelin can modulate hypothalamic and mesolimbic structures controlling energy balance in both sexes. The endocannabinoid signaling system contributes to the manifestation of ghrelin's BOLD effect in a region specific manner. In females, the

Commitment to self-rewards

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Alexander; Nafziger, Julia

People often overcome self-control problems by promising to reward themselves for accomplishing a task. Such strategies based on self-administered rewards however require the person to believe that she would indeed deny herself the reward if she should fail to achieve the desired outcome. Drawing...... on Koszegi and Rabin's (2006) model of endogenous reference point formation, we show how a rational forward-looking individual can achieve such internal commitment. But our results also demonstrate the limitations of self regulation based on self-rewards....

Introduction: Addiction and Brain Reward and Anti-Reward Pathways

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Gardner, Eliot L.

2013-01-01

Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily self-administered by laboratory animals (usually avidly) and that they enhance the functioning of the reward circuitry of the brain (producing the “high” that the drug-user seeks). The core reward circuitry consists of an “in series” circuit linking the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum - via the medial forebrain bundle. Although originally believed to encode simply the set-point of hedonic tone, these circuits are now believed to be functionally far more complex - also encoding attention, expectancy of reward, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. “Hedonic dysregulation” within these circuits may lead to addiction. The “second-stage” dopaminergic component in this reward circuitry is the crucial addictive-drug-sensitive component. All addictive drugs have in common that they enhance (directly or indirectly or even transsynaptically) dopaminergic reward synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens. Drug self-administration is regulated by nucleus accumbens dopamine levels, and is done to keep nucleus accumbens dopamine within a specific elevated range (to maintain a desired hedonic level). For some classes of addictive drugs (e.g., opiates), tolerance to the euphoric effects develops with chronic use. Post-use dysphoria then comes to dominate reward circuit hedonic tone, and addicts no longer use drugs to get “high,” but simply to get back to normal (“get straight”). The brain circuits mediating the pleasurable effects of addictive drugs are anatomically, neurophysiologically, and neurochemically different from those mediating physical dependence, and from those mediating craving and relapse. There are important genetic variations in vulnerability to drug addiction, yet environmental factors such as stress and social defeat also alter brain-reward mechanisms in such a manner as to impart vulnerability to addiction. In short, the �

Monetary rewards influence retrieval orientations.

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Halsband, Teresa M; Ferdinand, Nicola K; Bridger, Emma K; Mecklinger, Axel

2012-09-01

Reward anticipation during learning is known to support memory formation, but its role in retrieval processes is so far unclear. Retrieval orientations, as a reflection of controlled retrieval processing, are one aspect of retrieval that might be modulated by reward. These processes can be measured using the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by retrieval cues from tasks with different retrieval requirements, such as via changes in the class of targeted memory information. To determine whether retrieval orientations of this kind are modulated by reward during learning, we investigated the effects of high and low reward expectancy on the ERP correlates of retrieval orientation in two separate experiments. The reward manipulation at study in Experiment 1 was associated with later memory performance, whereas in Experiment 2, reward was directly linked to accuracy in the study task. In both studies, the participants encoded mixed lists of pictures and words preceded by high- or low-reward cues. After 24 h, they performed a recognition memory exclusion task, with words as the test items. In addition to a previously reported material-specific effect of retrieval orientation, a frontally distributed, reward-associated retrieval orientation effect was found in both experiments. These findings suggest that reward motivation during learning leads to the adoption of a reward-associated retrieval orientation to support the retrieval of highly motivational information. Thus, ERP retrieval orientation effects not only reflect retrieval processes related to the sought-for materials, but also relate to the reward conditions with which items were combined during encoding.

Reward and punishment.

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Sigmund, K; Hauert, C; Nowak, M A

2001-09-11

Minigames capturing the essence of Public Goods experiments show that even in the absence of rationality assumptions, both punishment and reward will fail to bring about prosocial behavior. This result holds in particular for the well-known Ultimatum Game, which emerges as a special case. But reputation can induce fairness and cooperation in populations adapting through learning or imitation. Indeed, the inclusion of reputation effects in the corresponding dynamical models leads to the evolution of economically productive behavior, with agents contributing to the public good and either punishing those who do not or rewarding those who do. Reward and punishment correspond to two types of bifurcation with intriguing complementarity. The analysis suggests that reputation is essential for fostering social behavior among selfish agents, and that it is considerably more effective with punishment than with reward.

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and the mesoaccumbens reward circuit: evidence for GABA(B) receptor-mediated effects.

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Pistis, M; Muntoni, A L; Pillolla, G; Perra, S; Cignarella, G; Melis, M; Gessa, G L

2005-01-01

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a short-chain fatty acid naturally occurring in the mammalian brain, which recently emerged as a major recreational drug of abuse. GHB has multiple neuronal mechanisms including activation of both the GABA(B) receptor, and a distinct GHB-specific receptor. This complex GHB-GABA(B) receptor interaction is probably responsible for the multifaceted pharmacological, behavioral and toxicological profile of GHB. Drugs of abuse exert remarkably similar effects upon reward-related circuits, in particular the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and the nucleus accumbens (NAc). We used single unit recordings in vivo from urethane-anesthetized rats to characterize the effects of GHB on evoked firing in NAc "shell" neurons and on spontaneous activity of antidromically identified dopamine (DA) cells located in the ventral tegmental area. GHB was studied in comparison with the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen and antagonist (2S)(+)-5,5-dimethyl-2-morpholineacetic acid (SCH50911). Additionally, we utilized a GHB analog, gamma-(p-methoxybenzil)-gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (NCS-435), devoid of GABA(B) binding properties, but with high affinity for specific GHB binding sites. In common with other drugs of abuse, GHB depressed firing in NAc neurons evoked by the stimulation of the basolateral amygdala. On DA neurons, GHB exerted heterogeneous effects, which were correlated to the baseline firing rate of the cells but led to a moderate stimulation of the DA system. All GHB actions were mediated by GABA(B) receptors, since they were blocked by SCH50911 and were not mimicked by NCS-435. Our study indicates that the electrophysiological profile of GHB is close to typical drugs of abuse: both inhibition of NAc neurons and moderate to strong stimulation of DA transmission are distinctive features of diverse classes of abused drugs. Moreover, it is concluded that addictive and rewarding properties of GHB do not necessarily involve a putative high affinity GHB

Modulation of neural activity by reward in medial intraparietal cortex is sensitive to temporal sequence of reward

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Rajalingham, Rishi; Stacey, Richard Greg; Tsoulfas, Georgios

2014-01-01

To restore movements to paralyzed patients, neural prosthetic systems must accurately decode patients' intentions from neural signals. Despite significant advancements, current systems are unable to restore complex movements. Decoding reward-related signals from the medial intraparietal area (MIP) could enhance prosthetic performance. However, the dynamics of reward sensitivity in MIP is not known. Furthermore, reward-related modulation in premotor areas has been attributed to behavioral confounds. Here we investigated the stability of reward encoding in MIP by assessing the effect of reward history on reward sensitivity. We recorded from neurons in MIP while monkeys performed a delayed-reach task under two reward schedules. In the variable schedule, an equal number of small- and large-rewards trials were randomly interleaved. In the constant schedule, one reward size was delivered for a block of trials. The memory period firing rate of most neurons in response to identical rewards varied according to schedule. Using systems identification tools, we attributed the schedule sensitivity to the dependence of neural activity on the history of reward. We did not find schedule-dependent behavioral changes, suggesting that reward modulates neural activity in MIP. Neural discrimination between rewards was less in the variable than in the constant schedule, degrading our ability to decode reach target and reward simultaneously. The effect of schedule was mitigated by adding Haar wavelet coefficients to the decoding model. This raises the possibility of multiple encoding schemes at different timescales and reinforces the potential utility of reward information for prosthetic performance. PMID:25008408

Modulation of neural activity by reward in medial intraparietal cortex is sensitive to temporal sequence of reward.

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Rajalingham, Rishi; Stacey, Richard Greg; Tsoulfas, Georgios; Musallam, Sam

2014-10-01

To restore movements to paralyzed patients, neural prosthetic systems must accurately decode patients' intentions from neural signals. Despite significant advancements, current systems are unable to restore complex movements. Decoding reward-related signals from the medial intraparietal area (MIP) could enhance prosthetic performance. However, the dynamics of reward sensitivity in MIP is not known. Furthermore, reward-related modulation in premotor areas has been attributed to behavioral confounds. Here we investigated the stability of reward encoding in MIP by assessing the effect of reward history on reward sensitivity. We recorded from neurons in MIP while monkeys performed a delayed-reach task under two reward schedules. In the variable schedule, an equal number of small- and large-rewards trials were randomly interleaved. In the constant schedule, one reward size was delivered for a block of trials. The memory period firing rate of most neurons in response to identical rewards varied according to schedule. Using systems identification tools, we attributed the schedule sensitivity to the dependence of neural activity on the history of reward. We did not find schedule-dependent behavioral changes, suggesting that reward modulates neural activity in MIP. Neural discrimination between rewards was less in the variable than in the constant schedule, degrading our ability to decode reach target and reward simultaneously. The effect of schedule was mitigated by adding Haar wavelet coefficients to the decoding model. This raises the possibility of multiple encoding schemes at different timescales and reinforces the potential utility of reward information for prosthetic performance. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

Olfactory tubercle stimulation alters odor preference behavior and recruits forebrain reward and motivational centers

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Brynn J FitzGerald

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Rodents show robust behavioral responses to odors, including strong preferences or aversions for certain odors. The neural mechanisms underlying the effects of odors on these behaviors in animals are not well understood. Here, we provide an initial proof-of-concept study into the role of the olfactory tubercle (OT, a structure with known anatomical connectivity with both brain reward and olfactory structures, in regulating odor-motivated behaviors. We implanted c57bl/6 male mice with an ipsilateral bipolar electrode into the OT to administer electric current and thereby yield gross activation of the OT. We confirmed that electrical stimulation of the OT was rewarding, with mice frequently self-administering stimulation on a fixed ratio schedule. In a separate experiment, mice were presented with either fox urine or peanut odors in a three-chamber preference test. In absence of OT stimulation, significant preference for the peanut odor chamber was observed which was abolished in the presence of OT stimulation. Perhaps providing a foundation for this modulation in behavior, we found that OT stimulation significantly increased the number of c-Fos positive neurons in not only the OT, but also in forebrain structures essential to motivated behaviors, including the nucleus accumbens and lateral septum. The present results support the notion that the OT is integral to the display of motivated behavior and possesses the capacity to modulate odor hedonics either by directly altering odor processing or perhaps by indirect actions on brain reward and motivation structures.

Effects of intravenous glucose on Dopaminergic function in the human brain in vivo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haltia, Lauri T.; Rinne, Juha O.; Merisaari, Harri; Maguire, Ralph P.; Savontaus, Eriika; Helin, Semi; Nagren, Kjell; Kaasinen, Valtteri

Dopamine is known to regulate food intake by modulating food reward via the mesolimbic circuitry of the brain. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of high energy input (i.v. glucose) on striatal and thalamic dopamine release in overweight and lean individuals. We hypothesized that

Dorsomedial striatum lesions affect adjustment to reward uncertainty, but not to reward devaluation or omission.

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Torres, Carmen; Glueck, Amanda C; Conrad, Shannon E; Morón, Ignacio; Papini, Mauricio R

2016-09-22

The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has been implicated in the acquisition of reward representations, a proposal leading to the hypothesis that it should play a role in situations involving reward loss. We report the results of an experiment in which the effects of DMS excitotoxic lesions were tested in consummatory successive negative contrast (reward devaluation), autoshaping training with partial vs. continuous reinforcement (reward uncertainty), and appetitive extinction (reward omission). Animals with DMS lesions exhibited reduced lever pressing responding, but enhanced goal entries, during partial reinforcement training in autoshaping. However, they showed normal negative contrast, acquisition under continuous reinforcement (CR), appetitive extinction, and response facilitation in early extinction trials. Open-field testing also indicated normal motor behavior. Thus, DMS lesions selectively affected the behavioral adjustment to a situation involving reward uncertainty, producing a behavioral reorganization according to which goal tracking (goal entries) became predominant at the expense of sign tracking (lever pressing). This pattern of results shows that the function of the DMS in situations involving reward loss is not general, but restricted to reward uncertainty. We suggest that a nonassociative, drive-related process induced by reward uncertainty requires normal output from DMS neurons. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of plain packaging on decision-making and reward for nicotine cigarettes

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Martin LE

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Laura E Martin1,21Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, 2Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USAAbstract: Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Efforts to reduce smoking prevalence include changes to policies that are expected to have impacts on smoking behaviors. Plain packaging has been introduced as a method to reduce the appeal of smoking by removing such branding information as pack colors and brand logos from cigarette packages. Behavioral studies of plain packaging demonstrate reductions in the appeal of cigarette packages, changes in smoking behaviors, and expected reductions in smoking initiation. Neuroimaging studies of branding demonstrate that the neural systems of rewards and cognitive control are associated with processing brand information (eg, logos. Neuroimaging studies in smokers demonstrate that the neural systems of reward respond to images of cigarettes and are associated with reductions in cognitive control responses. The current review discusses the state of research on plain packaging in terms of a biopsychosocial model of addiction in which behavioral studies of plain packaging can identify psychological and social changes related to packaging, whereas neuroimaging studies can identify biological changes underlying the psychological and social impacts of packaging. Together, these studies show that plain packaging may reduce positive perceptions of smoking by reducing related reward responses in the brain, thus increasing the likelihood that smokers will be able to resist the urge to smoke, and perhaps quit smoking altogether.Keywords: smoking, plain packaging, neuroimaging, branding, reward

Dysregulation of brain reward systems in eating disorders: neurochemical information from animal models of binge eating, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa.

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Avena, Nicole M; Bocarsly, Miriam E

2012-07-01

Food intake is mediated, in part, through brain pathways for motivation and reinforcement. Dysregulation of these pathways may underlay some of the behaviors exhibited by patients with eating disorders. Research using animal models of eating disorders has greatly contributed to the detailed study of potential brain mechanisms that many underlie the causes or consequences of aberrant eating behaviors. This review focuses on neurochemical evidence of reward-related brain dysfunctions obtained through animal models of binge eating, bulimia nervosa, or anorexia nervosa. The findings suggest that alterations in dopamine (DA), acetylcholine (ACh) and opioid systems in reward-related brain areas occur in response to binge eating of palatable foods. Moreover, animal models of bulimia nervosa suggest that while bingeing on palatable food releases DA, purging attenuates the release of ACh that might otherwise signal satiety. Animal models of anorexia nervosa suggest that restricted access to food enhances the reinforcing effects of DA when the animal does eat. The activity-based anorexia model suggests alterations in mesolimbic DA and serotonin occur as a result of restricted eating coupled with excessive wheel running. These findings with animal models complement data obtained through neuroimaging and pharmacotherapy studies of clinical populations. Information on the neurochemical consequences of the behaviors associated with these eating disorders will be useful in understanding these complex disorders and may inform future therapeutic approaches, as discussed here. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Central Control of Food Intake'. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extinction Can Reduce the Impact of Reward Cues on Reward-Seeking Behavior.

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Lovibond, Peter F; Satkunarajah, Michelle; Colagiuri, Ben

2015-07-01

Reward-associated cues are thought to promote relapse after treatment of appetitive disorders such as drug-taking, binge eating, and gambling. This process has been modelled in the laboratory using a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) design in which Pavlovian cues facilitate instrumental reward-directed action. Attempts to reduce facilitation by cue exposure (extinction) have produced mixed results. We tested the effect of extinction in a recently developed PIT procedure using a natural reward, chocolate, in human participants. Facilitation of instrumental responding was only observed in participants who were aware of the Pavlovian contingencies. Pavlovian extinction successfully reduced, but did not completely eliminate, expectancy of reward and facilitation of instrumental responding. The results indicate that exposure can reduce the ability of cues to promote reward-directed behavior in the laboratory. However, the residual potency of extinguished cues means that additional active strategies may be needed in clinical practice to train patients to resist the impact of these cues in their environment. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Work-related stress and reward: an Australian study of multidisciplinary pediatric oncology healthcare providers.

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Bowden, M J; Mukherjee, S; Williams, L K; DeGraves, S; Jackson, M; McCarthy, M C

2015-11-01

Managing staff stress and preventing long-term burnout in oncology staff are highly important for both staff and patient well-being. Research addressing work-related stress in adult oncology is well documented; however, less is known about this topic in the pediatric context. This study examined sources of work-related stress and reward specific to multidisciplinary staff working in pediatric oncology in Australia. Participants were 107 pediatric oncology clinicians, including medical, nursing, and allied health staff from two Australian pediatric oncology centers. Participants completed an online survey using two newly developed measures: the work stressors scale-pediatric oncology and the work rewards scale-pediatric oncology. The most commonly reported sources of both stress and reward are related to patient care and interactions with children. Results indicated that levels of work-related stress and reward were similar between the professional disciplines and between the two hospitals. Regression analyses revealed no demographic or organizational factors that were associated with either stress or reward. Work-related stress and reward are not mutually exclusive; particular situations and events can be simultaneously stressful and rewarding for healthcare providers. Although patient care and interactions with children was found to be the most stressful aspect of working in this speciality, it was also the greatest source of reward. Results are discussed in relation to workplace approaches to staff well-being and stress reduction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

BOLD responses in reward regions to hypothetical and imaginary monetary rewards.

OpenAIRE

Miyapuram Krishna P; Tobler Philippe N; Gregorios-Pippas Lucy; Schultz Wolfram

2012-01-01

Monetary rewards are uniquely human. Because money is easy to quantify and present visually, it is the reward of choice for most fMRI studies, even though it cannot be handed over to participants inside the scanner. A typical fMRI study requires hundreds of trials and thus small amounts of monetary rewards per trial (e.g. 5p) if all trials are to be treated equally. However, small payoffs can have detrimental effects on performance due to their limited buying power. Hypothetical monetary rewa...

Reward eliminates retrieval-induced forgetting.

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Imai, Hisato; Kim, Dongho; Sasaki, Yuka; Watanabe, Takeo

2014-12-02

Although it is well known that reward enhances learning and memory, how extensively such enhancement occurs remains unclear. To address this question, we examined how reward influences retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) in which the retrieval of a nonpracticed item under the same category as a practiced item is worse than the retrieval of a nonpracticed item outside the category. Subjects were asked to try to encode category-exemplar pairs (e.g., FISH-salmon). Then, they were presented with a category name and a two-letter word stem (e.g., FISH-sa) and were asked to complete an encoded word (retrieval practice). For a correct response, apple juice was given as a reward in the reward condition and a beeping sound was presented in the no-reward condition. Finally, subjects were asked to report whether each exemplar had been presented in the first phase. RIF was replicated in the no-reward condition. However, in the reward condition, RIF was eliminated. These results suggest that reward enhances processing of retrieval of unpracticed members by mechanisms such as spreading activation within the same category, irrespective of whether items were practiced or not.

Central dopaminergic circuitry controlling food intake and reward: implications for the regulation of obesity.

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Vucetic, Zivjena; Reyes, Teresa M

2010-01-01

Prevalence of obesity in the general population has increased in the past 15 years from 15% to 35%. With increasing obesity, the coincident medical and social consequences are becoming more alarming. Control over food intake is crucial for the maintenance of body weight and represents an important target for the treatment of obesity. Central nervous system mechanisms responsible for control of food intake have evolved to sense the nutrient and energy levels in the organism and to coordinate appropriate responses to adjust energy intake and expenditure. This homeostatic system is crucial for maintenance of stable body weight over long periods of time of uneven energy availability. However, not only the caloric and nutritional value of food but also hedonic and emotional aspects of feeding affect food intake. In modern society, the increased availability of highly palatable and rewarding (fat, sweet) food can significantly affect homeostatic balance, resulting in dysregulated food intake. This review will focus on the role of hypothalamic and mesolimbic/mesocortical dopaminergic (DA) circuitry in coding homeostatic and hedonic signals for the regulation of food intake and maintenance of caloric balance. The interaction of dopamine with peripheral and central indices of nutritional status (e.g., leptin, ghrelin, neuropeptide Y), and the susceptibility of the dopamine system to prenatal insults will be discussed. Additionally, the importance of alterations in dopamine signaling that occur coincidently with obesity will be addressed.

Monetary reward speeds up voluntary saccades.

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Chen, Lewis L; Chen, Y Mark; Zhou, Wu; Mustain, William D

2014-01-01

Past studies have shown that reward contingency is critical for sensorimotor learning, and reward expectation speeds up saccades in animals. Whether monetary reward speeds up saccades in human remains unknown. Here we addressed this issue by employing a conditional saccade task, in which human subjects performed a series of non-reflexive, visually-guided horizontal saccades. The subjects were (or were not) financially compensated for making a saccade in response to a centrally-displayed visual congruent (or incongruent) stimulus. Reward modulation of saccadic velocities was quantified independently of the amplitude-velocity coupling. We found that reward expectation significantly sped up voluntary saccades up to 30°/s, and the reward modulation was consistent across tests. These findings suggest that monetary reward speeds up saccades in human in a fashion analogous to how juice reward sped up saccades in monkeys. We further noticed that the idiosyncratic nasal-temporal velocity asymmetry was highly consistent regardless of test order, and its magnitude was not correlated with the magnitude of reward modulation. This suggests that reward modulation and the intrinsic velocity asymmetry may be governed by separate mechanisms that regulate saccade generation.

Developmental changes in the reward positivity: An electrophysiological trajectory of reward processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen N. Lukie

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Children and adolescents learn to regulate their behavior by utilizing feedback from the environment but exactly how this ability develops remains unclear. To investigate this question, we recorded the event-related brain potential (ERP from children (8–13 years, adolescents (14–17 years and young adults (18–23 years while they navigated a “virtual maze” in pursuit of monetary rewards. The amplitude of the reward positivity, an ERP component elicited by feedback stimuli, was evaluated for each age group. A current theory suggests the reward positivity is produced by the impact of reinforcement learning signals carried by the midbrain dopamine system on anterior cingulate cortex, which utilizes the signals to learn and execute extended behaviors. We found that the three groups produced a reward positivity of comparable size despite relatively longer ERP component latencies for the children, suggesting that the reward processing system reaches maturity early in development. We propose that early development of the midbrain dopamine system facilitates the development of extended goal-directed behaviors in anterior cingulate cortex.

Random reward priming is task-contingent

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ásgeirsson, Árni Gunnar; Kristjánsson, Árni

2014-01-01

Consistent financial reward of particular features influences the allocation of visual attention in many ways. More surprising are 1-trial reward priming effects on attention where reward schedules are random and reward on one trial influences attentional allocation on the next. Those findings...

Incremental effects of reward on creativity.

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Eisenberger, R; Rhoades, L

2001-10-01

The authors examined 2 ways reward might increase creativity. First, reward contingent on creativity might increase extrinsic motivation. Studies 1 and 2 found that repeatedly giving preadolescent students reward for creative performance in 1 task increased their creativity in subsequent tasks. Study 3 reported that reward promised for creativity increased college students' creative task performance. Second, expected reward for high performance might increase creativity by enhancing perceived self-determination and, therefore, intrinsic task interest. Study 4 found that employees' intrinsic job interest mediated a positive relationship between expected reward for high performance and creative suggestions offered at work. Study 5 found that employees' perceived self-determination mediated a positive relationship between expected reward for high performance and the creativity of anonymous suggestions for helping the organization.

Expected reward value and reward uncertainty have temporally dissociable effects on memory formation

OpenAIRE

Adcock, R; Clement, Nathaniel; Chiew, Kimberly; Dickerson, Kathryn; Stanek, Jessica

2018-01-01

Anticipating rewards has been shown to enhance memory formation. While substantial evidence implicates dopamine in this behavioral effect, the precise mechanisms remain ambiguous. Because dopamine nuclei show two distinct physiological signatures of reward prediction, we hypothesized two dissociable effects on memory formation. These two signatures are a phasic dopamine response immediately following a reward cue that encodes its expected value, and a sustained, ramping dopamine response that...

Reward contingencies and the recalibration of task monitoring and reward systems: a high-density electrical mapping study.

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Morie, K P; De Sanctis, P; Foxe, J J

2014-07-25

Task execution almost always occurs in the context of reward-seeking or punishment-avoiding behavior. As such, ongoing task-monitoring systems are influenced by reward anticipation systems. In turn, when a task has been executed either successfully or unsuccessfully, future iterations of that task will be re-titrated on the basis of the task outcome. Here, we examined the neural underpinnings of the task-monitoring and reward-evaluation systems to better understand how they govern reward-seeking behavior. Twenty-three healthy adult participants performed a task where they accrued points that equated to real world value (gift cards) by responding as rapidly as possible within an allotted timeframe, while success rate was titrated online by changing the duration of the timeframe dependent on participant performance. Informative cues initiated each trial, indicating the probability of potential reward or loss (four levels from very low to very high). We manipulated feedback by first informing participants of task success/failure, after which a second feedback signal indicated actual magnitude of reward/loss. High-density electroencephalography (EEG) recordings allowed for examination of event-related potentials (ERPs) to the informative cues and in turn, to both feedback signals. Distinct ERP components associated with reward cues, task-preparatory and task-monitoring processes, and reward feedback processes were identified. Unsurprisingly, participants displayed increased ERP amplitudes associated with task-preparatory processes following cues that predicted higher chances of reward. They also rapidly updated reward and loss prediction information dependent on task performance after the first feedback signal. Finally, upon reward receipt, initial reward probability was no longer taken into account. Rather, ERP measures suggested that only the magnitude of actual reward or loss was now processed. Reward and task-monitoring processes are clearly dissociable, but

Neural correlates of reward processing in healthy siblings of patients with schizophrenia : Reward processing in schizophrenia siblings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hanssen, E.M.E.

2015-01-01

Deficits in motivational behavior and psychotic symptoms often observed in schizophrenia (SZ) may be driven by dysfunctional reward processing (RP). RP can be divided in two different stages; reward anticipation and reward consumption. Aberrant processing during reward anticipation seems to be

Dopaminergic circuitry and risk/reward decision making: implications for schizophrenia.

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Stopper, Colin M; Floresco, Stan B

2015-01-01

Abnormal reinforcement learning and representations of reward value are present in schizophrenia, and these impairments can manifest as deficits in risk/reward decision making. These abnormalities may be due in part to dopaminergic dysfunction within cortico-limbic-striatal circuitry. Evidence from studies with laboratory animal have revealed that normal DA activity within different nodes of these circuits is critical for mediating dissociable processes that can refine decision biases. Moreover, both phasic and tonic dopamine transmission appear to play separate yet complementary roles in these processes. Tonic dopamine release within the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, serves as a "running rate-meter" of reward and reflects contextual information such as reward uncertainty and overt choice behavior. On the other hand, manipulations of outcome-related phasic dopamine bursts and dips suggest these signals provide rapid feedback to allow for quick adjustments in choice as reward contingencies change. The lateral habenula is a key input to the DA system that phasic signals is necessary for expressing subjective decision biases; as suppression of activity within this nucleus leads to catastrophic impairments in decision making and random patterns of choice behavior. As schizophrenia is characterized by impairments in using positive and negative feedback to appropriately guide decision making, these findings suggest that these deficits in these processes may be mediated, at least in part, by abnormalities in both tonic and phasic dopamine transmission. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social reward shapes attentional biases.

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Anderson, Brian A

2016-01-01

Paying attention to stimuli that predict a reward outcome is important for an organism to survive and thrive. When visual stimuli are associated with tangible, extrinsic rewards such as money or food, these stimuli acquire high attentional priority and come to automatically capture attention. In humans and other primates, however, many behaviors are not motivated directly by such extrinsic rewards, but rather by the social feedback that results from performing those behaviors. In the present study, I examine whether positive social feedback can similarly influence attentional bias. The results show that stimuli previously associated with a high probability of positive social feedback elicit value-driven attentional capture, much like stimuli associated with extrinsic rewards. Unlike with extrinsic rewards, however, such stimuli also influence task-specific motivation. My findings offer a potential mechanism by which social reward shapes the information that we prioritize when perceiving the world around us.

A new aspect of chronic pain as a lifestyle-related disease

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Emiko Senba

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Physical exercise has been established as a low-cost, safe, and effective way to manage chronic intractable pain. We investigated the underlying mechanisms of exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH using a mouse model of neuropathic pain (NPP. Epigenetic changes in activated microglia and maintained GABA synthesis in the spinal dorsal horn may contribute to EIH. Voluntary exercise (VE, a strong reward for animals, also induced EIH, which may be due in part to the activation of dopamine (DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA. VE increases the expression of pCREB in dopaminergic neurons in the VTA, which would enhance dopamine production, and thereby contributes to the activation of the mesolimbic reward system in NPP model mice. We demonstrated that neurons in the laterodorsal tegmental and pedunculopontine tegmental nuclei, a major input source of rewarding stimuli to the VTA, were activated by exercise.Chronic pain is at least partly attributed to sedentary and inactive lifestyle as indicated by the Fear-avoidance model. Therefore, chronic pain could be recognized as a lifestyle-related disease. Physical activity/inactivity may be determined by genetic/epigenetic and neural factors encoded in our brain. The hypothalamus and reward system is closely related in the axis of food intake, energy metabolism and physical activity. Understanding the interactions between the mesolimbic DA system and the hypothalamus that sense and regulate energy balance is thus of significant importance. For example, proopiomelanocortin neurons and melanocortin 4 receptors may play a role in connecting these two systems. Therefore, in a certain sense, chronic pain and obesity may share common behavioral and neural pathology, i.e. physical inactivity, as a result of inactivation of the mesolimbic DA system. Exercise and increasing physical activity in daily life may be important in treating and preventing chronic pain, a life-style related disease. Keywords: Exercise

Regulation of the mesolimbic dopamine circuit by feeding peptides.

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Liu, S; Borgland, S L

2015-03-19

Polypeptides produced in the gastrointestinal tract, stomach, adipocytes, pancreas and brain that influence food intake are referred to as 'feeding-related' peptides. Most peptides that influence feeding exert an inhibitory effect (anorexigenic peptides). In contrast, only a few exert a stimulating effect (orexigenic peptides), such as ghrelin. Homeostatic feeding refers to when food consumed matches energy deficits. However, in western society where access to palatable energy-dense food is nearly unlimited, food is mostly consumed for non-homeostatic reasons. Emerging evidence implicates the mesocorticolimbic circuitry, including dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), as a key substrate for non-homeostatic feeding. VTA dopamine neurons encode cues that predict rewards and phasic release of dopamine in the ventral striatum motivates animals to forage for food. To elucidate how feeding-related peptides regulate reward pathways is of importance to reveal the mechanisms underlying non-homeostatic or hedonic feeding. Here, we review the current knowledge of how anorexigenic peptides and orexigenic peptides act within the VTA. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consolidation power of extrinsic rewards: reward cues enhance long-term memory for irrelevant past events.

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Murayama, Kou; Kitagami, Shinji

2014-02-01

Recent research suggests that extrinsic rewards promote memory consolidation through dopaminergic modulation processes. However, no conclusive behavioral evidence exists given that the influence of extrinsic reward on attention and motivation during encoding and consolidation processes are inherently confounded. The present study provides behavioral evidence that extrinsic rewards (i.e., monetary incentives) enhance human memory consolidation independently of attention and motivation. Participants saw neutral pictures, followed by a reward or control cue in an unrelated context. Our results (and a direct replication study) demonstrated that the reward cue predicted a retrograde enhancement of memory for the preceding neutral pictures. This retrograde effect was observed only after a delay, not immediately upon testing. An additional experiment showed that emotional arousal or unconscious resource mobilization cannot explain the retrograde enhancement effect. These results provide support for the notion that the dopaminergic memory consolidation effect can result from extrinsic reward.

Discrete-time rewards model-checked

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Larsen, K.G.; Andova, S.; Niebert, Peter; Hermanns, H.; Katoen, Joost P.

2003-01-01

This paper presents a model-checking approach for analyzing discrete-time Markov reward models. For this purpose, the temporal logic probabilistic CTL is extended with reward constraints. This allows to formulate complex measures – involving expected as well as accumulated rewards – in a precise and

The Mesolimbic Dopaminergic Dysfunction in Psychosis: A Review of the Literature

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Pedro Alves de Moura

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Background: For several decades now it is thought that dopamine hyperactivity on the mesolimbic pathway is implied on the genesis of schizophrenic psychotic symptoms. Aims: In this review we sought to interconnect the various areas of current knowledge, seeking to relate them to clinical practice. Methods: A systematic English language PUBMED search was done, using MeSH (medical subject headings terms “mesolimbic” and “psychosis”, until April 2014, including reviews. Results and Conclusions: We found 111 papers, and excluded 56 after an abstract review. We selected 14 papers of the remaining 55. We present evidence on the part played by the neurodevelopment, acetylcholine nicotinic receptor regulation, influence of KCNQ potassium channels, neurotransmitter peptides, adenosine and phosphodiesterase 10A, as well as advances on understanding the etiology of schizophrenia on the development of psychotic symptoms associated not only with this disease but also with several disturbances on which they can occur, as well as a possible relation between these various influences, where it has been possible to do so. It is, therefore, an enunciation of the neurobiological substrate underlying psychotic symptoms.

Reward processing in the value-driven attention network: reward signals tracking cue identity and location.

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Anderson, Brian A

2017-03-01

Through associative reward learning, arbitrary cues acquire the ability to automatically capture visual attention. Previous studies have examined the neural correlates of value-driven attentional orienting, revealing elevated activity within a network of brain regions encompassing the visual corticostriatal loop [caudate tail, lateral occipital complex (LOC) and early visual cortex] and intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Such attentional priority signals raise a broader question concerning how visual signals are combined with reward signals during learning to create a representation that is sensitive to the confluence of the two. This study examines reward signals during the cued reward training phase commonly used to generate value-driven attentional biases. High, compared with low, reward feedback preferentially activated the value-driven attention network, in addition to regions typically implicated in reward processing. Further examination of these reward signals within the visual system revealed information about the identity of the preceding cue in the caudate tail and LOC, and information about the location of the preceding cue in IPS, while early visual cortex represented both location and identity. The results reveal teaching signals within the value-driven attention network during associative reward learning, and further suggest functional specialization within different regions of this network during the acquisition of an integrated representation of stimulus value. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Individual differences in sensitivity to reward and punishment and neural activity during reward and avoidance learning.

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Kim, Sang Hee; Yoon, HeungSik; Kim, Hackjin; Hamann, Stephan

2015-09-01

In this functional neuroimaging study, we investigated neural activations during the process of learning to gain monetary rewards and to avoid monetary loss, and how these activations are modulated by individual differences in reward and punishment sensitivity. Healthy young volunteers performed a reinforcement learning task where they chose one of two fractal stimuli associated with monetary gain (reward trials) or avoidance of monetary loss (avoidance trials). Trait sensitivity to reward and punishment was assessed using the behavioral inhibition/activation scales (BIS/BAS). Functional neuroimaging results showed activation of the striatum during the anticipation and reception periods of reward trials. During avoidance trials, activation of the dorsal striatum and prefrontal regions was found. As expected, individual differences in reward sensitivity were positively associated with activation in the left and right ventral striatum during reward reception. Individual differences in sensitivity to punishment were negatively associated with activation in the left dorsal striatum during avoidance anticipation and also with activation in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex during receiving monetary loss. These results suggest that learning to attain reward and learning to avoid loss are dependent on separable sets of neural regions whose activity is modulated by trait sensitivity to reward or punishment. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Learned reward association improves visual working memory.

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Gong, Mengyuan; Li, Sheng

2014-04-01

Statistical regularities in the natural environment play a central role in adaptive behavior. Among other regularities, reward association is potentially the most prominent factor that influences our daily life. Recent studies have suggested that pre-established reward association yields strong influence on the spatial allocation of attention. Here we show that reward association can also improve visual working memory (VWM) performance when the reward-associated feature is task-irrelevant. We established the reward association during a visual search training session, and investigated the representation of reward-associated features in VWM by the application of a change detection task before and after the training. The results showed that the improvement in VWM was significantly greater for items in the color associated with high reward than for those in low reward-associated or nonrewarded colors. In particular, the results from control experiments demonstrate that the observed reward effect in VWM could not be sufficiently accounted for by attentional capture toward the high reward-associated item. This was further confirmed when the effect of attentional capture was minimized by presenting the items in the sample and test displays of the change detection task with the same color. The results showed significantly larger improvement in VWM performance when the items in a display were in the high reward-associated color than those in the low reward-associated or nonrewarded colors. Our findings suggest that, apart from inducing space-based attentional capture, the learned reward association could also facilitate the perceptual representation of high reward-associated items through feature-based attentional modulation.

BOLD responses in reward regions to hypothetical and imaginary monetary rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miyapuram, K.P.; Tobler, P.N.; Gregorios-Pippas, L.; Schultz, W.

2012-01-01

Monetary rewards are uniquely human. Because money is easy to quantify and present visually, it is the reward of choice for most fMRI studies, even though it cannot be handed over to participants inside the scanner. A typical fMRI study requires hundreds of trials and thus small amounts of monetary

Neural processing of calories in brain reward areas can be modulated by reward sensitivity

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Inge eVan Rijn

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A food’s reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food’s acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity, however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth and trait reward sensitivity in different hunger states. Firstly, we assessed this in data from a functional neuroimaging study (van Rijn et al., 2015, in which participants (n=30 tasted simple solutions of a non-caloric sweetener with or without a non-sweet carbohydrate (maltodextrin during hunger and satiety. Secondly, we expanded these analyses to regular drinks by assessing the same relationship in data from a study in which soft drinks sweetened with either sucrose or a non-caloric sweetener were administered during hunger (n=18 (Griffioen-Roose et al., 2013. First, taste activation by the non-caloric solution/soft drink was subtracted from that by the caloric solution/soft drink to eliminate sweetness effects and retain activation induced by calories. Subsequently, this difference in taste activation was correlated with reward sensitivity as measured with the BAS drive subscale of the Behavioral Activation System (BAS questionnaire.When participants were hungry and tasted calories from the simple solution, brain activation in the right ventral striatum (caudate, right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (bilaterally correlated negatively with BAS drive scores. In contrast, when participants were satiated, taste responses correlated positively with BAS drive scores in the left caudate. These results were not replicated for soft drinks. Thus, neural responses to oral calories from maltodextrin were modulated by reward sensitivity in reward-related brain areas. This was not the case for sucrose. This may be due to the direct detection of maltodextrin, but not sucrose in the oral cavity. Also, in a familiar beverage, detection of calories per

Neural Processing of Calories in Brain Reward Areas Can be Modulated by Reward Sensitivity.

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van Rijn, Inge; Griffioen-Roose, Sanne; de Graaf, Cees; Smeets, Paul A M

2015-01-01

A food's reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food's acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity), however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth and trait reward sensitivity in different hunger states. Firstly, we assessed this in data from a functional neuroimaging study (van Rijn et al., 2015), in which participants (n = 30) tasted simple solutions of a non-caloric sweetener with or without a non-sweet carbohydrate (maltodextrin) during hunger and satiety. Secondly, we expanded these analyses to regular drinks by assessing the same relationship in data from a study in which soft drinks sweetened with either sucrose or a non-caloric sweetener were administered during hunger (n = 18) (Griffioen-Roose et al., 2013). First, taste activation by the non-caloric solution/soft drink was subtracted from that by the caloric solution/soft drink to eliminate sweetness effects and retain activation induced by calories. Subsequently, this difference in taste activation was correlated with reward sensitivity as measured with the BAS drive subscale of the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaire. When participants were hungry and tasted calories from the simple solution, brain activation in the right ventral striatum (caudate), right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (bilaterally) correlated negatively with BAS drive scores. In contrast, when participants were satiated, taste responses correlated positively with BAS drive scores in the left caudate. These results were not replicated for soft drinks. Thus, neural responses to oral calories from maltodextrin were modulated by reward sensitivity in reward-related brain areas. This was not the case for sucrose. This may be due to the direct detection of maltodextrin, but not sucrose in the oral cavity. Also, in a familiar beverage, detection of calories per se may be

The Relationship Between the Effort-Reward Imbalance and Psychosocial Health in Nurses

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Fariborz Roshangar

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The health of nurses as providers of health affects the quality of care provided by health care organizations to patients. The effort-reward imbalance is accompanied by repressive responses that can lead to physical and psychological diseases as well as stressful experiences in nurses’ activity. Regarding the existence of some discrimination in the system of health, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between the effort-reward imbalance and psychosocial health in nurses. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 270 nurses working in five medical-educational centers in Tabriz participated through random-quota sampling. The research tool included a demographic questionnaire, Siegrist effort- reward imbalance questionnaire and Copenhagen Psychosocial questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS V18 and descriptive and inferential statistics. In the present study, 54.8% of the patients were suffering from effort- reward imbalance model (occupational stress. The relatively high prevalence of this can be attributed to the conditions of the hospital's working environment. The results of this study showed a significant relationship between psychosocial health and balance of reward and effort in nurses and also the findings of the research showed a positive and significant relationship between mental and social health and the score of effort-reward imbalance model (0.95 = R, and P <0.05. There was a significant relationship between effort and work commitment and job burnout. Considering the stressful nature of the profession among many reasons, the mental health of nurses is at a higher risk than that of other groups in the society. Because some factors related to the imbalance in the effort and reward (stress is inevitable, it is necessary in the profession of nursing for managers to review their employees' position and characteristics to find out their staff’s attitudes and behaviors and direct them in the right path.

Ghrelin influences novelty seeking behavior in rodents and men.

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Hansson, Caroline; Shirazi, Rozita H; Näslund, Jakob; Vogel, Heike; Neuber, Corinna; Holm, Göran; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Dickson, Suzanne L; Eriksson, Elias; Skibicka, Karolina P

2012-01-01

Recent discoveries indicate an important role for ghrelin in drug and alcohol reward and an ability of ghrelin to regulate mesolimbic dopamine activity. The role of dopamine in novelty seeking, and the association between this trait and drug and alcohol abuse, led us to hypothesize that ghrelin may influence novelty seeking behavior. To test this possibility we applied several complementary rodent models of novelty seeking behavior, i.e. inescapable novelty-induced locomotor activity (NILA), novelty-induced place preference and novel object exploration, in rats subjected to acute ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor; GHSR) stimulation or blockade. Furthermore we assessed the possible association between polymorphisms in the genes encoding ghrelin and GHSR and novelty seeking behavior in humans. The rodent studies indicate an important role for ghrelin in a wide range of novelty seeking behaviors. Ghrelin-injected rats exhibited a higher preference for a novel environment and increased novel object exploration. Conversely, those with GHSR blockade drastically reduced their preference for a novel environment and displayed decreased NILA. Importantly, the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area selective GHSR blockade was sufficient to reduce the NILA response indicating that the mesolimbic GHSRs might play an important role in the observed novelty responses. Moreover, in untreated animals, a striking positive correlation between NILA and sucrose reward behavior was detected. Two GHSR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2948694 and rs495225, were significantly associated with the personality trait novelty seeking, as assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in human subjects. This study provides the first evidence for a role of ghrelin in novelty seeking behavior in animals and humans, and also points to an association between food reward and novelty seeking in rodents.

Distinct Reward Properties are Encoded via Corticostriatal Interactions.

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Smith, David V; Rigney, Anastasia E; Delgado, Mauricio R

2016-02-02

The striatum serves as a critical brain region for reward processing. Yet, understanding the link between striatum and reward presents a challenge because rewards are composed of multiple properties. Notably, affective properties modulate emotion while informative properties help obtain future rewards. We approached this problem by emphasizing affective and informative reward properties within two independent guessing games. We found that both reward properties evoked activation within the nucleus accumbens, a subregion of the striatum. Striatal responses to informative, but not affective, reward properties predicted subsequent utilization of information for obtaining monetary reward. We hypothesized that activation of the striatum may be necessary but not sufficient to encode distinct reward properties. To investigate this possibility, we examined whether affective and informative reward properties were differentially encoded in corticostriatal interactions. Strikingly, we found that the striatum exhibited dissociable connectivity patterns with the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, with increasing connectivity for affective reward properties and decreasing connectivity for informative reward properties. Our results demonstrate that affective and informative reward properties are encoded via corticostriatal interactions. These findings highlight how corticostriatal systems contribute to reward processing, potentially advancing models linking striatal activation to behavior.

Measuring and modeling the interaction among reward size, delay to reward, and satiation level on motivation in monkeys.

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Minamimoto, Takafumi; La Camera, Giancarlo; Richmond, Barry J

2009-01-01

Motivation is usually inferred from the likelihood or the intensity with which behavior is carried out. It is sensitive to external factors (e.g., the identity, amount, and timing of a rewarding outcome) and internal factors (e.g., hunger or thirst). We trained macaque monkeys to perform a nonchoice instrumental task (a sequential red-green color discrimination) while manipulating two external factors: reward size and delay-to-reward. We also inferred the state of one internal factor, level of satiation, by monitoring the accumulated reward. A visual cue indicated the forthcoming reward size and delay-to-reward in each trial. The fraction of trials completed correctly by the monkeys increased linearly with reward size and was hyperbolically discounted by delay-to-reward duration, relations that are similar to those found in free operant and choice tasks. The fraction of correct trials also decreased progressively as a function of the satiation level. Similar (albeit noiser) relations were obtained for reaction times. The combined effect of reward size, delay-to-reward, and satiation level on the proportion of correct trials is well described as a multiplication of the effects of the single factors when each factor is examined alone. These results provide a quantitative account of the interaction of external and internal factors on instrumental behavior, and allow us to extend the concept of subjective value of a rewarding outcome, usually confined to external factors, to account also for slow changes in the internal drive of the subject.

Registered nurses' perceptions of rewarding and its significance.

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Seitovirta, Jaana; Lehtimäki, Aku-Ville; Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Katri; Mitronen, Lasse; Kvist, Tarja

2017-11-07

To examine reward type preferences and their relationships with the significance of rewarding perceived by registered nurses in Finland. Previous studies have found relationships between nurses' rewarding and their motivation at work, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Data were collected in a cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire survey from 402 registered nurses using the Registered Nurses' Perceptions of Rewarding Scale in 2015, and analysed with descriptive and multivariate statistical methods. Registered nurses assigned slightly higher values to several non-financial than to financial rewards. The non-financial reward types appreciation and feedback from work community, worktime arrangements, work content, and opportunity to develop, influence and participate were highly related to the significance of rewarding. We identified various rewards that registered nurses value, and indications that providing an appropriate array of rewards, particularly non-financial rewards, is a highly beneficial element of nursing management. It is important to understand the value of rewards for nursing management. Nurse managers should offer diverse rewards to their registered nurses to promote excellent performance and to help efforts to secure and maintain high-quality, safe patient care. The use of appropriate rewards is especially crucial to improving registered nurses' reward satisfaction and job satisfaction globally in the nursing profession. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The relationship between personality types and reward preferences

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R. Nienaber

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Research has shown that total rewards models structured according to individual preferences, positively influence efforts to attract, retain and motivate key employees. Yet, this is seldom done. Structuring total rewards models according to the preferences of employee segments is a viable alternative to accommodate individual preferences. Research purpose: The primary aim of the study was to determine the relationship between personality types and reward preferences. The secondary aim was to determine the reward preferences for different demographic groups. Motivation for the study: An enhanced understanding of reward preferences for different employee segments will enable employers to offer more competitive reward options to their employees. This may, in turn, have a positive impact on retention. Research design, approach and method: Two measuring instruments, the MBTI® Form GRV and the Rewards Preferences Questionnaire, were distributed electronically to 5 000 potential respondents. The results from 589 sets of questionnaires were used in the data analyses. Primary and secondary factor analyses were done on the items in the Rewards Preferences Questionnaire. Main findings/results: The study confirmed that individuals with certain personality types and personality preferences, have different preferences for certain reward categories. There was a stronger relationship between reward preferences and personality preferences than for reward preferences and personality types. Preferences for reward categories by different demographic groups were confirmed. The significant difference in reward preferences between Black and White respondents in particular was noteworthy, with Black respondents indicating significantly higher mean scores for all reward categories than White respondents. Finally, a total rewards framework influenced by the most prominent preferences for reward categories, was designed. Practical/Managerial implications

Brain Circuits Encoding Reward from Pain Relief.

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Navratilova, Edita; Atcherley, Christopher W; Porreca, Frank

2015-11-01

Relief from pain in humans is rewarding and pleasurable. Primary rewards, or reward-predictive cues, are encoded in brain reward/motivational circuits. While considerable advances have been made in our understanding of reward circuits underlying positive reinforcement, less is known about the circuits underlying the hedonic and reinforcing actions of pain relief. We review findings from electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and behavioral studies supporting the concept that the rewarding effect of pain relief requires opioid signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), activation of midbrain dopamine neurons, and the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Understanding of circuits that govern the reward of pain relief may allow the discovery of more effective and satisfying therapies for patients with acute or chronic pain.

Reward system dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

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Schulte-Rüther, Martin; Nehrkorn, Barbara; Müller, Kristin; Fink, Gereon R.; Kamp-Becker, Inge; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Schultz, Robert T.; Konrad, Kerstin

2013-01-01

Although it has been suggested that social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are related to reward circuitry dysfunction, very little is known about the neural reward mechanisms in ASD. In the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated brain activations in response to both social and monetary reward in a group of children with ASD, relative to matched controls. Participants with ASD showed the expected hypoactivation in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry in response to both reward types. In particular, diminished activation in the nucleus accumbens was observed when money, but not when social reward, was at stake, whereas the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex were hypoactivated within the ASD group in response to both rewards. These data indicate that the reward circuitry is compromised in ASD in social as well as in non-social, i.e. monetary conditions, which likely contributes to atypical motivated behaviour. Taken together, with incentives used in this study sample, there is evidence for a general reward dysfunction in ASD. However, more ecologically valid social reward paradigms are needed to fully understand, whether there is any domain specificity to the reward deficit that appears evident in ASD, which would be most consistent with the ASD social phenotype. PMID:22419119

Abnormal reward functioning across substance use disorders and major depressive disorder: Considering reward as a transdiagnostic mechanism.

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Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R; Foti, Dan

2015-11-01

A common criticism of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is that its criteria are based more on behavioral descriptions than on underlying biological mechanisms. Increasingly, calls have intensified for a more biologically-based approach to conceptualizing, studying, and treating psychological disorders, as exemplified by the Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC). Among the most well-studied neurobiological mechanisms is reward processing. Moreover, individual differences in reward sensitivity are related to risk for substance abuse and depression. The current review synthesizes the available preclinical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging literature on reward processing from a transdiagnostic, multidimensional perspective. Findings are organized with respect to key reward constructs within the Positive Valence Systems domain of the RDoC matrix, including initial responsiveness to reward (physiological 'liking'), approach motivation (physiological 'wanting'), and reward learning/habit formation. In the current review, we (a) describe the neural basis of reward, (b) elucidate differences in reward activity in substance abuse and depression, and (c) suggest a framework for integrating these disparate literatures and discuss the utility of shifting focus from diagnosis to process for understanding liability and co-morbidity. Ultimately, we believe that an integrative focus on abnormal reward functioning across the full continuum of clinically heterogeneous samples, rather than within circumscribed diagnostic categories, might actually help to refine the phenotypes and improve the prediction of onset and recovery of these disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reward Merit with Praise.

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Andrews, Hans A.

1987-01-01

Describes the efforts of two educational institutions to reward teaching excellence using positive feedback rather than merit pay incentives. An Arizona district, drawing on Herzberg's motivation theories, offers highly individualized rewards ranging from computers to conference money, while an Illinois community college bestows engraved plaques…

Brain Stimulation Reward Supports More Consistent and Accurate Rodent Decision-Making than Food Reward.

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McMurray, Matthew S; Conway, Sineadh M; Roitman, Jamie D

2017-01-01

Animal models of decision-making rely on an animal's motivation to decide and its ability to detect differences among various alternatives. Food reinforcement, although commonly used, is associated with problematic confounds, especially satiety. Here, we examined the use of brain stimulation reward (BSR) as an alternative reinforcer in rodent models of decision-making and compared it with the effectiveness of sugar pellets. The discriminability of various BSR frequencies was compared to differing numbers of sugar pellets in separate free-choice tasks. We found that BSR was more discriminable and motivated greater task engagement and more consistent preference for the larger reward. We then investigated whether rats prefer BSR of varying frequencies over sugar pellets. We found that animals showed either a clear preference for sugar reward or no preference between reward modalities, depending on the frequency of the BSR alternative and the size of the sugar reward. Overall, these results suggest that BSR is an effective reinforcer in rodent decision-making tasks, removing food-related confounds and resulting in more accurate, consistent, and reliable metrics of choice.

Reward-dependent modulation of movement variability.

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Pekny, Sarah E; Izawa, Jun; Shadmehr, Reza

2015-03-04

Movement variability is often considered an unwanted byproduct of a noisy nervous system. However, variability can signal a form of implicit exploration, indicating that the nervous system is intentionally varying the motor commands in search of actions that yield the greatest success. Here, we investigated the role of the human basal ganglia in controlling reward-dependent motor variability as measured by trial-to-trial changes in performance during a reaching task. We designed an experiment in which the only performance feedback was success or failure and quantified how reach variability was modulated as a function of the probability of reward. In healthy controls, reach variability increased as the probability of reward decreased. Control of variability depended on the history of past rewards, with the largest trial-to-trial changes occurring immediately after an unrewarded trial. In contrast, in participants with Parkinson's disease, a known example of basal ganglia dysfunction, reward was a poor modulator of variability; that is, the patients showed an impaired ability to increase variability in response to decreases in the probability of reward. This was despite the fact that, after rewarded trials, reach variability in the patients was comparable to healthy controls. In summary, we found that movement variability is partially a form of exploration driven by the recent history of rewards. When the function of the human basal ganglia is compromised, the reward-dependent control of movement variability is impaired, particularly affecting the ability to increase variability after unsuccessful outcomes. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/354015-10$15.00/0.

A test of the reward-value hypothesis.

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Smith, Alexandra E; Dalecki, Stefan J; Crystal, Jonathon D

2017-03-01

Rats retain source memory (memory for the origin of information) over a retention interval of at least 1 week, whereas their spatial working memory (radial maze locations) decays within approximately 1 day. We have argued that different forgetting functions dissociate memory systems. However, the two tasks, in our previous work, used different reward values. The source memory task used multiple pellets of a preferred food flavor (chocolate), whereas the spatial working memory task provided access to a single pellet of standard chow-flavored food at each location. Thus, according to the reward-value hypothesis, enhanced performance in the source memory task stems from enhanced encoding/memory of a preferred reward. We tested the reward-value hypothesis by using a standard 8-arm radial maze task to compare spatial working memory accuracy of rats rewarded with either multiple chocolate or chow pellets at each location using a between-subjects design. The reward-value hypothesis predicts superior accuracy for high-valued rewards. We documented equivalent spatial memory accuracy for high- and low-value rewards. Importantly, a 24-h retention interval produced equivalent spatial working memory accuracy for both flavors. These data are inconsistent with the reward-value hypothesis and suggest that reward value does not explain our earlier findings that source memory survives unusually long retention intervals.

Reward inference by primate prefrontal and striatal neurons.

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Pan, Xiaochuan; Fan, Hongwei; Sawa, Kosuke; Tsuda, Ichiro; Tsukada, Minoru; Sakagami, Masamichi

2014-01-22

The brain contains multiple yet distinct systems involved in reward prediction. To understand the nature of these processes, we recorded single-unit activity from the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and the striatum in monkeys performing a reward inference task using an asymmetric reward schedule. We found that neurons both in the LPFC and in the striatum predicted reward values for stimuli that had been previously well experienced with set reward quantities in the asymmetric reward task. Importantly, these LPFC neurons could predict the reward value of a stimulus using transitive inference even when the monkeys had not yet learned the stimulus-reward association directly; whereas these striatal neurons did not show such an ability. Nevertheless, because there were two set amounts of reward (large and small), the selected striatal neurons were able to exclusively infer the reward value (e.g., large) of one novel stimulus from a pair after directly experiencing the alternative stimulus with the other reward value (e.g., small). Our results suggest that although neurons that predict reward value for old stimuli in the LPFC could also do so for new stimuli via transitive inference, those in the striatum could only predict reward for new stimuli via exclusive inference. Moreover, the striatum showed more complex functions than was surmised previously for model-free learning.

Distinct Reward Properties are Encoded via Corticostriatal Interactions

OpenAIRE

David V. Smith; Anastasia E. Rigney; Mauricio R. Delgado

2016-01-01

The striatum serves as a critical brain region for reward processing. Yet, understanding the link between striatum and reward presents a challenge because rewards are composed of multiple properties. Notably, affective properties modulate emotion while informative properties help obtain future rewards. We approached this problem by emphasizing affective and informative reward properties within two independent guessing games. We found that both reward properties evoked activation within the nu...

Reward Anticipation in Ventral Striatum and Individual Sensitivity to Reward: A Pilot Study of a Child-Friendly fMRI Task.

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van Hulst, Branko M; de Zeeuw, Patrick; Lupas, Kellina; Bos, Dienke J; Neggers, Sebastiaan F W; Durston, Sarah

2015-01-01

Reward processing has been implicated in developmental disorders. However, the classic task to probe reward anticipation, the monetary incentive delay task, has an abstract coding of reward and no storyline and may therefore be less appropriate for use with developmental populations. We modified the task to create a version appropriate for use with children. We investigated whether this child-friendly version could elicit ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation in typically developing children and young adolescents (aged 9.5-14.5). In addition, we tested whether our performance-based measure of reward sensitivity was associated with anticipatory activity in ventral striatum. Reward anticipation was related to activity in bilateral ventral striatum. Moreover, we found an association between individual reward sensitivity and activity in ventral striatum. We conclude that this task assesses ventral striatal activity in a child-friendly paradigm. The combination with a performance-based measure of reward sensitivity potentially makes the task a powerful tool for developmental imaging studies of reward processing.

Extinction and renewal of cue-elicited reward-seeking.

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Bezzina, Louise; Lee, Jessica C; Lovibond, Peter F; Colagiuri, Ben

2016-12-01

Reward cues can contribute to overconsumption of food and drugs and can relapse. The failure of exposure therapies to reduce overconsumption and relapse is generally attributed to the context-specificity of extinction. However, no previous study has examined whether cue-elicited reward-seeking (as opposed to cue-reactivity) is sensitive to context renewal. We tested this possibility in 160 healthy volunteers using a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) design involving voluntary responding for a high value natural reward (chocolate). One reward cue underwent Pavlovian extinction in the same (Group AAA) or different context (Group ABA) to all other phases. This cue was compared with a second non-extinguished reward cue and an unpaired control cue. There was a significant overall PIT effect with both reward cues eliciting reward-seeking on test relative to the unpaired cue. Pavlovian extinction substantially reduced this effect, with the extinguished reward cue eliciting less reward-seeking than the non-extinguished reward cue. Most interestingly, extinction of cue-elicited reward-seeking was sensitive to renewal, with extinction less effective for reducing PIT when conducted in a different context. These findings have important implications for extinction-based interventions for reducing maladaptive reward-seeking in practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reward modulates oculomotor competition between differently valued stimuli.

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Bucker, Berno; Silvis, Jeroen D; Donk, Mieke; Theeuwes, Jan

2015-03-01

The present work explored the effects of reward in the well-known global effect paradigm in which two objects appear simultaneously in close spatial proximity. The experiment consisted of three phases (i) a pre-training phase that served as a baseline, (ii) a reward-training phase to associate differently colored stimuli with high, low and no reward value, and (iii) a post-training phase in which rewards were no longer delivered, to examine whether objects previously associated with higher reward value attracted the eyes more strongly than those associated with low or no reward value. Unlike previous reward studies, the differently valued objects directly competed with each other on the same trial. The results showed that initially eye movements were not biased towards any particular stimulus, while in the reward-training phase, eye movements started to land progressively closer towards stimuli that were associated with a high reward value. Even though rewards were no longer delivered, this bias remained robustly present in the post-training phase. A time course analysis showed that the effect of reward was present for the fastest saccades (around 170 ms) and increased with increasing latency. Although strategic effects for slower saccades cannot be ruled out, we suggest that fast oculomotor responses became habituated and were no longer under strategic attentional control. Together the results imply that reward affects oculomotor competition in favor of stimuli previously associated high reward, when multiple reward associated objects compete for selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reward, Distraction, and the Overjustification Effect

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Smith, Timothy W.; Pittman, Thane S.

1978-01-01

This study tests two differing hypotheses: the competing response hypothesis, which states that both reward and non-reward distractions produce decreases in interest which weaken over repeated trials, and the attribution/overjustification hypothesis, which maintains that rewards produce a decrease in interest that does not weaken over trials.…

Renewal processes with costs and rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlasiou, M.; Cochran, J.J.; Cox, L.A.; Keskinocak, P.; Kharoufeh, J.P.; Smith, J.C.

2011-01-01

We review the theory of renewal reward processes, which describes renewal processes that have some cost or reward associated with each cycle. We present a new simplified proof of the renewal reward theorem that mimics the proof of the Elementary Renewal Theorem and avoids the technicalities in the

The Influence of Palatable Diets in Reward System Activation: A Mini Review

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Isabel Cristina de Macedo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The changes in eating patterns that have occurred in recent decades are an important cause of obesity. Food intake and energy expenditure are controlled by a complex neural system involving the hypothalamic centers and peripheral satiety system (gastrointestinal and pancreatic hormones. Highly palatable and caloric food disrupts appetite regulation; however, palatable foods induce pleasure and reward. The cafeteria diet is such a palatable diet and has been shown consistently to increase body weight and induce hyperplasia in animal obesity models. Moreover, palatable high-fat foods (such as those of the cafeteria diet can induce addiction-like deficits in brain reward function and are considered to be an important source of motivation that might drive overeating and contribute to the development of obesity. The mechanism of neural adaptation triggered by palatable foods is similar to those that have been reported for nondrug addictions and long-term drug use. Thus, this review attempts to describe the potential mechanisms that might lead to highly palatable diets, such as the cafeteria diet, triggering addiction, or compulsion through the reward system.

Neural processing of reward in adolescent rodents

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Nicholas W. Simon

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Immaturities in adolescent reward processing are thought to contribute to poor decision making and increased susceptibility to develop addictive and psychiatric disorders. Very little is known; however, about how the adolescent brain processes reward. The current mechanistic theories of reward processing are derived from adult models. Here we review recent research focused on understanding of how the adolescent brain responds to rewards and reward-associated events. A critical aspect of this work is that age-related differences are evident in neuronal processing of reward-related events across multiple brain regions even when adolescent rats demonstrate behavior similar to adults. These include differences in reward processing between adolescent and adult rats in orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal striatum. Surprisingly, minimal age related differences are observed in ventral striatum, which has been a focal point of developmental studies. We go on to discuss the implications of these differences for behavioral traits affected in adolescence, such as impulsivity, risk-taking, and behavioral flexibility. Collectively, this work suggests that reward-evoked neural activity differs as a function of age and that regions such as the dorsal striatum that are not traditionally associated with affective processing in adults may be critical for reward processing and psychiatric vulnerability in adolescents.

Reward Inference by Primate Prefrontal and Striatal Neurons

OpenAIRE

Pan, Xiaochuan; Fan, Hongwei; Sawa, Kosuke; Tsuda, Ichiro; Tsukada, Minoru; Sakagami, Masamichi

2014-01-01

The brain contains multiple yet distinct systems involved in reward prediction. To understand the nature of these processes, we recorded single-unit activity from the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and the striatum in monkeys performing a reward inference task using an asymmetric reward schedule. We found that neurons both in the LPFC and in the striatum predicted reward values for stimuli that had been previously well experienced with set reward quantities in the asymmetric reward task. Im...

Ventral pallidum roles in reward and motivation.

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Smith, Kyle S; Tindell, Amy J; Aldridge, J Wayne; Berridge, Kent C

2009-01-23

In recent years the ventral pallidum has become a focus of great research interest as a mechanism of reward and incentive motivation. As a major output for limbic signals, the ventral pallidum was once associated primarily with motor functions rather than regarded as a reward structure in its own right. However, ample evidence now suggests that ventral pallidum function is a major mechanism of reward in the brain. We review data indicating that (1) an intact ventral pallidum is necessary for normal reward and motivation, (2) stimulated activation of ventral pallidum is sufficient to cause reward and motivation enhancements, and (3) activation patterns in ventral pallidum neurons specifically encode reward and motivation signals via phasic bursts of excitation to incentive and hedonic stimuli. We conclude that the ventral pallidum may serve as an important 'limbic final common pathway' for mesocorticolimbic processing of many rewards.

Reward modulates perception in binocular rivalry.

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Marx, Svenja; Einhäuser, Wolfgang

2015-01-14

Our perception does not provide us with an exact imprint of the outside world, but is continuously adapted to our internal expectations, task sets, and behavioral goals. Although effects of reward-or value in general-on perception therefore seem likely, how valuation modulates perception and how such modulation relates to attention is largely unknown. We probed effects of reward on perception by using a binocular-rivalry paradigm. Distinct gratings drifting in opposite directions were presented to each observer's eyes. To objectify their subjective perceptual experience, the optokinetic nystagmus was used as measure of current perceptual dominance. In a first experiment, one of the percepts was either rewarded or attended. We found that reward and attention similarly biased perception. In a second experiment, observers performed an attentionally demanding task either on the rewarded stimulus, the other stimulus, or both. We found that-on top of an attentional effect on perception-at each level of attentional load, reward still modulated perception by increasing the dominance of the rewarded percept. Similarly, penalizing one percept increased dominance of the other at each level of attentional load. In turn, rewarding-and similarly nonpunishing-a percept yielded performance benefits that are typically associated with selective attention. In conclusion, our data show that value modulates perception in a similar way as the volitional deployment of attention, even though the relative effect of value is largely unaffected by an attention task. © 2015 ARVO.

It's about time: Earlier rewards increase intrinsic motivation.

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Woolley, Kaitlin; Fishbach, Ayelet

2018-06-01

Can immediate (vs. delayed) rewards increase intrinsic motivation? Prior research compared the presence versus absence of rewards. By contrast, this research compared immediate versus delayed rewards, predicting that more immediate rewards increase intrinsic motivation by creating a perceptual fusion between the activity and its goal (i.e., the reward). In support of the hypothesis, framing a reward from watching a news program as more immediate (vs. delayed) increased intrinsic motivation to watch the program (Study 1), and receiving more immediate bonus (vs. delayed, Study 2; and vs. delayed and no bonus, Study 3) increased intrinsic motivation in an experimental task. The effect of reward timing was mediated by the strength of the association between an activity and a reward, and was specific to intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) motivation-immediacy influenced the positive experience of an activity, but not perceived outcome importance (Study 4). In addition, the effect of the timing of rewards was independent of the effect of the magnitude of the rewards (Study 5). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Evolutionary advantages of adaptive rewarding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szolnoki, Attila; Perc, Matjaž

2012-01-01

Our well-being depends on both our personal success and the success of our society. The realization of this fact makes cooperation an essential trait. Experiments have shown that rewards can elevate our readiness to cooperate, but since giving a reward inevitably entails paying a cost for it, the emergence and stability of such behavior remains elusive. Here we show that allowing for the act of rewarding to self-organize in dependence on the success of cooperation creates several evolutionary advantages that instill new ways through which collaborative efforts are promoted. Ranging from indirect territorial battle to the spontaneous emergence and destruction of coexistence, phase diagrams and the underlying spatial patterns reveal fascinatingly rich social dynamics that explain why this costly behavior has evolved and persevered. Comparisons with adaptive punishment, however, uncover an Achilles heel of adaptive rewarding, coming from over-aggression, which in turn hinders optimal utilization of network reciprocity. This may explain why, despite its success, rewarding is not as firmly embedded into our societal organization as punishment. (paper)

Overt and covert attention to location-based reward.

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McCoy, Brónagh; Theeuwes, Jan

2018-01-01

Recent research on the impact of location-based reward on attentional orienting has indicated that reward factors play an influential role in spatial priority maps. The current study investigated whether and how reward associations based on spatial location translate from overt eye movements to covert attention. If reward associations can be tied to locations in space, and if overt and covert attention rely on similar overlapping neuronal populations, then both overt and covert attentional measures should display similar spatial-based reward learning. Our results suggest that location- and reward-based changes in one attentional domain do not lead to similar changes in the other. Specifically, although we found similar improvements at differentially rewarded locations during overt attentional learning, this translated to the least improvement at a highly rewarded location during covert attention. We interpret this as the result of an increased motivational link between the high reward location and the trained eye movement response acquired during learning, leading to a relative slowing during covert attention when the eyes remained fixated and the saccade response was suppressed. In a second experiment participants were not required to keep fixated during the covert attention task and we no longer observed relative slowing at the high reward location. Furthermore, the second experiment revealed no covert spatial priority of rewarded locations. We conclude that the transfer of location-based reward associations is intimately linked with the reward-modulated motor response employed during learning, and alternative attentional and task contexts may interfere with learned spatial priorities. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Viewing pictures of a romantic partner reduces experimental pain: involvement of neural reward systems.

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Younger, Jarred; Aron, Arthur; Parke, Sara; Chatterjee, Neil; Mackey, Sean

2010-10-13

The early stages of a new romantic relationship are characterized by intense feelings of euphoria, well-being, and preoccupation with the romantic partner. Neuroimaging research has linked those feelings to activation of reward systems in the human brain. The results of those studies may be relevant to pain management in humans, as basic animal research has shown that pharmacologic activation of reward systems can substantially reduce pain. Indeed, viewing pictures of a romantic partner was recently demonstrated to reduce experimental thermal pain. We hypothesized that pain relief evoked by viewing pictures of a romantic partner would be associated with neural activations in reward-processing centers. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we examined fifteen individuals in the first nine months of a new, romantic relationship. Participants completed three tasks under periods of moderate and high thermal pain: 1) viewing pictures of their romantic partner, 2) viewing pictures of an equally attractive and familiar acquaintance, and 3) a word-association distraction task previously demonstrated to reduce pain. The partner and distraction tasks both significantly reduced self-reported pain, although only the partner task was associated with activation of reward systems. Greater analgesia while viewing pictures of a romantic partner was associated with increased activity in several reward-processing regions, including the caudate head, nucleus accumbens, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex--regions not associated with distraction-induced analgesia. The results suggest that the activation of neural reward systems via non-pharmacologic means can reduce the experience of pain.

Hunger and Satiety Gauge Reward Sensitivity

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Ryan Michael Cassidy

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Many of the neurocircuits and hormones known to underlie the sensations of hunger and satiety also substantially alter the activity of the dopaminergic reward system. Much interest lies in the ways that hunger, satiety, and reward tie together, as the epidemic of obesity seems tied to the recent development and mass availability of highly palatable foods. In this review, we will first discuss the basic neurocircuitry of the midbrain and basal forebrain reward system. We will elaborate how several important mediators of hunger—the agouti-related protein neurons of the arcuate nucleus, the lateral hypothalamic nucleus, and ghrelin—enhance the sensitivity of the dopaminergic reward system. Then, we will elaborate how mediators of satiety—the nucleus tractus solitarius, pro-opiomelanocortin neurons of the arcuate nucleus, and its peripheral hormonal influences such as leptin—reduce the reward system sensitivity. We hope to provide a template by which future research may identify the ways in which highly rewarding foods bypass this balanced system to produce excessive food consumption.

Identifying nurses' rewards: a qualitative categorization study in Belgium

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Du Bois Cindy

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rewards are important in attracting, motivating and retaining the most qualified employees, and nurses are no exception to this rule. This makes the establishment of an efficient reward system for nurses a true challenge for every hospital manager. A reward does not necessarily have a financial connotation: non-financial rewards may matter too, or may even be more important. Therefore, the present study examines nurses' reward perceptions, in order to identify potential reward options. Methods To answer the research question "What do nurses consider a reward and how can these rewards be categorized?", 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with nurses were conducted and analysed using discourse and content analyses. In addition, the respondents received a list of 34 rewards (derived from the literature and were asked to indicate the extent to which they perceived each of them to be rewarding. Results Discourse analysis revealed three major reward categories: financial, non-financial and psychological, each containing different subcategories. In general, nurses more often mentioned financial rewards spontaneously in the interview, compared to non-financial and psychological rewards. The questionnaire results did not, however, indicate a significant difference in the rewarding potential of these three categories. Both the qualitative and quantitative data revealed that a number of psychological and non-financial rewards were important for nurses in addition to their monthly pay and other remunerations. In particular, appreciation for their work by others, compliments from others, presents from others and contact with patients were highly valued. Moreover, some demographical variables influenced the reward perceptions. Younger and less experienced nurses considered promotion possibilities as more rewarding than the older and more senior ones. The latter valued job security and working for a hospital with a good reputation higher

Social and monetary reward processing in autism spectrum disorders.

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Delmonte, Sonja; Balsters, Joshua H; McGrath, Jane; Fitzgerald, Jacqueline; Brennan, Sean; Fagan, Andrew J; Gallagher, Louise

2012-09-26

Social motivation theory suggests that deficits in social reward processing underlie social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the extent to which abnormalities in reward processing generalize to other classes of stimuli remains unresolved. The aim of the current study was to examine if reward processing abnormalities in ASD are specific to social stimuli or can be generalized to other classes of reward. Additionally, we sought to examine the results in the light of behavioral impairments in ASD. Participants performed adapted versions of the social and monetary incentive delay tasks. Data from 21 unmedicated right-handed male participants with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched controls were analyzed using a factorial design to examine the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) response during the anticipation and receipt of both reward types. Behaviorally, the ASD group showed less of a reduction in reaction time (RT) for rewarded compared to unrewarded trials than the control group. In terms of the fMRI results, there were no significant group differences in reward circuitry during reward anticipation. During the receipt of rewards, there was a significant interaction between group and reward type in the left dorsal striatum (DS). The ASD group showed reduced activity in the DS compared to controls for social rewards but not monetary rewards and decreased activation for social rewards compared to monetary rewards. Controls showed no significant difference between the two reward types. Increased activation in the DS during social reward processing was associated with faster response times for rewarded trials, compared to unrewarded trials, in both groups. This is in line with behavioral results indicating that the ASD group showed less of a reduction in RT for rewarded compared to unrewarded trials. Additionally, de-activation to social rewards was associated with increased repetitive behavior in ASD. In line with social motivation theory, the ASD

Memory Consolidation and Neural Substrate of Reward

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Redolar-Ripoll, Diego

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this report is to analyze the relationships between reward and learning and memory processes. Different studies have described how information about rewards influences behavior and how the brain uses this reward information to control learning and memory processes. Reward nature seems to be processed in different ways by neurons in different brain structures, ranging from the detection and perception of rewards to the use of information about predicted rewards for the control of goal-directed behavior. The neural substrate underling this processing of reward information is a reliable way of improving learning and memory processes. Evidence from several studies indicates that this neural system can facilitate memory consolidation in a wide variety of learning tasks. From a molecular perspective, certain cardinal features of reward have been described as forms of memory. Studies of human addicts and studies in animal models of addiction show that chronic drug exposure produces stable changes in the brain at the cellular and molecular levels that underlie the long-lasting behavioral plasticity associated with addiction. These molecular and cellular adaptations involved in addiction are also implicated in learning and memory processes. Dopamine seems to be a critical common signal to activate different genetic mechanisms that ultimately remodel synapses and circuits. Despite memory is an active and complex process mediated by different brain areas, the neural substrate of reward is able to improve memory consolidation in a several paradigms. We believe that there are many equivalent traits between reward and learning and memory processes.

Incentive theory: IV. Magnitude of reward

OpenAIRE

Killeen, Peter R.

1985-01-01

Incentive theory is successfully applied to data from experiments in which the amount of food reward is varied. This is accomplished by assuming that incentive value is a negatively accelerated function of reward duration. The interaction of the magnitude of a reward with its delay is confirmed, and the causes and implications of this interaction are discussed.

Aberrant reward center response to partner reputation during a social exchange game in generalized social phobia.

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Sripada, Chandra; Angstadt, Michael; Liberzon, Israel; McCabe, Kevin; Phan, K Luan

2013-04-01

Generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD) is characterized by excessive fear of public scrutiny and reticence in social engagement. Previous studies have probed the neural basis of GSAD often using static, noninteractive stimuli (e.g., face photographs) and have identified dysfunction in fear circuitry. We sought to investigate brain-based dysfunction in GSAD during more real-world, dynamic social interactions, focusing on the role of reward-related regions that are implicated in social decision-making. Thirty-six healthy individuals (healthy control [HC]) and 36 individuals with GSAD underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while participating in a behavioral economic game ("Trust Game") involving iterative exchanges with fictive partners who acquire differential reputations for reciprocity. We investigated brain responses to reciprocation of trust in one's social partner, and how these brain responses are modulated by partner reputation for repayment. In both HC and GSAD, receipt of reciprocity robustly engaged ventral striatum, a region implicated in reward. In HC, striatal responses to reciprocity were specific to partners who have consistently returned the investment ("cooperative partners"), and were absent for partners who lack a cooperative reputation. In GSAD, modulation of striatal responses by partner reputation was absent. Social anxiety severity predicted diminished responses to cooperative partners. These results suggest abnormalities in GSAD in reward-related striatal mechanisms that may be important for the initiation, valuation, and maintenance of cooperative social relationships. Moreover, this study demonstrates that dynamic, interactive task paradigms derived from economics can help illuminate novel mechanisms of pathology in psychiatric illnesses in which social dysfunction is a cardinal feature. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Timing Effects of Reward, Business Longevity, and Involvement on Consumers’ Responses to a Reward Program

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Badri Munir Sukoco

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Managers could elicit customers’ repeat purchase behavior through a well-designed reward program. This study examines two extrinsic cues - business longevity and timing effects of reward – to determine the consumers’ perceived risk and intention to participate in this kind of program. Moreover, this study discusses how different levels of involvement might interact with these two cues. An experiment with a 2 (business longevity: long vs. short x 2 (timing of reward: delayed vs. immediate x 2 (involvement: high vs. low between-subject factorial design is conducted to validate the proposed research hypotheses. The results show that an immediate reward offered by an older, more established, firm for a highly-involved product, make loyalty programs less risky and consequently attract consumers to participate. Interestingly, immediate rewards that are offered by older firms for a product that customers are less involved in has the opposite effects. Managerial and academic implications are further presented in this study.

Reward Circuitry in Addiction.

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Cooper, Sarah; Robison, A J; Mazei-Robison, Michelle S

2017-07-01

Understanding the brain circuitry that underlies reward is critical to improve treatment for many common health issues, including obesity, depression, and addiction. Here we focus on insights into the organization and function of reward circuitry and its synaptic and structural adaptations in response to cocaine exposure. While the importance of certain circuits, such as the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway, are well established in drug reward, recent studies using genetics-based tools have revealed functional changes throughout the reward circuitry that contribute to different facets of addiction, such as relapse and craving. The ability to observe and manipulate neuronal activity within specific cell types and circuits has led to new insight into not only the basic connections between brain regions, but also the molecular changes within these specific microcircuits, such as neurotrophic factor and GTPase signaling or α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor function, that underlie synaptic and structural plasticity evoked by drugs of abuse. Excitingly, these insights from preclinical rodent work are now being translated into the clinic, where transcranial magnetic simulation and deep brain stimulation therapies are being piloted in human cocaine dependence. Thus, this review seeks to summarize current understanding of the major brain regions implicated in drug-related behaviors and the molecular mechanisms that contribute to altered connectivity between these regions, with the postulation that increased knowledge of the plasticity within the drug reward circuit will lead to new and improved treatments for addiction.

Sensitivity to Temporal Reward Structure in Amygdala Neurons

OpenAIRE

Bermudez, Maria A.; Göbel, Carl; Schultz, Wolfram

2012-01-01

Summary The time of reward and the temporal structure of reward occurrence fundamentally influence behavioral reinforcement and decision processes [1–11]. However, despite knowledge about timing in sensory and motor systems [12–17], we know little about temporal mechanisms of neuronal reward processing. In this experiment, visual stimuli predicted different instantaneous probabilities of reward occurrence that resulted in specific temporal reward structures. Licking behavior demonstrated that...

Involvement of the K+-Cl- co-transporter KCC2 in the sensitization to morphine-induced hyperlocomotion under chronic treatment with zolpidem in the mesolimbic system.

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Shibasaki, Masahiro; Masukawa, Daiki; Ishii, Kazunori; Yamagishi, Yui; Mori, Tomohisa; Suzuki, Tsutomu

2013-06-01

Benzodiazepines are commonly used as sedatives, sleeping aids, and anti-anxiety drugs. However, chronic treatment with benzodiazepines is known to induce dependence, which is considered related to neuroplastic changes in the mesolimbic system. This study investigated the involvement of K(+) -Cl(-) co-transporter 2 (KCC2) in the sensitization to morphine-induced hyperlocomotion after chronic treatment with zolpidem [a selective agonist of γ-aminobutyric acid A-type receptor (GABAA R) α1 subunit]. In this study, chronic treatment with zolpidem enhanced morphine-induced hyperlocomotion, which is accompanied by the up-regulation of KCC2 in the limbic forebrain. We also found that chronic treatment with zolpidem induced the down-regulation of protein phosphatase-1 (PP-1) as well as the up-regulation of phosphorylated protein kinase C γ (pPKCγ). Furthermore, PP-1 directly associated with KCC2 and pPKCγ, whereas pPKCγ did not associate with KCC2. On the other hand, pre-treatment with furosemide (a KCC2 inhibitor) suppressed the enhancing effects of zolpidem on morphine-induced hyperlocomotion. These results suggest that the mesolimbic dopaminergic system could be amenable to neuroplastic change through a pPKCγ-PP-1-KCC2 pathway by chronic treatment with zolpidem. © 2013 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Reward sensitivity and food addiction in women.

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Loxton, Natalie J; Tipman, Renée J

2017-08-01

Sensitivity to the rewarding properties of appetitive substances has long been implicated in excessive consumption of palatable foods and drugs of abuse. Previous research focusing on individual differences in reward responsiveness has found heightened trait reward sensitivity to be associated with binge-eating, hazardous drinking, and illicit substance use. Food addiction has been proposed as an extreme form of compulsive-overeating and has been associated with genetic markers of heightened reward responsiveness. However, little research has explicitly examined the association between reward sensitivity and food addiction. Further, the processes by which individual differences in this trait are associated with excessive over-consumption has not been determined. A total of 374 women from the community completed an online questionnaire assessing reward sensitivity, food addiction, emotional, externally-driven, and hedonic eating. High reward sensitivity was significantly associated with greater food addiction symptoms (r = 0.31). Bootstrapped tests of indirect effects found the relationship between reward sensitivity and food addiction symptom count to be uniquely mediated by binge-eating, emotional eating, and hedonic eating (notably, food availability). These indirect effects held even when controlling for BMI, anxiety, depression, and trait impulsivity. This study further supports the argument that high levels of reward sensitivity may offer a trait marker of vulnerability to excessive over-eating, beyond negative affect and impulse-control deficits. That the hedonic properties of food (especially food availability), emotional, and binge-eating behavior act as unique mediators suggest that interventions for reward-sensitive women presenting with food addiction may benefit from targeting food availability in addition to management of negative affect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Video game training and the reward system.

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Lorenz, Robert C; Gleich, Tobias; Gallinat, Jürgen; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual toward playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors in relation to video gaming experience as well as functional changes in the brain in response to video game training. Fifty healthy participants were randomly assigned to a video game training (TG) or control group (CG). Before and after training/control period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted using a non-video game related reward task. At pretest, both groups showed strongest activation in ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation. At posttest, the TG showed very similar VS activity compared to pretest. In the CG, the VS activity was significantly attenuated. This longitudinal study revealed that video game training may preserve reward responsiveness in the VS in a retest situation over time. We suggest that video games are able to keep striatal responses to reward flexible, a mechanism which might be of critical value for applications such as therapeutic cognitive training.

Reward Systems in the Brain and Nutrition.

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Rolls, Edmund T

2016-07-17

The taste cortex in the anterior insula provides separate and combined representations of the taste, temperature, and texture of food in the mouth independently of hunger and thus of reward value and pleasantness. One synapse on, in the orbitofrontal cortex, these sensory inputs are combined by associative learning with olfactory and visual inputs for some neurons, and these neurons encode food reward value in that they respond to food only when hunger is present and in that activations correlate linearly with subjective pleasantness. Cognitive factors, including word-level descriptions and selective attention to affective value, modulate the representation of the reward value of taste, olfactory, and flavor stimuli in the orbitofrontal cortex and a region to which it projects, the anterior cingulate cortex. These food reward representations are important in the control of appetite and food intake. Individual differences in reward representations may contribute to obesity, and there are age-related differences in these reward representations. Implications of how reward systems in the brain operate for understanding, preventing, and treating obesity are described.

Differentiating neural reward responsiveness in autism versus ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregor Kohls

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD and autism spectrum disorders (ASD share certain neurocognitive characteristics, it has been hypothesized to differentiate the two disorders based on their brain's reward responsiveness to either social or monetary reward. Thus, the present fMRI study investigated neural activation in response to both reward types in age and IQ-matched boys with ADHD versus ASD relative to typically controls (TDC. A significant group by reward type interaction effect emerged in the ventral striatum with greater activation to monetary versus social reward only in TDC, whereas subjects with ADHD responded equally strong to both reward types, and subjects with ASD showed low striatal reactivity across both reward conditions. Moreover, disorder-specific neural abnormalities were revealed, including medial prefrontal hyperactivation in response to social reward in ADHD versus ventral striatal hypoactivation in response to monetary reward in ASD. Shared dysfunction was characterized by fronto-striato-parietal hypoactivation in both clinical groups when money was at stake. Interestingly, lower neural activation within parietal circuitry was associated with higher autistic traits across the entire study sample. In sum, the present findings concur with the assumption that both ASD and ADHD display distinct and shared neural dysfunction in response to reward.

The area postrema (AP) and the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) are important sites for salmon calcitonin (sCT) to decrease evoked phasic dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc).

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Whiting, Lynda; McCutcheon, James E; Boyle, Christina N; Roitman, Mitchell F; Lutz, Thomas A

2017-07-01

The pancreatic hormone amylin and its agonist salmon calcitonin (sCT) act via the area postrema (AP) and the lateral parabrachial nucleus (PBN) to reduce food intake. Investigations of amylin and sCT signaling in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) suggest that the eating inhibitory effect of amylin is, in part, mediated through the mesolimbic 'reward' pathway. Indeed, administration of the sCT directly to the VTA decreased phasic dopamine release (DA) in the NAc. However, it is not known if peripheral amylin modulates the mesolimbic system directly or whether this occurs via the AP and PBN. To determine whether and how peripheral amylin or sCT affect mesolimbic reward circuitry we utilized fast scan cyclic voltammetry under anesthesia to measure phasic DA release in the NAc evoked by electrical stimulation of the VTA in intact, AP lesioned and bilaterally PBN lesioned rats. Amylin (50μg/kg i.p.) did not change phasic DA responses compared to saline control rats. However, sCT (50μg/kg i.p.) decreased evoked DA release to VTA-stimulation over 1h compared to saline treated control rats. Further investigations determined that AP and bilateral PBN lesions abolished the ability of sCT to suppress evoked phasic DA responses to VTA-stimulation. These findings implicate the AP and the PBN as important sites for peripheral sCT to decrease evoked DA release in the NAc and suggest that these nuclei may influence hedonic and motivational processes to modulate food intake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Video game training and the reward system

OpenAIRE

Lorenz, R.; Gleich, T.; Gallinat, J.; Kühn, S.

2015-01-01

Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual toward playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors ...

Obese individuals with more components of the metabolic syndrome and/or prediabetes demonstrate decreased activation of reward-related brain centers in response to food cues in both the fed and fasting states: a preliminary fMRI study.

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Farr, O M; Mantzoros, C S

2017-03-01

It remains unknown whether obese individuals with more components of the metabolic syndrome and/or prediabetes demonstrate altered activation of brain centers in response to food cues. We examined obese individuals with prediabetes (n=26) vs obese individuals without prediabetes (n=11) using fMRI. We also performed regression analyses on the basis of the number of MetS components per subject. Obese individuals with prediabetes have decreased activation of the reward-related putamen in the fasting state and decreased activation of the salience- and reward-related insula after eating. Obese individuals with more components of MetS demonstrate decreased activation of the putamen while fasting. All these activations remain significant when corrected for BMI, waist circumference (WC), HbA1c and gender. Decreased activation in the reward-related central nervous system areas among the obese is more pronounced in subjects with prediabetes and MetS. Prospective studies are needed to quantify their contributions to the development of prediabetes/MetS and to study whether they may predispose to the exacerbation of obesity and the development of comorbidities over time.

Trait Anticipatory Pleasure Predicts Effort Expenditure for Reward.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim T Geaney

Full Text Available Research in motivation and emotion has been increasingly influenced by the perspective that processes underpinning the motivated approach of rewarding goals are distinct from those underpinning enjoyment during reward consummation. This distinction recently inspired the construction of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS, a self-report measure that distinguishes trait anticipatory pleasure (pre-reward feelings of desire from consummatory pleasure (feelings of enjoyment and gratification upon reward attainment. In a university community sample (N = 97, we examined the TEPS subscales as predictors of (1 the willingness to expend effort for monetary rewards, and (2 affective responses to a pleasant mood induction procedure. Results showed that both anticipatory pleasure and a well-known trait measure of reward motivation predicted effort-expenditure for rewards when the probability of being rewarded was relatively low. Against expectations, consummatory pleasure was unrelated to induced pleasant affect. Taken together, our findings provide support for the validity of the TEPS anticipatory pleasure scale, but not the consummatory pleasure scale.

Fifty Years in the Development of a Glutaminergic-Dopaminergic Optimization Complex (KB220) to Balance Brain Reward Circuitry in Reward Deficiency Syndrome: A Pictorial

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Blum, K; Febo, M; Badgaiyan, RD

2016-01-01

Dopamine along with other chemical messengers like serotonin, cannabinoids, endorphins and glutamine, play significant roles in brain reward processing. There is a devastating opiate/opioid epidemicin the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 127 people, young and old, are dying every day due to narcotic overdose and alarmingly heroin overdose is on the rise. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some Medication-Assisted Treatments (MATs) for alcoholism, opiate and nicotine dependence, but nothing for psychostimulant and cannabis abuse. While these pharmaceuticals are essential for the short-term induction of “psychological extinction,” in the long-term caution is necessary because their use favors blocking dopaminergic function indispensable for achieving normal satisfaction in life. The two institutions devoted to alcoholism and drug dependence (NIAAA & NIDA) realize that MATs are not optimal and continue to seek better treatment options. We review, herein, the history of the development of a glutaminergic-dopaminergic optimization complex called KB220 to provide for the possible eventual balancing of the brain reward system and the induction of “dopamine homeostasis.” This complex may provide substantial clinical benefit to the victims of Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) and assist in recovery from iatrogenically induced addiction to unwanted opiates/opioids and other addictive behaviors. PMID:27840857

Facilitation of voluntary goal-directed action by reward cues.

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Lovibond, Peter F; Colagiuri, Ben

2013-10-01

Reward-associated cues are known to influence motivation to approach both natural and man-made rewards, such as food and drugs. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. To model these processes in the laboratory with humans, we developed an appetitive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer procedure with a chocolate reward. We used a single unconstrained response that led to an actual rather than symbolic reward to assess the strength of reward motivation. Presentation of a chocolate-paired cue, but not an unpaired cue, markedly enhanced instrumental responding over a 30-s period. The same pattern was observed with 10-s and 30-s cues, showing that close cue-reward contiguity is not necessary for facilitation of reward-directed action. The results confirm that reward-related cues can instigate voluntary action to obtain that reward. The effectiveness of long-duration cues suggests that in clinical settings, attention should be directed to both proximal and distal cues for reward.

CaV3.1 isoform of T-type calcium channels supports excitability of rat and mouse ventral tegmental area neurons.

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Tracy, Matthew E; Tesic, Vesna; Stamenic, Tamara Timic; Joksimovic, Srdjan M; Busquet, Nicolas; Jevtovic-Todorovic, Vesna; Todorovic, Slobodan M

2018-03-23

Recent data have implicated voltage-gated calcium channels in the regulation of the excitability of neurons within the mesolimbic reward system. While the attention of most research has centered on high voltage L-type calcium channel activity, the presence and role of the low voltage-gated T-type calcium channel (T-channels) has not been well explored. Hence, we investigated T-channel properties in the neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) utilizing wild-type (WT) rats and mice, Ca V 3.1 knock-out (KO) mice, and TH-eGFP knock-in (KI) rats in acute horizontal brain slices of adolescent animals. In voltage-clamp experiments, we first assessed T-channel activity in WT rats with characteristic properties of voltage-dependent activation and inactivation, as well as characteristic crisscrossing patterns of macroscopic current kinetics. T-current kinetics were similar in WT mice and WT rats but T-currents were abolished in Ca V 3.1 KO mice. In ensuing current-clamp experiments, we observed the presence of hyperpolarization-induced rebound burst firing in a subset of neurons in WT rats, as well as dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neurons in TH-eGFP KI rats. Following the application of a pan-selective T-channel blocker TTA-P2, rebound bursting was significantly inhibited in all tested cells. In a behavioral assessment, the acute locomotor increase induced by a MK-801 (Dizocilpine) injection in WT mice was abolished in Ca V 3.1 KO mice, suggesting a tangible role for 3.1 T-type channels in drug response. We conclude that pharmacological targeting of Ca V 3.1 isoform of T-channels may be a novel approach for the treatment of disorders of mesolimbic reward system. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Learning Reward Uncertainty in the Basal Ganglia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John G Mikhael

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Learning the reliability of different sources of rewards is critical for making optimal choices. However, despite the existence of detailed theory describing how the expected reward is learned in the basal ganglia, it is not known how reward uncertainty is estimated in these circuits. This paper presents a class of models that encode both the mean reward and the spread of the rewards, the former in the difference between the synaptic weights of D1 and D2 neurons, and the latter in their sum. In the models, the tendency to seek (or avoid options with variable reward can be controlled by increasing (or decreasing the tonic level of dopamine. The models are consistent with the physiology of and synaptic plasticity in the basal ganglia, they explain the effects of dopaminergic manipulations on choices involving risks, and they make multiple experimental predictions.

Rewards and advancements for clinical pharmacists.

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Goodwin, S Diane; Kane-Gill, Sandra L; Ng, Tien M H; Melroy, Joel T; Hess, Mary M; Tallian, Kimberly; Trujillo, Toby C; Vermeulen, Lee C

2010-01-01

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy charged the Clinical Practice Affairs Committee to review and update the College's 1995 White Paper, "Rewards and Advancements for Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners." Because of the limited data on the present state of rewards and advancements for clinical pharmacists, an online survey of "front-line" clinical pharmacists and pharmacy managers was conducted (1126 total respondents, 14% response rate). The resulting White Paper discusses motivators and existing systems of rewards and advancements for clinical pharmacists, as well as perceived barriers to implementation of these systems. Clinical pharmacists reported work-life balance, a challenging position, and opportunities for professional advancement as the most important factors for career success. At the time of the survey, financial rewards appeared not to be a major motivator for clinical pharmacists. Managers underestimated the importance that clinical pharmacists place on work-life balance and favorable work schedules. Although almost two thirds of the clinical pharmacists surveyed had not developed a professional development plan, 84% indicated an interest in career planning. Both clinical pharmacists and managers rated the lack of a clear reward and advancement structure as the most important barrier to effective systems of rewards and advancements. Pharmacy managers and administrators are encouraged to develop effective systems of rewards and advancements for clinical pharmacists that positively impact patient care and the institution's mission; these systems will benefit the clinical pharmacist, the health care institution, and the patient.

Effort-reward imbalance and one-year change in neck-shoulder and upper extremity pain among call center computer operators.

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Krause, Niklas; Burgel, Barbara; Rempel, David

2010-01-01

The literature on psychosocial job factors and musculoskeletal pain is inconclusive in part due to insufficient control for confounding by biomechanical factors. The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the independent effects of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) at work on regional musculoskeletal pain of the neck and upper extremities of call center operators after controlling for (i) duration of computer use both at work and at home, (ii) ergonomic workstation design, (iii) physical activities during leisure time, and (iv) other individual worker characteristics. This was a one-year prospective study among 165 call center operators who participated in a randomized ergonomic intervention trial that has been described previously. Over an approximate four-week period, we measured ERI and 28 potential confounders via a questionnaire at baseline. Regional upper-body pain and computer use was measured by weekly surveys for up to 12 months following the implementation of ergonomic interventions. Regional pain change scores were calculated as the difference between average weekly pain scores pre- and post intervention. A significant relationship was found between high average ERI ratios and one-year increases in right upper-extremity pain after adjustment for pre-intervention regional mean pain score, current and past physical workload, ergonomic workstation design, and anthropometric, sociodemographic, and behavioral risk factors. No significant associations were found with change in neck-shoulder or left upper-extremity pain. This study suggests that ERI predicts regional upper-extremity pain in -computer operators working >or=20 hours per week. Control for physical workload and ergonomic workstation design was essential for identifying ERI as a risk factor.

Model Checking Multivariate State Rewards

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Bo Friis; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

2010-01-01

We consider continuous stochastic logics with state rewards that are interpreted over continuous time Markov chains. We show how results from multivariate phase type distributions can be used to obtain higher-order moments for multivariate state rewards (including covariance). We also generalise...

Self-rewards and personal motivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Alexander Karl; Nafziger, Julia; Suvorov, Anton

2014-01-01

Self-administered rewards are ubiquitous. They serve as incentives for personal accomplishments and are widely recommended to increase personal motivation. We show that in a model with time-inconsistent and reference-dependent preferences, self-rewards can be a credible and effective tool...

Self-Rewards and Personal Motivation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Alexander Karl; Nafziger, Julia; Suvorov, Anton

Self-administered rewards are ubiquitous. They serve as incentives for personal accomplishments and are widely recommended to increase personal motivation. We show that in a model with time-inconsistent and reference-dependent preferences, self-rewards can be a credible and effective tool...

Self-rewards and personal motivation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koch, A.K.; Nafziger, J.; Suvorov, A.; van de Ven, J.

2014-01-01

Self-administered rewards are ubiquitous. They serve as incentives for personal accomplishments and are widely recommended to increase personal motivation. We show that in a model with time-inconsistent and reference-dependent preferences, self-rewards can be a credible and effective tool to

Towards a social functional account of laughter: Acoustic features convey reward, affiliation, and dominance.

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Wood, Adrienne; Martin, Jared; Niedenthal, Paula

2017-01-01

Recent work has identified the physical features of smiles that accomplish three tasks fundamental to human social living: rewarding behavior, establishing and managing affiliative bonds, and negotiating social status. The current work extends the social functional account to laughter. Participants (N = 762) rated the degree to which reward, affiliation, or dominance (between-subjects) was conveyed by 400 laughter samples acquired from a commercial sound effects website. Inclusion of a fourth rating dimension, spontaneity, allowed us to situate the current approach in the context of existing laughter research, which emphasizes the distinction between spontaneous and volitional laughter. We used 11 acoustic properties extracted from the laugh samples to predict participants' ratings. Actor sex moderated, and sometimes even reversed, the relation between acoustics and participants' judgments. Spontaneous laughter appears to serve the reward function in the current framework, as similar acoustic properties guided perceiver judgments of spontaneity and reward: reduced voicing and increased pitch, increased duration for female actors, and increased pitch slope, center of gravity, first formant, and noisiness for male actors. Affiliation ratings diverged from reward in their sex-dependent relationship to intensity and, for females, reduced pitch range and raised second formant. Dominance displayed the most distinct pattern of acoustic predictors, including increased pitch range, reduced second formant in females, and decreased pitch variability in males. We relate the current findings to existing findings on laughter and human and non-human vocalizations, concluding laughter can signal much more that felt or faked amusement.

Video Game Training and the Reward System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert C. Lorenz

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual towards playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors in relation to video gaming experience as well as functional changes in the brain in response to video game training.Fifty healthy participants were randomly assigned to a video game training (TG or control group (CG. Before and after training/control period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI was conducted using a non-video game related reward task.At pretest, both groups showed strongest activation in ventral striatum (VS during reward anticipation. At posttest, the TG showed very similar VS activity compared to pretest. In the CG, the VS activity was significantly attenuated.This longitudinal study revealed that video game training may preserve reward responsiveness in the ventral striatum in a retest situation over time. We suggest that video games are able to keep striatal responses to reward flexible, a mechanism which might be of critical value for applications such as therapeutic cognitive training.

Video game training and the reward system

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Lorenz, Robert C.; Gleich, Tobias; Gallinat, Jürgen; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Video games contain elaborate reinforcement and reward schedules that have the potential to maximize motivation. Neuroimaging studies suggest that video games might have an influence on the reward system. However, it is not clear whether reward-related properties represent a precondition, which biases an individual toward playing video games, or if these changes are the result of playing video games. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study to explore reward-related functional predictors in relation to video gaming experience as well as functional changes in the brain in response to video game training. Fifty healthy participants were randomly assigned to a video game training (TG) or control group (CG). Before and after training/control period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted using a non-video game related reward task. At pretest, both groups showed strongest activation in ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation. At posttest, the TG showed very similar VS activity compared to pretest. In the CG, the VS activity was significantly attenuated. This longitudinal study revealed that video game training may preserve reward responsiveness in the VS in a retest situation over time. We suggest that video games are able to keep striatal responses to reward flexible, a mechanism which might be of critical value for applications such as therapeutic cognitive training. PMID:25698962

Reward disrupts reactivated human skill memory.

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Dayan, Eran; Laor-Maayany, Rony; Censor, Nitzan

2016-06-16

Accumulating evidence across species and memory domains shows that when an existing memory is reactivated, it becomes susceptible to modifications. However, the potential role of reward signals in these mechanisms underlying human memory dynamics is unknown. Leaning on a wealth of findings on the role of reward in reinforcing memory, we tested the impact of reinforcing a skill memory trace with monetary reward following memory reactivation, on strengthening of the memory trace. Reinforcing reactivated memories did not strengthen the memory, but rather led to disruption of the memory trace, breaking down the link between memory reactivation and subsequent memory strength. Statistical modeling further revealed a strong mediating role for memory reactivation in linking between memory encoding and subsequent memory strength only when the memory was replayed without reinforcement. We suggest that, rather than reinforcing the existing memory trace, reward creates a competing memory trace, impairing expression of the original reward-free memory. This mechanism sheds light on the processes underlying skill acquisition, having wide translational implications.

Community-based faculty: motivation and rewards.

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Fulkerson, P K; Wang-Cheng, R

1997-02-01

The reasons why practicing physicians precept students in their offices, and the rewards they wish to receive for this work, have not been clearly elucidated. This study determined the reasons for precepting and the rewards expected among a network of preceptors in Milwaukee. A questionnaire was mailed to 120 community-based physician preceptors in a required, third-year ambulatory care clerkship. Respondents were asked to identify why they volunteered and what they considered appropriate recognition or reward. The personal satisfaction derived from the student-teacher interaction was, by far, the most important motivator for preceptors (84%). The most preferred rewards for teaching included clinical faculty appointment, CME and bookstore discounts, computer networking, and workshops for improving skills in clinical teaching. Community-based private physicians who participate in medical student education programs are primarily motivated by the personal satisfaction that they derive from the teaching encounter. An effective preceptor recognition/reward program can be developed using input from the preceptors themselves.

Lighting up the brain's reward circuitry.

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Lobo, Mary Kay

2012-07-01

The brain's reward circuit is critical for mediating natural reward behaviors including food, sex, and social interaction. Drugs of abuse take over this circuit and produce persistent molecular and cellular alterations in the brain regions and their neural circuitry that make up the reward pathway. Recent use of optogenetic technologies has provided novel insights into the functional and molecular role of the circuitry and cell subtypes within these circuits that constitute this pathway. This perspective will address the current and future use of light-activated proteins, including those involved in modulating neuronal activity, cellular signaling, and molecular properties in the neural circuitry mediating rewarding stimuli and maladaptive responses to drugs of abuse. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Reward prediction error signal enhanced by striatum-amygdala interaction explains the acceleration of probabilistic reward learning by emotion.

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Watanabe, Noriya; Sakagami, Masamichi; Haruno, Masahiko

2013-03-06

Learning does not only depend on rationality, because real-life learning cannot be isolated from emotion or social factors. Therefore, it is intriguing to determine how emotion changes learning, and to identify which neural substrates underlie this interaction. Here, we show that the task-independent presentation of an emotional face before a reward-predicting cue increases the speed of cue-reward association learning in human subjects compared with trials in which a neutral face is presented. This phenomenon was attributable to an increase in the learning rate, which regulates reward prediction errors. Parallel to these behavioral findings, functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that presentation of an emotional face enhanced reward prediction error (RPE) signal in the ventral striatum. In addition, we also found a functional link between this enhanced RPE signal and increased activity in the amygdala following presentation of an emotional face. Thus, this study revealed an acceleration of cue-reward association learning by emotion, and underscored a role of striatum-amygdala interactions in the modulation of the reward prediction errors by emotion.

Distinct Motivational Effects of Contingent and Noncontingent Rewards.

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Manohar, Sanjay G; Finzi, Rebecca Dawn; Drew, Daniel; Husain, Masud

2017-07-01

When rewards are available, people expend more energy, increasing their motivational vigor. In theory, incentives might drive behavior for two distinct reasons: First, they increase expected reward; second, they increase the difference in subjective value between successful and unsuccessful performance, which increases contingency-the degree to which action determines outcome. Previous studies of motivational vigor have never compared these directly. Here, we indexed motivational vigor by measuring the speed of eye movements toward a target after participants heard a cue indicating how outcomes would be determined. Eye movements were faster when the cue indicated that monetary rewards would be contingent on performance than when the cue indicated that rewards would be random. But even when the cue indicated that a reward was guaranteed regardless of speed, movement was still faster than when no reward was available. Motivation by contingent and certain rewards was uncorrelated across individuals, which suggests that there are two separable, independent components of motivation. Contingent motivation generated autonomic arousal, and unlike noncontingent motivation, was effective with penalties as well as rewards.

Mechanisms of impulsive choice: III. The role of reward processes

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Marshall, Andrew T.

2015-01-01

Two experiments examined the relationship between reward processing and impulsive choice. In Experiment 1, rats chose between a smaller-sooner (SS) reward (1 pellet, 10 s) and a larger-later (LL) reward (1, 2, and 4 pellets, 30 s). The rats then experienced concurrent variable-interval 30-s schedules with variations in reward magnitude to evaluate reward magnitude discrimination. LL choice behavior positively correlated with reward magnitude discrimination. In Experiment 2, rats chose between an SS reward (1 pellet, 10 s) and an LL reward (2 and 4 pellets, 30 s). The rats then received either a reward intervention which consisted of concurrent fixed-ratio schedules associated with different magnitudes to improve their reward magnitude discrimination, or a control task. All rats then experienced a post-intervention impulsive choice task followed by a reward magnitude discrimination task to assess intervention efficacy. The rats that received the intervention exhibited increases in post-intervention LL choice behavior, and made more responses for larger-reward magnitudes in the reward magnitude discrimination task, suggesting that the intervention heightened sensitivities to reward magnitude. The results suggest that reward magnitude discrimination plays a key role in individual differences in impulsive choice, and could be a potential target for further intervention developments. PMID:26506254

Validation and extension of the reward-mountain model.

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Breton, Yannick-André; Mullett, Ada; Conover, Kent; Shizgal, Peter

2013-01-01

The reward-mountain model relates the vigor of reward seeking to the strength and cost of reward. Application of this model provides information about the stage of processing at which manipulations such as drug administration, lesions, deprivation states, and optogenetic interventions act to alter reward seeking. The model has been updated by incorporation of new information about frequency following in the directly stimulated neurons responsible for brain stimulation reward and about the function that maps objective opportunity costs into subjective ones. The behavioral methods for applying the model have been updated and improved as well. To assess the impact of these changes, two related predictions of the model that were supported by earlier work have been retested: (1) altering the duration of rewarding brain stimulation should change the pulse frequency required to produce a reward of half-maximal intensity, and (2) this manipulation should not change the opportunity cost at which half-maximal performance is directed at earning a maximally intense reward. Prediction 1 was supported in all six subjects, but prediction 2 was supported in only three. The latter finding is interpreted to reflect recruitment, at some stimulation sites, of a heterogeneous reward substrate comprising dual, parallel circuits that integrate the stimulation-induced neural signals.

Informationally administered reward enhances intrinsic motivation in schizophrenia.

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Lee, Hyeon-Seung; Jang, Seon-Kyeong; Lee, Ga-Young; Park, Seon-Cheol; Medalia, Alice; Choi, Kee-Hong

2017-10-01

Even when individuals with schizophrenia have an intact ability to enjoy rewarding moments, the means to assist them to translate rewarding experiences into goal-directed behaviors is unclear. The present study sought to determine whether informationally administered rewards enhance intrinsic motivation to foster goal-directed behaviors in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HCs). Eighty-four participants (SZ=43, HCs=41) were randomly assigned to conditions involving either a performance-contingent reward with an informationally administered reward or a task-contingent reward with no feedback. Participants were asked to play two cognitive games of equalized difficulty. Accuracy, self-reported intrinsic motivation, free-choice intrinsic motivation (i.e., game play during a free-choice observation period), and perceived competency were measured. Intrinsic motivation and perceived competency in the cognitive games were similar between the two participant groups. The informationally administered reward significantly enhanced self-reported intrinsic motivation and perceived competency in both the groups. The likelihood that individuals with schizophrenia would play the game during the free-choice observation period was four times greater in the informationally administered reward condition than that in the no-feedback condition. Our findings suggest that, in the context of cognitive remediation, individuals with schizophrenia would benefit from informationally administered rewards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Basolateral amygdala lesions abolish mutual reward preferences in rats.

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Hernandez-Lallement, Julen; van Wingerden, Marijn; Schäble, Sandra; Kalenscher, Tobias

2016-01-01

In a recent study, we demonstrated that rats prefer mutual rewards in a Prosocial Choice Task. Here, employing the same task, we show that the integrity of basolateral amygdala was necessary for the expression of mutual reward preferences. Actor rats received bilateral excitotoxic (n=12) or sham lesions (n=10) targeting the basolateral amygdala and were subsequently tested in a Prosocial Choice Task where they could decide between rewarding ("Both Reward") or not rewarding a partner rat ("Own Reward"), either choice yielding identical reward to the actors themselves. To manipulate the social context and control for secondary reinforcement sources, actor rats were paired with either a partner rat (partner condition) or with an inanimate rat toy (toy condition). Sham-operated animals revealed a significant preference for the Both-Reward-option in the partner condition, but not in the toy condition. Amygdala-lesioned animals exhibited significantly lower Both-Reward preferences than the sham group in the partner but not in the toy condition, suggesting that basolateral amygdala was required for the expression of mutual reward preferences. Critically, in a reward magnitude discrimination task in the same experimental setup, both sham-operated and amygdala-lesioned animals preferred large over small rewards, suggesting that amygdala lesion effects were restricted to decision making in social contexts, leaving self-oriented behavior unaffected. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reward disrupts reactivated human skill memory

OpenAIRE

Dayan, Eran; Laor-Maayany, Rony; Censor, Nitzan

2016-01-01

Accumulating evidence across species and memory domains shows that when an existing memory is reactivated, it becomes susceptible to modifications. However, the potential role of reward signals in these mechanisms underlying human memory dynamics is unknown. Leaning on a wealth of findings on the role of reward in reinforcing memory, we tested the impact of reinforcing a skill memory trace with monetary reward following memory reactivation, on strengthening of the memory trace. Reinforcing re...

Reward and Attentional Control in Visual Search

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Brian A.; Wampler, Emma K.; Laurent, Patryk A.

2015-01-01

It has long been known that the control of attention in visual search depends both on voluntary, top-down deployment according to context-specific goals, and on involuntary, stimulus-driven capture based on the physical conspicuity of perceptual objects. Recent evidence suggests that pairing target stimuli with reward can modulate the voluntary deployment of attention, but there is little evidence that reward modulates the involuntary deployment of attention to task-irrelevant distractors. We report several experiments that investigate the role of reward learning on attentional control. Each experiment involved a training phase and a test phase. In the training phase, different colors were associated with different amounts of monetary reward. In the test phase, color was not task-relevant and participants searched for a shape singleton; in most experiments no reward was delivered in the test phase. We first show that attentional capture by physically salient distractors is magnified by a previous association with reward. In subsequent experiments we demonstrate that physically inconspicuous stimuli previously associated with reward capture attention persistently during extinction—even several days after training. Furthermore, vulnerability to attentional capture by high-value stimuli is negatively correlated across individuals with working memory capacity and positively correlated with trait impulsivity. An analysis of intertrial effects reveals that value-driven attentional capture is spatially specific. Finally, when reward is delivered at test contingent on the task-relevant shape feature, recent reward history modulates value-driven attentional capture by the irrelevant color feature. The influence of learned value on attention may provide a useful model of clinical syndromes characterized by similar failures of cognitive control, including addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and obesity. PMID:23437631

Reward-enhanced memory in younger and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Spaniol, Julia; Schain, Cécile; Bowen, Holly J

2014-09-01

We investigated how the anticipation of remote monetary reward modulates intentional episodic memory formation in younger and older adults. On the basis of prior findings of preserved reward-cognition interactions in aging, we predicted that reward anticipation would be associated with enhanced memory in both younger and older adults. On the basis of previous demonstrations of a time-dependent effect of reward anticipation on memory, we expected the memory enhancement to increase with study-test delay. In Experiment 1, younger and older participants encoded a series of picture stimuli associated with high- or low-reward values. At test (24-hr postencoding), recognition hits resulted in either high or low monetary rewards, whereas false alarms were penalized to discourage guessing. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1, but the study-test delay was manipulated within subjects (immediate vs 24hr). In Experiment 1, younger and older adults showed enhanced recognition for high-reward pictures compared with low-reward pictures. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and additionally showed that the effect did not extend to immediate recognition. The current findings provide support for a time-dependent mechanism of reward-based memory enhancement. They also suggest that aging leaves intact the positive influence of reward anticipation on intentional long-term memory formation. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Information search with situation-specific reward functions

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Bjorn Meder

2012-03-01

Full Text Available can strongly conflict with the goal of obtaining information for improving payoffs. Two environments with such a conflict were identified through computer optimization. Three subsequent experiments investigated people's search behavior in these environments. Experiments 1 and 2 used a multiple-cue probabilistic category-learning task to convey environmental probabilities. In a subsequent search task subjects could query only a single feature before making a classification decision. The crucial manipulation concerned the search-task reward structure. The payoffs corresponded either to accuracy, with equal rewards associated with the two categories, or to an asymmetric payoff function, with different rewards associated with each category. In Experiment 1, in which learning-task feedback corresponded to the true category, people later preferentially searched the accuracy-maximizing feature, whether or not this would improve monetary rewards. In Experiment 2, an asymmetric reward structure was used during learning. Subjects searched the reward-maximizing feature when asymmetric payoffs were preserved in the search task. However, if search-task payoffs corresponded to accuracy, subjects preferentially searched a feature that was suboptimal for reward and accuracy alike. Importantly, this feature would have been most useful, under the learning-task payoff structure. Experiment 3 found that, if words and numbers are used to convey environmental probabilities, neither reward nor accuracy consistently predicts search. These findings emphasize the necessity of taking into account people's goals and search-and-decision processes during learning, thereby challenging current models of information search.

Melanocortin-3 receptors in the limbic system mediate feeding-related motivational responses during weight loss

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Maria Mavrikaki

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: Appetitive responses to weight loss are mediated by a nutrient-sensing neural network comprised of melanocortin neurons. The role of neural melanocortin-3 receptors (MC3R in mediating these responses is enigmatic. Mc3r knockout mice exhibit a paradoxical phenotype of obesity and reduced feeding-related behaviors in situations of nutrient scarcity. Here we examined whether MC3Rs expressed in mesolimbic neurons regulate feeding-related motivational responses. Methods: Interactions between Mc3r genotype, cognitive function and energy balance on food self-administration were assessed using operant conditioning with fixed- and progressive ratio (FR1/PR1 settings. Inhibition of Mc3r transcription by a loxP-flanked transcriptional blocker (TB in C57BL/6JN mice (Mc3rTB/TB was reversed in mesolimbic neurons using DAT-Cre (DAT-MC3R. Results: Caloric restriction (CR caused 10–15% weight loss and increased motivation to acquire food rewards during training sessions. c-Fos-expression in the nucleus accumbens was increased 1 h following food presentation. While exhibiting weight loss, total food self-administration, enhanced motivation to self-administer food rewards in training sessions held during CR and c-Fos-activation in the nucleus accumbens following re-feeding were all markedly attenuated in Mc3rTB/TB mice. In contrast, cognitive abilities were normal in Mc3rTB/TB mice. Total food self-administration during FR1 sessions was not rescued in DAT-MC3R mice, however enhanced motivational responses to self-administer food rewards in PR1 conditions were restored. The nutrient-partitioning phenotype observed with Mc3r-deficiency was not rescued in DAT-MC3R mice. Conclusions: Mesolimbic MC3Rs mediate enhanced motivational responses during CR. However, they are insufficient to restore normal caloric loading when food is presented during CR and do not affect metabolic conditions altering nutrient partitioning. Author Video: Author Video Watch what

Inhibiting food reward: delay discounting, food reward sensitivity, and palatable food intake in overweight and obese women.

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Appelhans, Bradley M; Woolf, Kathleen; Pagoto, Sherry L; Schneider, Kristin L; Whited, Matthew C; Liebman, Rebecca

2011-11-01

Overeating is believed to result when the appetitive motivation to consume palatable food exceeds an individual's capacity for inhibitory control of eating. This hypothesis was supported in recent studies involving predominantly normal weight women, but has not been tested in obese populations. The current study tested the interaction between food reward sensitivity and inhibitory control in predicting palatable food intake among energy-replete overweight and obese women (N = 62). Sensitivity to palatable food reward was measured with the Power of Food Scale. Inhibitory control was assessed with a computerized choice task that captures the tendency to discount large delayed rewards relative to smaller immediate rewards. Participants completed an eating in the absence of hunger protocol in which homeostatic energy needs were eliminated with a bland preload of plain oatmeal, followed by a bogus laboratory taste test of palatable and bland snacks. The interaction between food reward sensitivity and inhibitory control was a significant predictor of palatable food intake in regression analyses controlling for BMI and the amount of preload consumed. Probing this interaction indicated that higher food reward sensitivity predicted greater palatable food intake at low levels of inhibitory control, but was not associated with intake at high levels of inhibitory control. As expected, no associations were found in a similar regression analysis predicting intake of bland foods. Findings support a neurobehavioral model of eating behavior in which sensitivity to palatable food reward drives overeating only when accompanied by insufficient inhibitory control. Strengthening inhibitory control could enhance weight management programs.

Neurocircuitry of drug reward

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Ikemoto, Satoshi; Bonci, Antonello

2013-01-01

In recent years, neuroscientists have produced profound conceptual and mechanistic advances on the neurocircuitry of reward and substance use disorders. Here, we will provide a brief review of intracranial drug self-administration and optogenetic self-stimulation studies that identified brain regions and neurotransmitter systems involved in drug- and reward-related behaviors. Also discussed is a theoretical framework that helps to understand the functional properties of the circuitry involved in these behaviors. The circuitry appears to be homeostatically regulated and mediate anticipatory processes that regulate behavioral interaction with the environment in response to salient stimuli. That is, abused drugs or, at least, some may act on basic motivation and mood processes, regulating behavior-environment interaction. Optogenetics and related technologies have begun to uncover detailed circuit mechanisms linking key brain regions in which abused drugs act for rewarding effects. PMID:23664810

Neural reward and punishment sensitivity in cigarette smokers.

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Potts, Geoffrey F; Bloom, Erika L; Evans, David E; Drobes, David J

2014-11-01

Nicotine addiction remains a major public health problem but the neural substrates of addictive behavior remain unknown. One characteristic of smoking behavior is impulsive choice, selecting the immediate reward of smoking despite the potential long-term negative consequences. This suggests that drug users, including cigarette smokers, may be more sensitive to rewards and less sensitive to punishment. We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to test the hypothesis that smokers are more responsive to reward signals and less responsive to punishment, potentially predisposing them to risky behavior. We conducted two experiments, one using a reward prediction design to elicit a Medial Frontal Negativity (MFN) and one using a reward- and punishment-motivated flanker task to elicit an Error Related Negativity (ERN), ERP components thought to index activity in the cortical projection of the dopaminergic reward system. The smokers had a greater MFN response to unpredicted rewards, and non-smokers, but not smokers, had a larger ERN on punishment motivated trials indicating that smokers are more reward sensitive and less punishment sensitive than nonsmokers, overestimating the appetitive value and underestimating aversive outcomes of stimuli and actions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Employee Reward Systems in Organizations

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Došenović Dragana

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Employee rewarding is one of the activities of human resource management concerning the management of money, goods and services that employees receive from their employer in exchange for their work. Given that a properly designed reward system is one of the conditions for a stable business, successful performance of work activities and the achievement of set objectives in each organization, the basic theme of this paper is the employee reward system, with a special focus on different elements of it. The purpose of this paper is to describe the role and significance of the observed system and to draw attention to its role in employee’s motivation.

Role of delay-based reward in the spatial cooperation

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Wang, Xu-Wen; Nie, Sen; Jiang, Luo-Luo; Wang, Bing-Hong; Chen, Shi-Ming

2017-01-01

Strategy selection in games, a typical decision making, usually brings noticeable reward for players which have discounted value if the delay appears. The discounted value is measure: earning sooner with a small reward or later with a delayed larger reward. Here, we investigate effects of delayed rewards on the cooperation in structured population. It is found that delayed reward supports the spreading of cooperation in square lattice, small-world and random networks. In particular, intermediate reward differences between delays impel the highest cooperation level. Interestingly, cooperative individuals with the same delay time steps form clusters to resist the invasion of defects, and cooperative individuals with lowest delay reward survive because they form the largest clusters in the lattice.

Motivational orientation modulates the neural response to reward.

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Linke, Julia; Kirsch, Peter; King, Andrea V; Gass, Achim; Hennerici, Michael G; Bongers, André; Wessa, Michèle

2010-02-01

Motivational orientation defines the source of motivation for an individual to perform a particular action and can either originate from internal desires (e.g., interest) or external compensation (e.g., money). To this end, motivational orientation should influence the way positive or negative feedback is processed during learning situations and this might in turn have an impact on the learning process. In the present study, we thus investigated whether motivational orientation, i.e., extrinsic and intrinsic motivation modulates the neural response to reward and punishment as well as learning from reward and punishment in 33 healthy individuals. To assess neural responses to reward, punishment and learning of reward contingencies we employed a probabilistic reversal learning task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were assessed with a self-report questionnaire. Rewarding trials fostered activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) as well as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, whereas for punishment an increased neural response was observed in the medial and inferior prefrontal cortex, the superior parietal cortex and the insula. High extrinsic motivation was positively correlated to increased neural responses to reward in the ACC, amygdala and putamen, whereas a negative relationship between intrinsic motivation and brain activation in these brain regions was observed. These findings show that motivational orientation indeed modulates the responsiveness to reward delivery in major components of the human reward system and therefore extends previous results showing a significant influence of individual differences in reward-related personality traits on the neural processing of reward. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nicotine Withdrawal Induces Neural Deficits in Reward Processing.

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Oliver, Jason A; Evans, David E; Addicott, Merideth A; Potts, Geoffrey F; Brandon, Thomas H; Drobes, David J

2017-06-01

Nicotine withdrawal reduces neurobiological responses to nonsmoking rewards. Insight into these reward deficits could inform the development of targeted interventions. This study examined the effect of withdrawal on neural and behavioral responses during a reward prediction task. Smokers (N = 48) attended two laboratory sessions following overnight abstinence. Withdrawal was manipulated by having participants smoke three regular nicotine (0.6 mg yield; satiation) or very low nicotine (0.05 mg yield; withdrawal) cigarettes. Electrophysiological recordings of neural activity were obtained while participants completed a reward prediction task that involved viewing four combinations of predictive and reward-determining stimuli: (1) Unexpected Reward; (2) Predicted Reward; (3) Predicted Punishment; (4) Unexpected Punishment. The task evokes a medial frontal negativity that mimics the phasic pattern of dopaminergic firing in ventral tegmental regions associated with reward prediction errors. Nicotine withdrawal decreased the amplitude of the medial frontal negativity equally across all trial types (p nicotine dependence (p Nicotine withdrawal had equivocal impact across trial types, suggesting reward processing deficits are unlikely to stem from changes in phasic dopaminergic activity during prediction errors. Effects on tonic activity may be more pronounced. Pharmacological interventions directly targeting the dopamine system and behavioral interventions designed to increase reward motivation and responsiveness (eg, behavioral activation) may aid in mitigating withdrawal symptoms and potentially improving smoking cessation outcomes. Findings from this study indicate nicotine withdrawal impacts reward processing signals that are observable in smokers' neural activity. This may play a role in the subjective aversive experience of nicotine withdrawal and potentially contribute to smoking relapse. Interventions that address abnormal responding to both pleasant and

Trial-by-Trial Modulation of Associative Memory Formation by Reward Prediction Error and Reward Anticipation as Revealed by a Biologically Plausible Computational Model.

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Aberg, Kristoffer C; Müller, Julia; Schwartz, Sophie

2017-01-01

Anticipation and delivery of rewards improves memory formation, but little effort has been made to disentangle their respective contributions to memory enhancement. Moreover, it has been suggested that the effects of reward on memory are mediated by dopaminergic influences on hippocampal plasticity. Yet, evidence linking memory improvements to actual reward computations reflected in the activity of the dopaminergic system, i.e., prediction errors and expected values, is scarce and inconclusive. For example, different previous studies reported that the magnitude of prediction errors during a reinforcement learning task was a positive, negative, or non-significant predictor of successfully encoding simultaneously presented images. Individual sensitivities to reward and punishment have been found to influence the activation of the dopaminergic reward system and could therefore help explain these seemingly discrepant results. Here, we used a novel associative memory task combined with computational modeling and showed independent effects of reward-delivery and reward-anticipation on memory. Strikingly, the computational approach revealed positive influences from both reward delivery, as mediated by prediction error magnitude, and reward anticipation, as mediated by magnitude of expected value, even in the absence of behavioral effects when analyzed using standard methods, i.e., by collapsing memory performance across trials within conditions. We additionally measured trait estimates of reward and punishment sensitivity and found that individuals with increased reward (vs. punishment) sensitivity had better memory for associations encoded during positive (vs. negative) prediction errors when tested after 20 min, but a negative trend when tested after 24 h. In conclusion, modeling trial-by-trial fluctuations in the magnitude of reward, as we did here for prediction errors and expected value computations, provides a comprehensive and biologically plausible description of

A new perspective on human reward research: How consciously and unconsciously perceived reward information influences performance.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zedelius, Claire; Veling, Harm; Custers, Ruud; Bijleveld, Erik; Chiew, K.S.; Aarts, Henk

2014-01-01

The question of how human performance can be improved through rewards is a recurrent topic of interest in psychology and neuroscience. Traditional, cognitive approaches to this topic have focused solely on consciously communicated rewards. Recently, a largely neuroscience-inspired perspective has

A new perspective on human reward research: How consciously and unconsciously perceived reward information influences performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zedelius, C.M.; Veling, H.P.; Custers, R.; Bijleveld, E.H.; Chiew, K.S.; Aarts, H.A.G.

2014-01-01

The question of how human performance can be improved through rewards is a recurrent topic of interest in psychology and neuroscience. Traditional, cognitive approaches to this topic have focused solely on consciously communicated rewards. Recently, a largely neuroscience-inspired perspective has

Reward learning and negative emotion during rapid attentional competition

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Takemasa eYokoyama

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Learned stimulus-reward associations influence how attention is allocated, such that stimuli rewarded in the past are favored in situations involving limited resources and competition. At the same time, task-irrelevant, high-arousal negative stimuli capture attention and divert resources away from tasks resulting in poor behavioral performance. Yet, investigations of how reward learning and negative stimuli affect perceptual and attentional processing have been conducted in a largely independent fashion. We have recently reported that performance-based monetary rewards reduce negative stimuli interference during perception. The goal of the present study was to investigate how stimuli associated with past monetary rewards compete with negative stimuli during a subsequent attentional task when, critically, no performance-based rewards were at stake. Across two experiments, we found that target stimuli that were associated with high reward reduced the interference effect of potent, negative distractors. Similar to our recent findings with performance-based rewards, our results demonstrate that reward-associated stimuli reduce the deleterious impact of negative stimuli on behavior.

Reward Anticipation in Ventral Striatum and Individual Sensitivity to Reward : A Pilot Study of a Child-Friendly fMRI Task

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van Hulst, Branko M; de Zeeuw, Patrick; Lupas, Kellina; Bos, Dienke J; Neggers, Sebastiaan F W; Durston, Sarah

2015-01-01

Reward processing has been implicated in developmental disorders. However, the classic task to probe reward anticipation, the monetary incentive delay task, has an abstract coding of reward and no storyline and may therefore be less appropriate for use with developmental populations. We modified the

Prosocial reward learning in children and adolescents

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Youngbin Kwak

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Adolescence is a period of increased sensitivity to social contexts. To evaluate how social context sensitivity changes over development – and influences reward learning – we investigated how children and adolescents perceive and integrate rewards for oneself and others during a dynamic risky-decision-making task. Children and adolescents (N=75, 8-16 yrs performed the Social Gambling Task (SGT, (Kwak et al., 2014 and completed a set of questionnaires measuring other-regarding behavior. In the SGT, participants choose amongst four card decks that have different payout structures for oneself and for a charity. We examined patterns of choices, overall decision strategies, and how reward outcomes led to trial-by-trial adjustments in behavior, as estimated using a reinforcement-learning model. Performance of children and adolescents was compared to data from a previously collected sample of adults (N=102 performing the identical task. We found that that children/adolescents were not only more sensitive to rewards directed to the charity than self but also showed greater prosocial tendencies on independent measures of other-regarding behavior. Children and adolescents also showed less use of a strategy that prioritizes rewards for self at the expense of rewards for others. These results support the conclusion that, compared to adults, children and adolescents show greater sensitivity to outcomes for others when making decisions and learning about potential rewards.

Improving control over the impulse for reward: sensitivity of harmful alcohol drinkers to delayed reward but not immediate punishment.

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Rossiter, Sarah; Thompson, Julian; Hester, Robert

2012-09-01

Cognitive control dysfunction has been identified in dependent alcohol users and implicated in the transition from abuse to dependence, although evidence of dyscontrol in chronic but non-dependent 'harmful' alcohol abusers is mixed. The current study examined harmful alcohol users response inhibition over rewarding stimuli in the presence of monetary reward and punishment, to determine whether changes in sensitivity to these factors, noted in imaging studies of dependent users, influences impulse control. Harmful (n=30) and non-hazardous (n=55) alcohol users were administered a Monetary Incentive Go/No-go task that required participants to inhibit a prepotent motor response associated with reward. Harmful alcohol users showed a significantly poorer ability to withhold their impulse for a rewarding stimulus in the presence of immediate monetary punishment for failure, while retaining equivalent response inhibition performance under neutral conditions (associated with neither monetary loss or gain), and significantly better performance under delayed reward conditions. The results of the present study suggest that non-dependent alcohol abusers have altered sensitivity to reward and punishment that influences their impulse control for reward, in the absence of gross dyscontrol that is consistent with past findings in which such performance contingencies were not used. The ability of delayed monetary reward, but not punishment, to increase sustained impulse control in this sample has implications for the mechanism that might underlie the transition from alcohol abuse to dependence, as well as intervention strategies aimed at preventing this transition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive scaling of reward in episodic memory: a replication study.

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Mason, Alice; Ludwig, Casimir; Farrell, Simon

2017-11-01

Reward is thought to enhance episodic memory formation via dopaminergic consolidation. Bunzeck, Dayan, Dolan, and Duzel [(2010). A common mechanism for adaptive scaling of reward and novelty. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 1380-1394] provided functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioural evidence that reward and episodic memory systems are sensitive to the contextual value of a reward-whether it is relatively higher or lower-as opposed to absolute value or prediction error. We carried out a direct replication of their behavioural study and did not replicate their finding that memory performance associated with reward follows this pattern of adaptive scaling. An effect of reward outcome was in the opposite direction to that in the original study, with lower reward outcomes leading to better memory than higher outcomes. There was a marginal effect of reward context, suggesting that expected value affected memory performance. We discuss the robustness of the reward memory relationship to variations in reward context, and whether other reward-related factors have a more reliable influence on episodic memory.

Ghrelin receptor antagonism attenuates cocaine- and amphetamine-induced locomotor stimulation, accumbal dopamine release, and conditioned place preference.

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Jerlhag, Elisabet; Egecioglu, Emil; Dickson, Suzanne L; Engel, Jörgen A

2010-09-01

Recently we demonstrated that genetic or pharmacological suppression of the central ghrelin signaling system, involving the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1A (GHS-R1A), lead to a reduced reward profile from alcohol. As the target circuits for ghrelin in the brain include a mesolimbic reward pathway that is intimately associated with reward-seeking behaviour, we sought to determine whether the central ghrelin signaling system is required for reward from drugs of abuse other than alcohol, namely cocaine or amphetamine. We found that amphetamine-as well as cocaine-induced locomotor stimulation and accumbal dopamine release were reduced in mice treated with a GHS-R1A antagonist. Moreover, the ability of these drugs to condition a place preference was also attenuated by the GHS-R1A antagonist. Thus GHS-R1A appears to be required not only for alcohol-induced reward, but also for reward induced by psychostimulant drugs. Our data suggest that the central ghrelin signaling system constitutes a novel potential target for treatment of addictive behaviours such as drug dependence.

Exploring the Behavioral and Metabolic Phenotype Generated by Re-Introduction of the Ghrelin Receptor in the Ventral Tegmental Area

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Louise J; Jensen, Morten; Christiansen, Søren H

2017-01-01

Ghrelin receptor (Ghr-R) signaling in neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) can modulate dopaminergic function and the reward-related effects of both palatable foods and drugs of abuse. In this study, we re-introduced the Ghr-R in VTA neurons in Ghr-R knockout mice (Ghr-R(VTA) mice) to spec...... for the reward-related effects of activation of VTA neurons. Overall, our data suggest that re-introduction of the Ghr-R in the mesolimbic reward system of Ghr-R knockout mice increases the level of activation induced by both cocaine and novelty stress.......Ghrelin receptor (Ghr-R) signaling in neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) can modulate dopaminergic function and the reward-related effects of both palatable foods and drugs of abuse. In this study, we re-introduced the Ghr-R in VTA neurons in Ghr-R knockout mice (Ghr-R(VTA) mice...

Influence of reward motivation on human declarative memory.

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Miendlarzewska, Ewa A; Bavelier, Daphne; Schwartz, Sophie

2016-02-01

Motivational relevance can prioritize information for memory encoding and consolidation based on reward value. In this review, we pinpoint the possible psychological and neural mechanisms by which reward promotes learning, from guiding attention to enhancing memory consolidation. We then discuss how reward value can spill-over from one conditioned stimulus to a non-conditioned stimulus. Such generalization can occur across perceptually similar items or through more complex relations, such as associative or logical inferences. Existing evidence suggests that the neurotransmitter dopamine boosts the formation of declarative memory for rewarded information and may also control the generalization of reward values. In particular, temporally-correlated activity in the hippocampus and in regions of the dopaminergic circuit may mediate value-based decisions and facilitate cross-item integration. Given the importance of generalization in learning, our review points to the need to study not only how reward affects later memory but how learned reward values may generalize to related representations and ultimately alter memory structure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Belief reward shaping in reinforcement learning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Marom, O

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A key challenge in many reinforcement learning problems is delayed rewards, which can significantly slow down learning. Although reward shaping has previously been introduced to accelerate learning by bootstrapping an agent with additional...

Effect of current on the maximum possible reward.

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Gallistel, C R; Leon, M; Waraczynski, M; Hanau, M S

1991-12-01

Using a 2-lever choice paradigm with concurrent variable interval schedules of reward, it was found that when pulse frequency is increased, the preference-determining rewarding effect of 0.5-s trains of brief cathodal pulses delivered to the medial forebrain bundle of the rat saturates (stops increasing) at values ranging from 200 to 631 pulses/s (pps). Raising the current lowered the saturation frequency, which confirms earlier, more extensive findings showing that the rewarding effect of short trains saturates at pulse frequencies that vary from less than 100 pps to more than 800 pps, depending on the current. It was also found that the maximum possible reward--the magnitude of the reward at or beyond the saturation pulse frequency--increases with increasing current. Thus, increasing the current reduces the saturation frequency but increases the subjective magnitude of the maximum possible reward.

Associations among smoking, anhedonia, and reward learning in depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Liverant, Gabrielle I; Sloan, Denise M; Pizzagalli, Diego A; Harte, Christopher B; Kamholz, Barbara W; Rosebrock, Laina E; Cohen, Andrew L; Fava, Maurizio; Kaplan, Gary B

2014-09-01

Depression and cigarette smoking co-occur at high rates. However, the etiological mechanisms that contribute to this relationship remain unclear. Anhedonia and associated impairments in reward learning are key features of depression, which also have been linked to the onset and maintenance of cigarette smoking. However, few studies have investigated differences in anhedonia and reward learning among depressed smokers and depressed nonsmokers. The goal of this study was to examine putative differences in anhedonia and reward learning in depressed smokers (n=36) and depressed nonsmokers (n=44). To this end, participants completed self-report measures of anhedonia and behavioral activation (BAS reward responsiveness scores) and as well as a probabilistic reward task rooted in signal detection theory, which measures reward learning (Pizzagalli, Jahn, & O'Shea, 2005). When considering self-report measures, depressed smokers reported higher trait anhedonia and reduced BAS reward responsiveness scores compared to depressed nonsmokers. In contrast to self-report measures, nicotine-satiated depressed smokers demonstrated greater acquisition of reward-based learning compared to depressed nonsmokers as indexed by the probabilistic reward task. Findings may point to a potential mechanism underlying the frequent co-occurrence of smoking and depression. These results highlight the importance of continued investigation of the role of anhedonia and reward system functioning in the co-occurrence of depression and nicotine abuse. Results also may support the use of treatments targeting reward learning (e.g., behavioral activation) to enhance smoking cessation among individuals with depression. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Extending Markov Automata with State and Action Rewards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guck, Dennis; Timmer, Mark; Blom, Stefan; Bertrand, N.; Bortolussi, L.

This presentation introduces the Markov Reward Automaton (MRA), an extension of the Markov automaton that allows the modelling of systems incorporating rewards in addition to nondeterminism, discrete probabilistic choice and continuous stochastic timing. Our models support both rewards that are

[A girl with self-harm treated with N-acetylcysteine (NAC)].

Science.gov (United States)

Rus, C P

Deliberate and recurrent self-harm could be regarded as addictive behaviour that can be treated with medication. In addiction, the dopaminergic mesolimbic reward system is activated. Pain caused by cutting stimulates the reward system through the opioid system. Glutamatergic neurotransmission follows the same pathway and plays a role in addiction as well. In this case-study a 17-year-old girl was successfully treated with N-acetylcysteine (nac) in order to reduce the frequency of self-cutting. In addition, in this case nac reduced the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression. nac modulates the glutamatergic neurotransmission. This article provides possible explanations for the effect of nac in this case.

Functional requirements for reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity.

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Frémaux, Nicolas; Sprekeler, Henning; Gerstner, Wulfram

2010-10-06

Recent experiments have shown that spike-timing-dependent plasticity is influenced by neuromodulation. We derive theoretical conditions for successful learning of reward-related behavior for a large class of learning rules where Hebbian synaptic plasticity is conditioned on a global modulatory factor signaling reward. We show that all learning rules in this class can be separated into a term that captures the covariance of neuronal firing and reward and a second term that presents the influence of unsupervised learning. The unsupervised term, which is, in general, detrimental for reward-based learning, can be suppressed if the neuromodulatory signal encodes the difference between the reward and the expected reward-but only if the expected reward is calculated for each task and stimulus separately. If several tasks are to be learned simultaneously, the nervous system needs an internal critic that is able to predict the expected reward for arbitrary stimuli. We show that, with a critic, reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity is capable of learning motor trajectories with a temporal resolution of tens of milliseconds. The relation to temporal difference learning, the relevance of block-based learning paradigms, and the limitations of learning with a critic are discussed.

A test of the reward-contrast hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalecki, Stefan J; Panoz-Brown, Danielle E; Crystal, Jonathon D

2017-12-01

Source memory, a facet of episodic memory, is the memory of the origin of information. Whereas source memory in rats is sustained for at least a week, spatial memory degraded after approximately a day. Different forgetting functions may suggest that two memory systems (source memory and spatial memory) are dissociated. However, in previous work, the two tasks used baiting conditions consisting of chocolate and chow flavors; notably, the source memory task used the relatively better flavor. Thus, according to the reward-contrast hypothesis, when chocolate and chow were presented within the same context (i.e., within a single radial maze trial), the chocolate location was more memorable than the chow location because of contrast. We tested the reward-contrast hypothesis using baiting configurations designed to produce reward-contrast. The reward-contrast hypothesis predicts that under these conditions, spatial memory will survive a 24-h retention interval. We documented elimination of spatial memory performance after a 24-h retention interval using a reward-contrast baiting pattern. These data suggest that reward contrast does not explain our earlier findings that source memory survives unusually long retention intervals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Egalitarian reward contingency in competitive games and primate prefrontal neuronal activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosokawa, Takayuki; Watanabe, Masataka

2015-01-01

How people work to obtain a reward depends on the context of the reward delivery, such as the presence/absence of competition and the contingency of reward delivery. Since resources are limited, winning a competition is critically important for organisms' obtaining a reward. People usually expect ordinary performance-reward contingency, with better performers obtaining better rewards. Unordinary reward contingency, such as egalitarianism (equal rewards/no-rewards to both good and poor performers), dampens people's motivation. We previously reported that monkeys were more motivated, and neurons in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) showed higher outcome-related activity in a competitive than in a noncompetitive game (Hosokawa and Watanabe, 2012). However, monkey's behavior and LPFC neuronal activity have not been examined in a competitive situation with an unordinary performance-reward contingency. Also, the fixed performance-reward contingency in the previous study did not allow us to examine effects of win/loss separately from those of reward/no-reward on prefrontal neuronal activity. Here, we employed the egalitarian competitive situation in which both the winner and loser, or neither of them, got a reward as well as the normal competitive situation in which only the winner got a reward. Monkey's behavioral performance greatly deteriorated in trials with the egalitarian outcome conditions. LPFC neurons showed activities that reflected the normal or egalitarian outcome condition while very few neurons coded win/loss independent of reward/no-reward. Importantly, we found neurons that showed reward-related activity in the normal, but not in the egalitarian outcome conditions, even though the same reward was given to the animal. These results indicate that LPFC may play an important role in monitoring the current reward contingency and integrating it with the performance outcome (win-loss) for better performing the competitive game, and thus for better survival.

Endocannabinoid signaling in reward and addiction

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Loren H.; Hurd, Yasmin L.

2015-01-01

Brain endocannabinoid signaling influences the motivation for natural rewards (such as palatable food, sexual activity and social interaction) and modulates the rewarding effects of addictive drugs. Pathological forms of natural and drug-induced reward are associated with dysregulated endocannabinoid signaling that may derive from pre-existing genetic factors or from prolonged drug exposure. Impaired endocannabinoid signaling contributes to dysregulated synaptic plasticity, increased stress responsivity, negative emotional states, and craving that propel addiction. Understanding the contributions of endocannabinoid disruptions to behavioral and physiological traits provides insight into the endocannabinoid influence on addiction vulnerability. PMID:26373473

Reward associations impact both iconic and visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Infanti, Elisa; Hickey, Clayton; Turatto, Massimo

2015-02-01

Reward plays a fundamental role in human behavior. A growing number of studies have shown that stimuli associated with reward become salient and attract attention. The aim of the present study was to extend these results into the investigation of iconic memory and visual working memory. In two experiments we asked participants to perform a visual-search task where different colors of the target stimuli were paired with high or low reward. We then tested whether the pre-established feature-reward association affected performance on a subsequent visual memory task, in which no reward was provided. In this test phase participants viewed arrays of 8 objects, one of which had unique color that could match the color associated with reward during the previous visual-search task. A probe appeared at varying intervals after stimulus offset to identify the to-be-reported item. Our results suggest that reward biases the encoding of visual information such that items characterized by a reward-associated feature interfere with mnemonic representations of other items in the test display. These results extend current knowledge regarding the influence of reward on early cognitive processes, suggesting that feature-reward associations automatically interact with the encoding and storage of visual information, both in iconic memory and visual working memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reward-seeking behavior and addiction: cause or cog?

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Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Salama, Mohamed

2012-09-01

Although dopaminergic system represents the cornerstone in rewarding, other neurotransmitters can modulate both the reward system and the psychomotor effects of addictive drugs. Many hypotheses have been proposed for a better understanding of the reward system and its role in drug addiction. However, after many years of investigation, no single theory can completely explain the neural basis of drug addiction. Recent reports introduce novel neurotransmitters into the game e.g. dynorphins, orexins, histamine, gheralin and galanin. The interacting functions of these neurotransmitters have shown that the reward system and its role in drug dependence, is far more complicated than was thought before. Individual variations exist regarding response to drug exposure, vulnerability for addiction and the effects of different cues on reward systems. Consequently, genetic variations of neurotransmission are thought to influence reward processing that in turn may affect distinctive social behavior and susceptibility to addiction. However, the individual variations can not be based mainly on genetics; environmental factors seem to play a role too. Here we discuss the current knowledge about the orquestic regulation of different neurotransmitters on reward-seeking behavior and their potential effect on drug addiction.

Impairment of probabilistic reward-based learning in schizophrenia.

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Weiler, Julia A; Bellebaum, Christian; Brüne, Martin; Juckel, Georg; Daum, Irene

2009-09-01

Recent models assume that some symptoms of schizophrenia originate from defective reward processing mechanisms. Understanding the precise nature of reward-based learning impairments might thus make an important contribution to the understanding of schizophrenia and the development of treatment strategies. The present study investigated several features of probabilistic reward-based stimulus association learning, namely the acquisition of initial contingencies, reversal learning, generalization abilities, and the effects of reward magnitude. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with schizophrenia exhibited attenuated overall performance during acquisition, whereas learning rates across blocks were similar to the rates of controls. On the group level, persons with schizophrenia were, however, unable to learn the reversal of the initial reward contingencies. Exploratory analysis of only the subgroup of individuals with schizophrenia who showed significant learning during acquisition yielded deficits in reversal learning with low reward magnitudes only. There was further evidence of a mild generalization impairment of the persons with schizophrenia in an acquired equivalence task. In summary, although there was evidence of intact basic processing of reward magnitudes, individuals with schizophrenia were impaired at using this feedback for the adaptive guidance of behavior.

Social Influences on Creativity: Interactive Effects of Reward and Choice.

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Amabile, Teresa M.

In a test of intrinsic motivation hypothesis of creativity, 60 undergraduate women did an artistic creativity task with either the expectation of receiving a reward or no expectation of reward. Reward was crossed with choice in task engagement, such that half of the reward Ss contracted to do the task in order to receive reward, and half simply…

Ethanol Exposure History and Alcoholic Reward Differentially Alter Dopamine Release in the Nucleus Accumbens to a Reward-Predictive Cue.

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Fiorenza, Amanda M; Shnitko, Tatiana A; Sullivan, Kaitlin M; Vemuru, Sudheer R; Gomez-A, Alexander; Esaki, Julie Y; Boettiger, Charlotte A; Da Cunha, Claudio; Robinson, Donita L

2018-06-01

Conditioned stimuli (CS) that predict reward delivery acquire the ability to induce phasic dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This dopamine release may facilitate conditioned approach behavior, which often manifests as approach to the site of reward delivery (called "goal-tracking") or to the CS itself (called "sign-tracking"). Previous research has linked sign-tracking in particular to impulsivity and drug self-administration, and addictive drugs may promote the expression of sign-tracking. Ethanol (EtOH) acutely promotes phasic release of dopamine in the accumbens, but it is unknown whether an alcoholic reward alters dopamine release to a CS. We hypothesized that Pavlovian conditioning with an alcoholic reward would increase dopamine release triggered by the CS and subsequent sign-tracking behavior. Moreover, we predicted that chronic intermittent EtOH (CIE) exposure would promote sign-tracking while acute administration of naltrexone (NTX) would reduce it. Rats received 14 doses of EtOH (3 to 5 g/kg, intragastric) or water followed by 6 days of Pavlovian conditioning training. Rewards were a chocolate solution with or without 10% (w/v) alcohol. We used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to measure phasic dopamine release in the NAc core in response to the CS and the rewards. We also determined the effect of NTX (1 mg/kg, subcutaneous) on conditioned approach. Both CIE and alcoholic reward, individually but not together, associated with greater dopamine to the CS than control conditions. However, this increase in dopamine release was not linked to greater sign-tracking, as both CIE and alcoholic reward shifted conditioned approach from sign-tracking behavior to goal-tracking behavior. However, they both also increased sensitivity to NTX, which reduced goal-tracking behavior. While a history of EtOH exposure or alcoholic reward enhanced dopamine release to a CS, they did not promote sign-tracking under the current conditions. These findings are

Natural Rewards, Neuroplasticity, and Non-Drug Addictions

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Olsen, Christopher M.

2011-01-01

There is a high degree of overlap between brain regions involved in processing natural rewards and drugs of abuse. “Non-drug” or “behavioral” addictions have become increasingly documented in the clinic, and pathologies include compulsive activities such as shopping, eating, exercising, sexual behavior, and gambling. Like drug addiction, non-drug addictions manifest in symptoms including craving, impaired control over the behavior, tolerance, withdrawal, and high rates of relapse. These alterations in behavior suggest that plasticity may be occurring in brain regions associated with drug addiction. In this review, I summarize data demonstrating that exposure to non-drug rewards can alter neural plasticity in regions of the brain that are affected by drugs of abuse. Research suggests that there are several similarities between neuroplasticity induced by natural and drug rewards and that, depending on the reward, repeated exposure to natural rewards might induce neuroplasticity that either promotes or counteracts addictive behavior. PMID:21459101

Overlapping neural systems represent cognitive effort and reward anticipation.

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Vassena, Eliana; Silvetti, Massimo; Boehler, Carsten N; Achten, Eric; Fias, Wim; Verguts, Tom

2014-01-01

Anticipating a potential benefit and how difficult it will be to obtain it are valuable skills in a constantly changing environment. In the human brain, the anticipation of reward is encoded by the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and Striatum. Naturally, potential rewards have an incentive quality, resulting in a motivational effect improving performance. Recently it has been proposed that an upcoming task requiring effort induces a similar anticipation mechanism as reward, relying on the same cortico-limbic network. However, this overlapping anticipatory activity for reward and effort has only been investigated in a perceptual task. Whether this generalizes to high-level cognitive tasks remains to be investigated. To this end, an fMRI experiment was designed to investigate anticipation of reward and effort in cognitive tasks. A mental arithmetic task was implemented, manipulating effort (difficulty), reward, and delay in reward delivery to control for temporal confounds. The goal was to test for the motivational effect induced by the expectation of bigger reward and higher effort. The results showed that the activation elicited by an upcoming difficult task overlapped with higher reward prospect in the ACC and in the striatum, thus highlighting a pivotal role of this circuit in sustaining motivated behavior.

U.S. Geological Survey Rewarding Environment Culture Study, 2002

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Nash, Janis C.; Paradise-Tornow, Carol A.; Gray, Vicki K.; Griffin-Bemis, Sarah P.; Agnew, Pamela R.; Bouchet, Nicole M.

2010-01-01

In its 2001 review of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Research Council (NRC, p. 126) cautioned that ?high-quality personnel are essential for developing high-quality science information? and urged the USGS to ?devote substantial efforts to recruiting and retaining excellent staff.? Recognizing the importance of the NRC recommendation, the USGS has committed time and resources to create a rewarding work environment with the goal of achieving the following valued outcomes: ? USGS science vitality ? Customer satisfaction with USGS products and services ? Employee perceptions of the USGS as a rewarding place to work ? Heightened employee morale and commitment ? The ability to recruit and retain employees with critical skills To determine whether this investment of time and resources was proving to be successful, the USGS Human Resources Office conducted a Rewarding Environment Culture Study to answer the following four questions. ? Question 1: Does a rewarding work environment lead to the valued outcomes (identified above) that the USGS is seeking? ? Question 2: Which management, supervisory, and leadership behaviors contribute most to creating a rewarding work environment and to achieving the valued outcomes that the USGS is seeking? ? Question 3: Do USGS employees perceive that the USGS is a rewarding place to work? ? Question 4: What actions can and should be taken to enhance the USGS work environment? To begin the study, a conceptual model of a rewarding USGS environment was developed to test assumptions about a rewarding work environment. The Rewarding Environment model identifies the key components that are thought to contribute to a rewarding work environment and the valued outcomes that are thought to result from having a rewarding work environment. The 2002 Organizational Assessment Survey (OAS) was used as the primary data source for the study because it provided the most readily available data. Additional survey data were included as they

An expert system for reward systems design.

OpenAIRE

Erturk, Alper

2000-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Today's business environment is a highly competitive marketplace. In this competition, organizations distribute numerous rewards to motivate, attract and retain employees, such as pay, fringe benefits and promotions. However, not all managers have the necessary knowledge and expertise to effectively decide and structure reward systems. This thesis presents an expert system to assist managers with designing the most appropriate reward s...

Altered social reward and attention in anorexia nervosa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karli K Watson

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Dysfunctional social reward and social orienting attend a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, schizophrenia, social anxiety, and psychopathy. Here we show that similar social reward and attention dysfunction attend anorexia nervosa, a disorder defined by avoidance of food and extreme weight loss. We measured the implicit reward value of social stimuli for female participants with (n=11 and without (n=11 anorexia nervosa using an econometric choice task and also tracked gaze patterns during free viewing of images of female faces and bodies. As predicted, the reward value of viewing bodies varied inversely with observed body weight for women with anorexia but not neurotypical women, in contrast with their explicit ratings of attractiveness. Surprisingly, women with anorexia nervosa, unlike neurotypical women, did not find female faces rewarding and avoided looking at both the face and eyes—independent of observed body weight. These findings demonstrate comorbid dysfunction in the neural circuits mediating gustatory and social reward in anorexia nervosa.

TOTAL REWARDS MODEL IN ROMANIAN COMPANIES

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Elena-Sabina HODOR

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Total Rewards Management is a subject of major importance for companies, because, by using models for this, firms can achieve their objectives of high performance. In order to analyse a validated total rewards model in Romanian Accounting and Consulting Companies, it is used The WorldatWork Total Rewards Model, which depict what contributes to applicant attraction and employee motivation and retention. Thus, the methodology of the previous survey is adjusted to the local context. The conclusions for the methodological aspects illustrate that the present research involves three strategic steps in order to achieve the objectives presented: the analysis of organizational environment of the companies from the sample, checking if Total Rewards Model proposed in the previous research is applicable for the same romanian companies from the previous survey, the analysing of the differences between results, and, if necessary, the adaptation of the model for Romania.

Fuel not fun: Reinterpreting attenuated brain responses to reward in obesity.

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Kroemer, Nils B; Small, Dana M

2016-08-01

There is a well-established literature linking obesity to altered dopamine signaling and brain response to food-related stimuli. Neuroimaging studies frequently report enhanced responses in dopaminergic regions during food anticipation and decreased responses during reward receipt. This has been interpreted as reflecting anticipatory "reward surfeit", and consummatory "reward deficiency". In particular, attenuated response in the dorsal striatum to primary food rewards is proposed to reflect anhedonia, which leads to overeating in an attempt to compensate for the reward deficit. In this paper, we propose an alternative view. We consider brain response to food-related stimuli in a reinforcement-learning framework, which can be employed to separate the contributions of reward sensitivity and reward-related learning that are typically entangled in the brain response to reward. Consequently, we posit that decreased striatal responses to milkshake receipt reflect reduced reward-related learning rather than reward deficiency or anhedonia because reduced reward sensitivity would translate uniformly into reduced anticipatory and consummatory responses to reward. By re-conceptualizing reward deficiency as a shift in learning about subjective value of rewards, we attempt to reconcile neuroimaging findings with the putative role of dopamine in effort, energy expenditure and exploration and suggest that attenuated brain responses to energy dense foods reflect the "fuel", not the fun entailed by the reward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impaired associative learning with food rewards in obese women.

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Zhang, Zhihao; Manson, Kirk F; Schiller, Daniela; Levy, Ifat

2014-08-04

Obesity is a major epidemic in many parts of the world. One of the main factors contributing to obesity is overconsumption of high-fat and high-calorie food, which is driven by the rewarding properties of these types of food. Previous studies have suggested that dysfunction in reward circuits may be associated with overeating and obesity. The nature of this dysfunction, however, is still unknown. Here, we demonstrate impairment in reward-based associative learning specific to food in obese women. Normal-weight and obese participants performed an appetitive reversal learning task in which they had to learn and modify cue-reward associations. To test whether any learning deficits were specific to food reward or were more general, we used a between-subject design in which half of the participants received food reward and the other half received money reward. Our results reveal a marked difference in associative learning between normal-weight and obese women when food was used as reward. Importantly, no learning deficits were observed with money reward. Multiple regression analyses also established a robust negative association between body mass index and learning performance in the food domain in female participants. Interestingly, such impairment was not observed in obese men. These findings suggest that obesity may be linked to impaired reward-based associative learning and that this impairment may be specific to the food domain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generational motivation and preference for reward and recognition

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Nico Martins

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Generation sub-groups have been and continue to be stereotyped as requiring different approaches in the workplace and elsewhere with regard to what keeps them motivated and satisfied. Two measuring instruments were distributed electronically to all staff of a South African Facilities Management firm. The one-way ANOVA was conducted with post-hoc tests to establish which factors display statistically significant differences between generations. The findings demonstrated that certain generation sub-groups have preferences for different types of reward, reward categories, and have different perceptions about what types of reward attracts, motivates and retains employees. The main recommendation is that the company needs to adopt a flexible approach to reward and recognition that allows employees to tailor their reward structure to their own needs

Spatial discounting of food and social rewards in guppies (Poecilia reticulata

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Nelly eMühlhoff

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In temporal discounting, animals trade off the time to obtain a reward against the quality of a reward, choosing between a smaller reward available sooner versus a larger reward available later. Similar discounting can apply over space, when animals choose between smaller and closer versus larger and more distant rewards. Most studies of temporal and spatial discounting in nonhuman animals use food as the reward, and it is not established whether animals trade off other preferred stimuli in similar ways. Here, we offered female guppies (Poecilia reticulata a spatial discounting task in which we measured preferences for a larger reward as the distance to it increased relative to a closer but smaller reward. We tested whether the fish discounted reward types differently by offering subjects either food items or same-sex conspecifics as rewards. Before beginning the discounting tasks, we conducted validation tests to ensure that subjects equally valued the food and social stimuli in the quantities provided. In the discounting task, subjects switched their preferences from the larger to the smaller reward as the distance to the larger reward increased (spatial discounting, but the pattern and magnitude of discounting did not differ across the two reward types. These findings indicate that guppies show similar patterns of discounting food and social rewards in a spatial task. In an analysis of travel times, however, the fish swam faster to food rewards than to shoaling partners. This difference in travel times implies that fish temporally discounted social rewards less steeply than food rewards. Thus, reward type influences temporal discounting, suggesting a dissociation between temporal and spatial discounting. Our results illustrate how animals adjust choices and travel times depending on both the type of cost (time, distance and benefits (food, social partners.

The endocannabinoid system and nondrug rewarding behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Fattore, Liana; Melis, Miriam; Fadda, Paola; Pistis, Marco; Fratta, Walter

2010-07-01

Rewarding behaviours such as sexual activity, eating, nursing, parenting, social interactions, and play activity are conserved strongly in evolution, and they are essential for development and survival. All of these behaviours are enjoyable and represent pleasant experiences with a high reward value. Remarkably, rewarding behaviours activate the same brain circuits that mediate the positive reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse and of other forms of addiction, such as gambling and food addiction. Given the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in a variety of physiological functions of the nervous system, it is not surprising that it takes part in the complex machinery that regulates gratification and perception of pleasure. In this review, we focus first on the role of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of neural activity and synaptic functions in brain regions that are involved in natural and nonnatural rewards (namely, the ventral tegmental area, striatum, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex). Then, we examine the role of the endocannabinoid system in modulating behaviours that directly or indirectly activate these brain reward pathways. More specifically, current knowledge of the effects of the pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid system on natural (eating, sexual behaviour, parenting, and social play) and pathological (gambling) rewarding behaviours is summarised and discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neurogenetics and Nutrigenomics of Neuro-Nutrient Therapy for Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Clinical Ramifications as a Function of Molecular Neurobiological Mechanisms

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Blum, Kenneth; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Stuller, Elizabeth; Miller, David; Giordano, John; Morse, Siobhan; McCormick, Lee; Downs, William B; Waite, Roger L; Barh, Debmalya; Neal, Dennis; Braverman, Eric R; Lohmann, Raquel; Borsten, Joan; Hauser, Mary; Han, David; Liu, Yijun; Helman, Manya; Simpatico, Thomas

2013-01-01

In accord with the new definition of addiction published by American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) it is well-known that individuals who present to a treatment center involved in chemical dependency or other documented reward dependence behaviors have impaired brain reward circuitry. They have hypodopaminergic function due to genetic and/or environmental negative pressures upon the reward neuro-circuitry. This impairment leads to aberrant craving behavior and other behaviors such as Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Neurogenetic research in both animal and humans revealed that there is a well-defined cascade in the reward site of the brain that leads to normal dopamine release. This cascade has been termed the “Brain Reward Cascade” (BRC). Any impairment due to either genetics or environmental influences on this cascade will result in a reduced amount of dopamine release in the brain reward site. Manipulation of the BRC has been successfully achieved with neuro-nutrient therapy utilizing nutrigenomic principles. After over four decades of development, neuro-nutrient therapy has provided important clinical benefits when appropriately utilized. This is a review, with some illustrative case histories from a number of addiction professionals, of certain molecular neurobiological mechanisms which if ignored may lead to clinical complications. PMID:23926462

Neurogenetics and Nutrigenomics of Neuro-Nutrient Therapy for Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Clinical Ramifications as a Function of Molecular Neurobiological Mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Kenneth; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Stuller, Elizabeth; Miller, David; Giordano, John; Morse, Siobhan; McCormick, Lee; Downs, William B; Waite, Roger L; Barh, Debmalya; Neal, Dennis; Braverman, Eric R; Lohmann, Raquel; Borsten, Joan; Hauser, Mary; Han, David; Liu, Yijun; Helman, Manya; Simpatico, Thomas

2012-11-27

In accord with the new definition of addiction published by American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) it is well-known that individuals who present to a treatment center involved in chemical dependency or other documented reward dependence behaviors have impaired brain reward circuitry. They have hypodopaminergic function due to genetic and/or environmental negative pressures upon the reward neuro-circuitry. This impairment leads to aberrant craving behavior and other behaviors such as Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Neurogenetic research in both animal and humans revealed that there is a well-defined cascade in the reward site of the brain that leads to normal dopamine release. This cascade has been termed the "Brain Reward Cascade" (BRC). Any impairment due to either genetics or environmental influences on this cascade will result in a reduced amount of dopamine release in the brain reward site. Manipulation of the BRC has been successfully achieved with neuro-nutrient therapy utilizing nutrigenomic principles. After over four decades of development, neuro-nutrient therapy has provided important clinical benefits when appropriately utilized. This is a review, with some illustrative case histories from a number of addiction professionals, of certain molecular neurobiological mechanisms which if ignored may lead to clinical complications.

Acute Stress Influences Neural Circuits of Reward Processing

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Anthony John Porcelli

2012-11-01

Full Text Available People often make decisions under aversive conditions such as acute stress. Yet, less is known about the process in which acute stress can influence decision-making. A growing body of research has established that reward-related information associated with the outcomes of decisions exerts a powerful influence over the choices people make and that an extensive network of brain regions, prominently featuring the striatum, is involved in the processing of this reward-related information. Thus, an important step in research on the nature of acute stress’ influence over decision-making is to examine how it may modulate responses to rewards and punishments within reward-processing neural circuitry. In the current experiment, we employed a simple reward processing paradigm – where participants received monetary rewards and punishments – known to evoke robust striatal responses. Immediately prior to performing each of two task runs, participants were exposed to acute stress (i.e., cold pressor or a no stress control procedure in a between-subjects fashion. No stress group participants exhibited a pattern of activity within the dorsal striatum and orbitofrontal cortex consistent with past research on outcome processing – specifically, differential responses for monetary rewards over punishments. In contrast, acute stress group participants’ dorsal striatum and orbitofrontal cortex demonstrated decreased sensitivity to monetary outcomes and a lack of differential activity. These findings provide insight into how neural circuits may process rewards and punishments associated with simple decisions under acutely stressful conditions.

Influence of dopaminergically mediated reward on somatosensory decision-making.

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Burkhard Pleger

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Reward-related dopaminergic influences on learning and overt behaviour are well established, but any influence on sensory decision-making is largely unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI while participants judged electric somatosensory stimuli on one hand or other, before being rewarded for correct performance at trial end via a visual signal, at one of four anticipated financial levels. Prior to the procedure, participants received either placebo (saline, a dopamine agonist (levodopa, or an antagonist (haloperidol.higher anticipated reward improved tactile decisions. Visually signalled reward reactivated primary somatosensory cortex for the judged hand, more strongly for higher reward. After receiving a higher reward on one trial, somatosensory activations and decisions were enhanced on the next trial. These behavioural and neural effects were all enhanced by levodopa and attenuated by haloperidol, indicating dopaminergic dependency. Dopaminergic reward-related influences extend even to early somatosensory cortex and sensory decision-making.

Baseline frontostriatal-limbic connectivity predicts reward-based memory formation.

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Hamann, Janne M; Dayan, Eran; Hummel, Friedhelm C; Cohen, Leonardo G

2014-12-01

Reward mediates the acquisition and long-term retention of procedural skills in humans. Yet, learning under rewarded conditions is highly variable across individuals and the mechanisms that determine interindividual variability in rewarded learning are not known. We postulated that baseline functional connectivity in a large-scale frontostriatal-limbic network could predict subsequent interindividual variability in rewarded learning. Resting-state functional MRI was acquired in two groups of subjects (n = 30) who then trained on a visuomotor procedural learning task with or without reward feedback. We then tested whether baseline functional connectivity within the frontostriatal-limbic network predicted memory strength measured immediately, 24 h and 1 month after training in both groups. We found that connectivity in the frontostriatal-limbic network predicted interindividual variability in the rewarded but not in the unrewarded learning group. Prediction was strongest for long-term memory. Similar links between connectivity and reward-based memory were absent in two control networks, a fronto-parieto-temporal language network and the dorsal attention network. The results indicate that baseline functional connectivity within the frontostriatal-limbic network successfully predicts long-term retention of rewarded learning. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Self-choice enhances value in reward-seeking in primates.

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Setogawa, Tsuyoshi; Mizuhiki, Takashi; Matsumoto, Narihisa; Akizawa, Fumika; Shidara, Munetaka

2014-03-01

When an individual chooses one item from two or more alternatives, they compare the values of the expected outcomes. The outcome value can be determined by the associated reward amount, the probability of reward, and the workload required to earn the reward. Rational choice theory states that choices are made to maximize rewards over time, and that the same outcome values lead to an equal likelihood of choices. However, the theory does not distinguish between conditions with the same reward value, even when acquired under different circumstances, and does not always accurately describe real behavior. We have found that allowing a monkey to choose a reward schedule endows the schedule with extra value when compared to performance in an identical schedule that is chosen by another agent (a computer here). This behavior is not consistent with pure rational choice theory. Theoretical analysis using a modified temporal-difference learning model showed an enhanced schedule state value by self-choice. These results suggest that an increased reward value underlies the improved performances by self-choice during reward-seeking behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

The Social Rewards of Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robison, Joshua

2017-01-01

Political interest is a crucial precursor to political engagement, but little is known about how to stimulate greater interest. The article explores the role social motives have in generating interest. A laboratory experiment is used in which it is possible to manipulate beliefs about the social...... rewards of political engagement as well as external efficacy beliefs. Across two types of measures for political interest (self-reports and revealed preferences), connecting political engagement with social rewards led to substantial increases in political interest. Moreover, these effects were...... particularly strong among individuals with low levels of external efficacy. Ultimately, the data provide clear evidence that political interest can be positively stimulated with social rewards mobilisation techniques and that it is rooted in beliefs about the potential motives pursuable through politics...

Pervasive competition between threat and reward in the brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jong Moon; Padmala, Srikanth; Spechler, Philip; Pessoa, Luiz

2014-06-01

In the current functional MRI study, we investigated interactions between reward and threat processing. Visual cues at the start of each trial informed participants about the chance of winning monetary reward and/or receiving a mild aversive shock. We tested two competing hypothesis: according to the 'salience hypothesis', in the condition involving both reward and threat, enhanced activation would be observed because of increased salience; according to the 'competition hypothesis', the processing of reward and threat would trade-off against each other, leading to reduced activation. Analysis of skin conductance data during a delay phase revealed an interaction between reward and threat processing, such that the effect of reward was reduced during threat and the effect of threat was reduced during reward. Analysis of imaging data during the same task phase revealed interactions between reward and threat processing in several regions, including the midbrain/ventral tegmental area, caudate, putamen, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior insula, middle frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Taken together, our findings reveal conditions during which reward and threat trade-off against each other across multiple sites. Such interactions are suggestive of competitive processes and may reflect the organization of opponent systems in the brain. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Disentangling reward anticipation with simultaneous pupillometry / fMRI.

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Schneider, Max; Leuchs, Laura; Czisch, Michael; Sämann, Philipp G; Spoormaker, Victor I

2018-05-05

The reward system may provide an interesting intermediate phenotype for anhedonia in affective disorders. Reward anticipation is characterized by an increase in arousal, and previous studies have linked the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to arousal responses such as dilation of the pupil. Here, we examined pupil dynamics during a reward anticipation task in forty-six healthy human subjects and evaluated its neural correlates using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Pupil size showed a strong increase during monetary reward anticipation, a moderate increase during verbal reward anticipation and a decrease during control trials. For fMRI analyses, average pupil size and pupil change were computed in 1-s time bins during the anticipation phase. Activity in the ventral striatum was inversely related to the pupil size time course, indicating an early onset of activation and a role in reward prediction processing. Pupil dilations were linked to increased activity in the salience network (dorsal ACC and bilateral insula), which likely triggers an increase in arousal to enhance task performance. Finally, increased pupil size preceding the required motor response was associated with activity in the ventral attention network. In sum, pupillometry provides an effective tool for disentangling different phases of reward anticipation, with relevance for affective symptomatology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates of RDoC reward constructs in adolescents with diverse psychiatric symptoms: A Reward Flanker Task pilot study.

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Bradley, Kailyn A L; Case, Julia A C; Freed, Rachel D; Stern, Emily R; Gabbay, Vilma

2017-07-01

There has been growing interest under the Research Domain Criteria initiative to investigate behavioral constructs and their underlying neural circuitry. Abnormalities in reward processes are salient across psychiatric conditions and may precede future psychopathology in youth. However, the neural circuitry underlying such deficits has not been well defined. Therefore, in this pilot, we studied youth with diverse psychiatric symptoms and examined the neural underpinnings of reward anticipation, attainment, and positive prediction error (PPE, unexpected reward gain). Clinically, we focused on anhedonia, known to reflect deficits in reward function. Twenty-two psychotropic medication-free youth, 16 with psychiatric symptoms, exhibiting a full range of anhedonia, were scanned during the Reward Flanker Task. Anhedonia severity was quantified using the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale. Functional magnetic resonance imaging analyses were false discovery rate corrected for multiple comparisons. Anticipation activated a broad network, including the medial frontal cortex and ventral striatum, while attainment activated memory and emotion-related regions such as the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, but not the ventral striatum. PPE activated a right-dominant fronto-temporo-parietal network. Anhedonia was only correlated with activation of the right angular gyrus during anticipation and the left precuneus during PPE at an uncorrected threshold. Findings are preliminary due to the small sample size. This pilot characterized the neural circuitry underlying different aspects of reward processing in youth with diverse psychiatric symptoms. These results highlight the complexity of the neural circuitry underlying reward anticipation, attainment, and PPE. Furthermore, this study underscores the importance of RDoC research in youth. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Flavor vs Energy Sensing in Brain Reward Circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan E De Araujo

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Sweetness functions as a potent natural reinforcer in several species, from flies to rodents to primates including humans. The appreciation of flavored stimuli is greatly enhanced when sweetness is added, the obvious example being sugar-sweetened flavored beverages (the major source of excess added calories in US diets. Different sweet substances are nevertheless attributed greater incentive value than others, with glucose-containing sugars appearing as the uppermost sweet reward. Food choices are indeed prominently determined by nutritional value, with caloric content being highly predictive of both preference and intake. Specifically, for most species studied, glucose-containing sugars are known to exert exquisitely strong effects on food choice via post-ingestive signals. Despite the relevance of the issue to public health, the identity of the physiological signals underlying glucose’s rewarding effects remains incompletely understood. Recently, however, some progress has been achieved in this front: the concept is emerging that the metabolic utilization of glucose moieties contained in sugars drives activity in brain reward circuitries (thereby presumably driving robust intake. Specifically, disruption of glucose utilization in mice was shown to produce an enduring inhibitory effect on artificial (non-nutritive sweetener intake, an effect that did not depend on sweetness perception or aversion [1]. Indeed, such an effect was not observed in mice presented with a less palatable, yet caloric, glucose solution. It is also remarkable that hungry mice shift their preferences away from artificial sweeteners in favor of glucose solutions, especially when the sugar is experienced in a food-depleted state. However, the most striking effect associated with sweet appetite appears to be the strong selectivity of certain brain circuitries to the energy content of the solutions, irrespective of sweetness per se. Indeed, it has been shown that glucose

RM-SORN: a reward-modulated self-organizing recurrent neural network.

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Aswolinskiy, Witali; Pipa, Gordon

2015-01-01

Neural plasticity plays an important role in learning and memory. Reward-modulation of plasticity offers an explanation for the ability of the brain to adapt its neural activity to achieve a rewarded goal. Here, we define a neural network model that learns through the interaction of Intrinsic Plasticity (IP) and reward-modulated Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity (STDP). IP enables the network to explore possible output sequences and STDP, modulated by reward, reinforces the creation of the rewarded output sequences. The model is tested on tasks for prediction, recall, non-linear computation, pattern recognition, and sequence generation. It achieves performance comparable to networks trained with supervised learning, while using simple, biologically motivated plasticity rules, and rewarding strategies. The results confirm the importance of investigating the interaction of several plasticity rules in the context of reward-modulated learning and whether reward-modulated self-organization can explain the amazing capabilities of the brain.

Hypothesizing Music Intervention Enhances Brain Functional Connectivity Involving Dopaminergic Recruitment: Common Neuro-correlates to Abusable Drugs.

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Blum, Kenneth; Simpatico, Thomas; Febo, Marcelo; Rodriquez, Chris; Dushaj, Kristina; Li, Mona; Braverman, Eric R; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Badgaiyan, Rajendra D

2017-07-01

The goal of this review is to explore the clinical significance of music listening on neuroplasticity and dopaminergic activation by understanding the role of music therapy in addictive behavior treatment. fMRI data has shown that music listening intensely modifies mesolimbic structural changes responsible for reward processing (e.g., nucleus accumbens [NAc]) and may control the emotional stimuli's effect on autonomic and physiological responses (e.g., hypothalamus). Music listening has been proven to induce the endorphinergic response blocked by naloxone, a common opioid antagonist. NAc opioid transmission is linked to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine release. There are remarkable commonalities between listening to music and the effect of drugs on mesolimbic dopaminergic activation. It has been found that musical training before the age of 7 results in changes in white-matter connectivity, protecting carriers with low dopaminergic function (DRD2A1 allele, etc.) from poor decision-making, reward dependence, and impulsivity. In this article, we briefly review a few studies on the neurochemical effects of music and propose that these findings are relevant to the positive clinical findings observed in the literature. We hypothesize that music intervention enhances brain white matter plasticity through dopaminergic recruitment and that more research is needed to explore the efficacy of these therapies.

The reward-based eating drive scale: a self-report index of reward-based eating.

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Elissa S Epel

Full Text Available Why are some individuals more vulnerable to persistent weight gain and obesity than are others? Some obese individuals report factors that drive overeating, including lack of control, lack of satiation, and preoccupation with food, which may stem from reward-related neural circuitry. These are normative and common symptoms and not the sole focus of any existing measures. Many eating scales capture these common behaviors, but are confounded with aspects of dysregulated eating such as binge eating or emotional overeating. Across five studies, we developed items that capture this reward-based eating drive (RED. Study 1 developed the items in lean to obese individuals (n = 327 and examined changes in weight over eight years. In Study 2, the scale was further developed and expert raters evaluated the set of items. Study 3 tested psychometric properties of the final 9 items in 400 participants. Study 4 examined psychometric properties and race invariance (n = 80 women. Study 5 examined psychometric properties and age/gender invariance (n = 381. Results showed that RED scores correlated with BMI and predicted earlier onset of obesity, greater weight fluctuations, and greater overall weight gain over eight years. Expert ratings of RED scale items indicated that the items reflected characteristics of reward-based eating. The RED scale evidenced high internal consistency and invariance across demographic factors. The RED scale, designed to tap vulnerability to reward-based eating behavior, appears to be a useful brief tool for identifying those at higher risk of weight gain over time. Given the heterogeneity of obesity, unique brief profiling of the reward-based aspect of obesity using a self-report instrument such as the RED scale may be critical for customizing effective treatments in the general population.

Atypical valuation of monetary and cigarette rewards in substance dependent smokers.

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Baker, Travis E; Wood, Jonathan M A; Holroyd, Clay B

2016-02-01

Substance dependent (SD) relative to non-dependent (ND) individuals exhibit an attenuated reward positivity, an electrophysiological signal believed to index sensitivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to rewards. Here we asked whether this altered neural response reflects a specific devaluation of monetary rewards relative to drug-related rewards by ACC. We recorded the reward positivity from SD and ND individuals who currently smoke, following an overnight period of abstinence, while they engaged in two feedback tasks. In a money condition the feedback indicated either a monetary reward or no reward, and in a cigarette condition the feedback indicated either a drug-related reward or no reward. Overall, cigarette relative to monetary rewards elicited a larger reward positivity. Further, for the subjects who engaged in the money condition first, the reward positivity was smaller for the SD compared to the ND participants, but for the subjects who engaged in the cigarette condition first, the reward positivity was larger for the SD compared to the ND participants. Our results suggest that the initial category of feedback "primed" the response of the ACC to the alternative feedback type on subsequent trials, and that SD and ND individuals responded differently to this priming effect. We propose that for people who misuse addictive substances, the prospect of obtaining drug-related rewards engages the ACC to exert control over extended behaviors. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intense passionate love attenuates cigarette cue-reactivity in nicotine-deprived smokers: an FMRI study.

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Xiaomeng Xu

Full Text Available Self-expanding experiences like falling in love or engaging in novel, exciting and interesting activities activate the same brain reward mechanism (mesolimbic dopamine pathway that reinforces drug use and abuse, including tobacco smoking. This suggests the possibility that reward from smoking is substitutable by self-expansion (through competition with the same neural system, potentially aiding cessation efforts. Using a model of self-expansion in the context of romantic love, the present fMRI experiment examined whether, among nicotine-deprived smokers, relationship self-expansion is associated with deactivation of cigarette cue-reactivity regions. Results indicated that among participants who were experiencing moderate levels of craving, cigarette cue-reactivity regions (e.g., cuneus and posterior cingulate cortex showed significantly less activation during self-expansion conditions compared with control conditions. These results provide evidence that rewards from one domain (self-expansion can act as a substitute for reward from another domain (nicotine to attenuate cigarette cue reactivity.

Intense passionate love attenuates cigarette cue-reactivity in nicotine-deprived smokers: an FMRI study.

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Xu, Xiaomeng; Wang, Jin; Aron, Arthur; Lei, Wei; Westmaas, J Lee; Weng, Xuchu

2012-01-01

Self-expanding experiences like falling in love or engaging in novel, exciting and interesting activities activate the same brain reward mechanism (mesolimbic dopamine pathway) that reinforces drug use and abuse, including tobacco smoking. This suggests the possibility that reward from smoking is substitutable by self-expansion (through competition with the same neural system), potentially aiding cessation efforts. Using a model of self-expansion in the context of romantic love, the present fMRI experiment examined whether, among nicotine-deprived smokers, relationship self-expansion is associated with deactivation of cigarette cue-reactivity regions. Results indicated that among participants who were experiencing moderate levels of craving, cigarette cue-reactivity regions (e.g., cuneus and posterior cingulate cortex) showed significantly less activation during self-expansion conditions compared with control conditions. These results provide evidence that rewards from one domain (self-expansion) can act as a substitute for reward from another domain (nicotine) to attenuate cigarette cue reactivity.

Age differences in striatal delay sensitivity during intertemporal choice in healthy adults

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Gregory R Samanez-Larkin

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Intertemporal choices are a ubiquitous class of decisions that involve selecting between outcomes available at different times in the future. We investigated the neural systems supporting intertemporal decisions in healthy younger and older adults. Using functional neuroimaging, we find that aging is associated with a shift in the brain areas that respond to delayed rewards. Although we replicate findings that brain regions associated with the mesolimbic dopamine system respond preferentially to immediate rewards, we find a separate region in the ventral striatum with very modest time dependence in older adults. Activation in this striatal region was relatively insensitive to delay in older but not younger adults. Since the dopamine system is believed to support associative learning about future rewards over time, our observed transfer of function may be due to greater experience with delayed rewards as people age. Identifying differences in the neural systems underlying these decisions may contribute to a more comprehensive model of age-related change in intertemporal choice.

Pavlovian reward prediction and receipt in schizophrenia: relationship to anhedonia.

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Erin C Dowd

Full Text Available Reward processing abnormalities have been implicated in the pathophysiology of negative symptoms such as anhedonia and avolition in schizophrenia. However, studies examining neural responses to reward anticipation and receipt have largely relied on instrumental tasks, which may confound reward processing abnormalities with deficits in response selection and execution. 25 chronic, medicated outpatients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging using a pavlovian reward prediction paradigm with no response requirements. Subjects passively viewed cues that predicted subsequent receipt of monetary reward or non-reward, and blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal was measured at the time of cue presentation and receipt. At the group level, neural responses to both reward anticipation and receipt were largely similar between groups. At the time of cue presentation, striatal anticipatory responses did not differ between patients and controls. Right anterior insula demonstrated greater activation for nonreward than reward cues in controls, and for reward than nonreward cues in patients. At the time of receipt, robust responses to receipt of reward vs. nonreward were seen in striatum, midbrain, and frontal cortex in both groups. Furthermore, both groups demonstrated responses to unexpected versus expected outcomes in cortical areas including bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Individual difference analyses in patients revealed an association between physical anhedonia and activity in ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex during anticipation of reward, in which greater anhedonia severity was associated with reduced activation to money versus no-money cues. In ventromedial prefrontal cortex, this relationship held among both controls and patients, suggesting a relationship between anticipatory activity and anhedonia irrespective of diagnosis. These findings suggest that in the absence of

Cognitive regulation of saccadic velocity by reward prospect.

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Chen, Lewis L; Hung, Leroy Y; Quinet, Julie; Kosek, Kevin

2013-08-01

It is known that expectation of reward speeds up saccades. Past studies have also shown the presence of a saccadic velocity bias in the orbit, resulting from a biomechanical regulation over varying eccentricities. Nevertheless, whether and how reward expectation interacts with the biomechanical regulation of saccadic velocities over varying eccentricities remains unknown. We addressed this question by conducting a visually guided double-step saccade task. The role of reward expectation was tested in monkeys performing two consecutive horizontal saccades, one associated with reward prospect and the other not. To adequately assess saccadic velocity and avoid adaptation, we systematically varied initial eye positions, saccadic directions and amplitudes. Our results confirmed the existence of a velocity bias in the orbit, i.e., saccadic peak velocity decreased linearly as the initial eye position deviated in the direction of the saccade. The slope of this bias increased as saccadic amplitudes increased. Nevertheless, reward prospect facilitated velocity to a greater extent for saccades away from than for saccades toward the orbital centre, rendering an overall reduction in the velocity bias. The rate (slope) and magnitude (intercept) of reward modulation over this velocity bias were linearly correlated with amplitudes, similar to the amplitude-modulated velocity bias without reward prospect, which presumably resulted from a biomechanical regulation. Small-amplitude (≤ 5°) saccades received little modulation. These findings together suggest that reward expectation modulated saccadic velocity not as an additive signal but as a facilitating mechanism that interacted with the biomechanical regulation. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dopamine reward prediction error responses reflect marginal utility.

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Stauffer, William R; Lak, Armin; Schultz, Wolfram

2014-11-03

Optimal choices require an accurate neuronal representation of economic value. In economics, utility functions are mathematical representations of subjective value that can be constructed from choices under risk. Utility usually exhibits a nonlinear relationship to physical reward value that corresponds to risk attitudes and reflects the increasing or decreasing marginal utility obtained with each additional unit of reward. Accordingly, neuronal reward responses coding utility should robustly reflect this nonlinearity. In two monkeys, we measured utility as a function of physical reward value from meaningful choices under risk (that adhered to first- and second-order stochastic dominance). The resulting nonlinear utility functions predicted the certainty equivalents for new gambles, indicating that the functions' shapes were meaningful. The monkeys were risk seeking (convex utility function) for low reward and risk avoiding (concave utility function) with higher amounts. Critically, the dopamine prediction error responses at the time of reward itself reflected the nonlinear utility functions measured at the time of choices. In particular, the reward response magnitude depended on the first derivative of the utility function and thus reflected the marginal utility. Furthermore, dopamine responses recorded outside of the task reflected the marginal utility of unpredicted reward. Accordingly, these responses were sufficient to train reinforcement learning models to predict the behaviorally defined expected utility of gambles. These data suggest a neuronal manifestation of marginal utility in dopamine neurons and indicate a common neuronal basis for fundamental explanatory constructs in animal learning theory (prediction error) and economic decision theory (marginal utility). Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CRF1 receptor-deficiency increases cocaine reward.

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Contarino, Angelo; Kitchener, Pierre; Vallée, Monique; Papaleo, Francesco; Piazza, Pier-Vincenzo

2017-05-01

Stimulant drugs produce reward but also activate stress-responsive systems. The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and the related hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress-responsive systems are activated by stimulant drugs. However, their role in stimulant drug-induced reward remains poorly understood. Herein, we report that CRF 1 receptor-deficient (CRF 1 -/-), but not wild-type, mice show conditioned place preference (CPP) responses to a relatively low cocaine dose (5 mg/kg, i.p.). Conversely, wild-type, but not CRF 1 -/-, mice display CPP responses to a relatively high cocaine dose (20 mg/kg, i.p.), indicating that CRF 1 receptor-deficiency alters the rewarding effects of cocaine. Acute pharmacological antagonism of the CRF 1 receptor by antalarmin also eliminates cocaine reward. Nevertheless, CRF 1 -/- mice display higher stereotypy responses to cocaine than wild-type mice. Despite the very low plasma corticosterone concentration, CRF 1 -/- mice show higher nuclear glucocorticoid receptor (GR) levels in the brain region of the hippocampus than wild-type mice. Full rescue of wild-type-like corticosterone and GR circadian rhythm and level in CRF 1 -/- mice by exogenous corticosterone does not affect CRF 1 receptor-dependent cocaine reward but induces stereotypy responses to cocaine. These results indicate a critical role for the CRF 1 receptor in cocaine reward, independently of the closely related HPA axis activity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in Incentives, Rewards and Sanctions.

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Lonsdale, Alan

1993-01-01

A review of the literature over the past decade reflects substantial changes in rewards, incentives, and sanctions used with college faculty. These changes parallel changes in the public sector generally. Increasing emphasis on formal evaluation and on use of money as an incentive and reward for performance is noted. (MSE)

Developmental continuity in reward-related enhancement of cognitive control.

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Strang, Nicole M; Pollak, Seth D

2014-10-01

Adolescents engage in more risky behavior than children or adults. The most prominent hypothesis for this phenomenon is that brain systems governing reward sensitivity and brain systems governing self-regulation mature at different rates. Those systems governing reward sensitivity mature in advance of those governing self-control. This hypothesis has substantial empirical support, however, the evidence supporting this theory has been exclusively derived from contexts where self-control systems are required to regulate reward sensitivity in order to promote adaptive behavior. In adults, reward promotes a shift to a proactive control strategy and better cognitive control performance. It is unclear whether children and adolescents will respond to reward in the same way. Using fMRI methodology, we explored whether children and adolescents would demonstrate a shift to proactive control in the context of reward. We tested 22 children, 20 adolescents, and 23 adults. In contrast to our hypothesis, children, adolescents, and adults all demonstrated a shift to proactive cognitive control in the context of reward. In light of the results, current neurobiological theories of adolescent behavior need to be refined to reflect that in certain contexts there is continuity in the manner reward and cognitive control systems interact across development. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Altered functional connectivity within the central reward network in overweight and obese women

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Coveleskie, K; Gupta, A; Kilpatrick, L A; Mayer, E D; Ashe-McNalley, C; Stains, J; Labus, J S; Mayer, E A

2015-01-01

Background/Objectives: Neuroimaging studies in obese subjects have identified abnormal activation of key regions of central reward circuits, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), in response to food-related stimuli. We aimed to examine whether women with elevated body mass index (BMI) show structural and resting state (RS) functional connectivity alterations within regions of the reward network. Subjects/Methods: Fifty healthy, premenopausal women, 19 overweight and obese (high BMI=26–38 kg m−2) and 31 lean (BMI=19–25 kg m−2) were selected from the University of California Los Angeles' Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress database. Structural and RS functional scans were collected. Group differences in grey matter volume (GMV) of the NAcc, oscillation dynamics of intrinsic brain activity and functional connectivity of the NAcc to regions within the reward network were examined. Results: GMV of the left NAcc was significantly greater in the high BMI group than in the lean group (P=0.031). Altered frequency distributions were observed in women with high BMI compared with lean group in the left NAcc (P=0.009) in a medium-frequency (MF) band, and in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (P=0.014, ingestive behaviors. PMID:25599560

Extrinsic Rewards Diminish Costly Sharing in 3-Year-Olds.

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Ulber, Julia; Hamann, Katharina; Tomasello, Michael

2016-07-01

Two studies investigated the influence of external rewards and social praise in young children's fairness-related behavior. The motivation of ninety-six 3-year-olds' to equalize unfair resource allocations was measured in three scenarios (collaboration, windfall, and dictator game) following three different treatments (material reward, verbal praise, and neutral response). In all scenarios, children's willingness to engage in costly sharing was negatively influenced when they had received a reward for equal sharing during treatment than when they had received praise or no reward. The negative effect of material rewards was not due to subjects responding in kind to their partner's termination of rewards. These results provide new evidence for the intrinsic motivation of prosociality-in this case, costly sharing behavior-in preschool children. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Rewards, Intrinsic Motivation, and Achievement in Intact Classrooms

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Luis, Melissa Ann

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of performance-contingent rewards in a real-world setting, namely the sixth grade math classroom. This study is significant in that it represents a field study on the effects of rewards in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate what effect, if any, the choice of a reward had…

The reward probability index: design and validation of a scale measuring access to environmental reward.

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Carvalho, John P; Gawrysiak, Michael J; Hellmuth, Julianne C; McNulty, James K; Magidson, Jessica F; Lejuez, C W; Hopko, Derek R

2011-06-01

Behavioral models of depression implicate decreased response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR) as critical toward the development and maintenance of depression (Lewinsohn, 1974). Given the absence of a psychometrically sound self-report measure of RCPR, the Reward Probability Index (RPI) was developed to measure access to environmental reward and to approximate actual RCPR. In Study 1 (n=269), exploratory factor analysis supported a 20-item two-factor model (Reward Probability, Environmental Suppressors) with strong internal consistency (α=.90). In Study 2 (n=281), confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure and convergent validity was established through strong correlations between the RPI and measures of activity, avoidance, reinforcement, and depression (r=.65 to .81). Discriminant validity was supported via smaller correlations between the RPI and measures of social support and somatic anxiety (r=-.29 to -.40). Two-week test-retest reliability was strong (r=.69). In Study 3 (n=33), controlling for depression symptoms, hierarchical regression supported the incremental validity of the RPI in predicting daily diary reports of environmental reward. The RPI represents a parsimonious, reliable, and valid measure that may facilitate understanding of the etiology of depression and its relationship to overt behaviors. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Responsibility-Centered Management: A 10-Year Nursing Assessment.

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McBride, Angela Barron; Neiman, Sandra; Johnson, James

2000-01-01

Describes the implementation of responsibility-centered management, a decentralized model giving deans responsibility for expanding and using resources, at Indiana University's nursing school. Discusses how it led to creation of an information-rich environment, strategic decision making, and a performance-based reward structure. (SK)

Performance-Based Rewards and Work Stress

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Ganster, Daniel C.; Kiersch, Christa E.; Marsh, Rachel E.; Bowen, Angela

2011-01-01

Even though reward systems play a central role in the management of organizations, their impact on stress and the well-being of workers is not well understood. We review the literature linking performance-based reward systems to various indicators of employee stress and well-being. Well-controlled experiments in field settings suggest that certain…

Reward systems and food intake: role of opioids.

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Gosnell, B A; Levine, A S

2009-06-01

Humans eat for many reasons, including the rewarding qualities of foods. A host of neurotransmitters have been shown to influence eating behavior and some of these appear to be involved in reward-induced eating. Endogenous opioid peptides and their receptors were first reported more than 30 years ago, and studies suggesting a role of opioids in the regulation of food intake date back nearly as far. Opioid agonists and antagonists have corresponding stimulatory and inhibitory effects on feeding. In addition to studies aimed at identifying the relevant receptor subtypes and sites of action within the brain, there has been a continuing interest in the role of opioids on diet/taste preferences, food reward, and the overlap of food reward with others types of reward. Data exist that suggest a role for opioids in the control of appetite for specific macronutrients, but there is also evidence for their role in the stimulation of intake based on already-existing diet or taste preferences and in controlling intake motivated by hedonics rather than by energy needs. Finally, various types of studies indicate an overlap between mechanisms mediating drug reward and palatable food reward. Preference or consumption of sweet substances often parallels the self-administration of several drugs of abuse, and under certain conditions, the termination of intermittent access to sweet substances produces symptoms that resemble those observed during opiate withdrawal. The overconsumption of readily available and highly palatable foods likely contributes to the growing rates of obesity worldwide. An understanding of the role of opioids in mediating food reward and promoting the overconsumption of palatable foods may provide insights into new approaches for preventing obesity.

Rewards modulate saccade latency but not exogenous spatial attention.

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Dunne, Stephen; Ellison, Amanda; Smith, Daniel T

2015-01-01

The eye movement system is sensitive to reward. However, whilst the eye movement system is extremely flexible, the extent to which changes to oculomotor behavior induced by reward paradigms persist beyond the training period or transfer to other oculomotor tasks is unclear. To address these issues we examined the effects of presenting feedback that represented small monetary rewards to spatial locations on the latency of saccadic eye movements, the time-course of learning and extinction of the effects of rewarding saccades on exogenous spatial attention and oculomotor inhibition of return. Reward feedback produced a relative facilitation of saccadic latency in a stimulus driven saccade task which persisted for three blocks of extinction trials. However, this hemifield-specific effect failed to transfer to peripheral cueing tasks. We conclude that rewarding specific spatial locations is unlikely to induce long-term, systemic changes to the human oculomotor or attention systems.

Rewards modulate saccade latency but not exogenous spatial attention.

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Stephen eDunne

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The eye movement system is sensitive to reward. However, whilst the eye movement system is extremely flexible, the extent to which changes to oculomotor behaviour induced by reward paradigms persist beyond the training period or transfer to other oculomotor tasks is unclear. To address these issues we examined the effects of presenting feedback that represented small monetary rewards to spatial locations on the latency of saccadic eye movements, the time-course of learning and extinction of the effects of rewarding saccades on exogenous spatial attention and oculomotor IOR. Reward feedback produced a relative facilitation of saccadic latency in a stimulus driven saccade task which persisted for 3 blocks of extinction trials. However this hemifield-specific effect failed to transfer to peripheral cueing tasks. We conclude that rewarding specific spatial locations is unlikely to induce long-term, systemic changes to the human oculomotor or attention systems.

Reward priming eliminates color-driven affect in perception.

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Hu, Kesong

2018-01-03

Brain and behavior evidence suggests that colors have distinct affective properties. Here, we investigated how reward influences color-driven affect in perception. In Experiment 1, we assessed competition between blue and red patches during a temporal-order judgment (TOJ) across a range of stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). During the value reinforcement, reward was linked to either blue (version 1) or red (version 2) in the experiment. The same stimuli then served as test ones in the following unrewarded, unspeeded TOJ task. Our analysis showed that blue patches were consistently seen as occurring first, even when objectively appearing 2nd at short SOAs. This accelerated perception of blue over red was disrupted by prior primes related to reward (vs. neutral) but not perceptional (blue vs. red) priming. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1 while uncoupling action and stimulus values. These results are consistent with the blue-approach and red-avoidance motivation hypothesis and highlight an active nature of the association of reward priming and color processing. Together, the present study implies a link between reward and color affect and contributes to the understanding of how reward influences color affect in visual processing.

Reward associations magnify memory-based biases on perception.

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Doallo, Sonia; Patai, Eva Zita; Nobre, Anna Christina

2013-02-01

Long-term spatial contextual memories are a rich source of predictions about the likely locations of relevant objects in the environment and should enable tuning of neural processing of unfolding events to optimize perception and action. Of particular importance is whether and how the reward outcome of past events can impact perception. We combined behavioral measures with recordings of brain activity with high temporal resolution to test whether the previous reward outcome associated with a memory could modulate the impact of memory-based biases on perception, and if so, the level(s) at which visual neural processing is biased by reward-associated memory-guided attention. Data showed that past rewards potentiate the effects of spatial memories upon the discrimination of target objects embedded within complex scenes starting from early perceptual stages. We show that a single reward outcome of learning impacts on how we perceive events in our complex environments.

Repeated social defeat and the rewarding effects of cocaine in adult and adolescent mice: dopamine transcription factors, proBDNF signaling pathways, and the TrkB receptor in the mesolimbic system.

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Montagud-Romero, Sandra; Nuñez, Cristina; Blanco-Gandia, M Carmen; Martínez-Laorden, Elena; Aguilar, María A; Navarro-Zaragoza, Javier; Almela, Pilar; Milanés, Maria-Victoria; Laorden, María-Luisa; Miñarro, José; Rodríguez-Arias, Marta

2017-07-01

Repeated social defeat (RSD) increases the rewarding effects of cocaine in adolescent and adult rodents. The aim of the present study was to compare the long-term effects of RSD on the conditioned rewarding effects of cocaine and levels of the transcription factors Pitx3 and Nurr1 in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the dopamine transporter (DAT), the D2 dopamine receptor (D2DR) and precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) signaling pathways, and the tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptor in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in adult and adolescent mice. Male adolescent and young adult OF1 mice were exposed to four episodes of social defeat and were conditioned 3 weeks later with 1 mg/kg of cocaine. In a second set of mice, the expressions of the abovementioned dopaminergic and proBDNF and TrkB receptor were measured in VTA and NAc, respectively. Adolescent mice experienced social defeats less intensely than their adult counterparts and produced lower levels of corticosterone. However, both adult and adolescent defeated mice developed conditioned place preference for the compartment associated with this low dose of cocaine. Furthermore, only adolescent defeated mice displayed diminished levels of the transcription factors Pitx3 in the VTA, without changes in the expression of DAT and D2DR in the NAc. In addition, stressed adult mice showed a decreased expression of proBDNF and the TrkB receptor, while stressed adolescent mice exhibited increased expression of latter without changes in the former. Our findings suggest that dopaminergic pathways and proBDNF signaling and TrkB receptors play different roles in social defeat-stressed mice exposed to cocaine.

A Monetary Reward Alters Pacing but Not Performance in Competitive Cyclists.

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Skorski, Sabrina; Thompson, Kevin G; Keegan, Richard J; Meyer, Tim; Abbiss, Chris R

2017-01-01

Money has frequently been used as an extrinsic motivator since it is assumed that humans are willing to invest more effort for financial reward. However, the influence of a monetary reward on pacing and performance in trained athletes is not well-understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the influence of a monetary reward in well-trained cyclists on their pacing and performance during short and long cycling time trials (TT). Twentythree cyclists (6 ♀, 17 ♂) completed 4 self-paced time trials (TTs, 2 short: 4 km and 6 min; 2 long: 20 km and 30 min); in a randomized order. Participants were separated into parallel, non-randomized "rewarded" and "non-rewarded" groups. Cyclists in the rewarded group received a monetary reward based on highest mean power output across all TTs. Cyclists in the non-rewarded group did not receive a monetary reward. Overall performance was not significantly different between groups in short or long TTs ( p > 0.48). Power output showed moderatly lower effect sizes at comencement of the short TTs ( P meandiff = 36.6 W; d > 0.44) and the 20 km TT ( P meandiff = 22.6 W; d = 0.44) in the rewarded group. No difference was observed in pacing during the 30 min TT ( p = 0.95). An external reward seems to have influenced pacing at the commencement of time trials. Participants in the non-rewarded group adopted a typical parabolic shaped pattern, whereas participants in the rewarded group started trials more conservatively. Results raise the possibility that using money as an extrinsic reward may interfere with regulatory processes required for effective pacing.

Changes in reward-induced brain activation in opiate addicts

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Martin-Soelch, C; Chevalley, AF; Kunig, G; Missimer, J; Magyar, S; Mino, A; Schultz, W; Leenders, KL

2001-01-01

Many studies indicate a role of the cerebral dopaminergic reward system in addiction. Motivated by these findings, we examined in opiate addicts whether brain regions involved in the reward circuitry also react to human prototypical rewards. We measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with

Reward association facilitates distractor suppression in human visual search.

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Gong, Mengyuan; Yang, Feitong; Li, Sheng

2016-04-01

Although valuable objects are attractive in nature, people often encounter situations where they would prefer to avoid such distraction while focusing on the task goal. Contrary to the typical effect of attentional capture by a reward-associated item, we provide evidence for a facilitation effect derived from the active suppression of a high reward-associated stimulus when cuing its identity as distractor before the display of search arrays. Selection of the target is shown to be significantly faster when the distractors were in high reward-associated colour than those in low reward-associated or non-rewarded colours. This behavioural reward effect was associated with two neural signatures before the onset of the search display: the increased frontal theta oscillation and the strengthened top-down modulation from frontal to anterior temporal regions. The former suggests an enhanced working memory representation for the reward-associated stimulus and the increased need for cognitive control to override Pavlovian bias, whereas the latter indicates that the boost of inhibitory control is realized through a frontal top-down mechanism. These results suggest a mechanism in which the enhanced working memory representation of a reward-associated feature is integrated with task demands to modify attentional priority during active distractor suppression and benefit behavioural performance. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ventral striatal activity links adversity and reward processing in children

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Niki H. Kamkar

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Adversity impacts many aspects of psychological and physical development including reward-based learning and decision-making. Mechanisms relating adversity and reward processing in children, however, remain unclear. Here, we show that adversity is associated with potentiated learning from positive outcomes and impulsive decision-making, but unrelated to learning from negative outcomes. We then show via functional magnetic resonance imaging that the link between adversity and reward processing is partially mediated by differences in ventral striatal response to rewards. The findings suggest that early-life adversity is associated with alterations in the brain’s sensitivity to rewards accounting, in part, for the link between adversity and altered reward processing in children.

[The endogenous opioid system and drug addiction].

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Maldonado, R

2010-01-01

Drug addiction is a chronic brain disorder leading to complex adaptive changes within the brain reward circuits. Several neurotransmitters, including the endogenous opioid system are involved in these changes. The opioid system plays a pivotal role in different aspects of addiction. Thus, opioid receptors and endogenous opioid peptides are largely distributed in the mesolimbic system and modulate dopaminergic activity within the reward circuits. Opioid receptors and peptides are selectively involved in several components of the addictive processes induced by opioids, cannabinoids, psychostimulants, alcohol and nicotine. This review is focused on the contribution of each component of the endogenous opioid system in the addictive properties of the different drugs of abuse. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Monetary reward activates human prefrontal cortex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thut, G.; Roelcke, U.; Nienhusmeier, M.; Missimer, J.; Maguire, R.P.; Leenders, K.L.; Schultz, W.

1997-01-01

We present a rCBF PET activation study, in which we demonstrated that reward processing in humans activates a cortical-subcortical network including dorsolateral prefrontal, orbital frontal, thalamic and midbrain regions. It is suggested that, as found for non-human primates, the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical system is implicated in reward processing. (author) 1 fig., 3 refs

Gender dimorphism of brain reward system volumes in alcoholism.

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Sawyer, Kayle S; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Barthelemy, Olivier J; Papadimitriou, George M; Harris, Gordon J; Makris, Nikos

2017-05-30

The brain's reward network has been reported to be smaller in alcoholic men compared to nonalcoholic men, but little is known about the volumes of reward regions in alcoholic women. Morphometric analyses were performed on magnetic resonance brain scans of 60 long-term chronic alcoholics (ALC; 30 men) and 60 nonalcoholic controls (NC; 29 men). We derived volumes of total brain, and cortical and subcortical reward-related structures including the dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), orbitofrontal, and cingulate cortices, and the temporal pole, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens septi (NAc), and ventral diencephalon (VDC). We examined the relationships of the volumetric findings to drinking history. Analyses revealed a significant gender interaction for the association between alcoholism and total reward network volumes, with ALC men having smaller reward volumes than NC men and ALC women having larger reward volumes than NC women. Analyses of a priori subregions revealed a similar pattern of reward volume differences with significant gender interactions for DLPFC and VDC. Overall, the volume of the cerebral ventricles in ALC participants was negatively associated with duration of abstinence, suggesting decline in atrophy with greater length of sobriety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rewarding and punishing children of different social behavior

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Lalić-Vučetić Nataša

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the actions of rewarding and punishing children of different social behavior. The application of rewarding and punishing demands knowing and fulfilling several conditions which enable their efficiency: the nature of reward and punishment, the way in which pupils receive them, the context in which rewarding and punishing takes place and the characteristics of the subject (age, gender, cognitive capacities, social behavior. It is familiar that teachers prefer pupils who are cooperative, socially responsible, prone to conforming to school rules, kind, friendly and polite, while teacher’s work can often be aggravated on the part of the pupils who are aggressive, asocial, socially irresponsible, disruptive or prone to deviant behavior. In order to accomplish the outcomes which want to be achieved by these procedures, in applying reward and punishment, it is necessary to figure out carefully the criteria of rewarding and punishing and adhere to them consistently, paying attention to the characteristics of social behavior of the pupils. A special chapter is devoted to the consideration of unjust reward and punishment as one of the phenomena present in the experience of a large number of children. The analyzed problems assume adequate preparation of teachers, that is, the knowledge about basic characteristics of upbringing procedures applied in working with pupils, and which will have as a result a more successful social behavior, a more positive attitude towards school and studying.

Dopamine receptor blockade attenuates the general incentive motivational effects of noncontingently delivered rewards and reward-paired cues without affecting their ability to bias action selection.

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Ostlund, Sean B; Maidment, Nigel T

2012-01-01

Environmental cues affect our behavior in a variety of ways. Despite playing an invaluable role in guiding our daily activities, such cues also appear to trigger the harmful, compulsive behaviors that characterize addiction and other disorders of behavioral control. In instrumental conditioning, rewards and reward-paired cues bias action selection and invigorate reward-seeking behaviors, and appear to do so through distinct neurobehavioral processes. Although reward-paired cues are known to invigorate performance through a dopamine-dependent incentive motivational process, it is not known if dopamine also mediates the influence of rewards and reward-paired cues over action selection. The current study contrasted the effects of systemic administration of the nonspecific dopamine receptor antagonist flupentixol on response invigoration and action bias in Pavlovian-instrumental transfer, a test of cue-elicited responding, and in instrumental reinstatement, a test of noncontingent reward-elicited responding. Hungry rats were trained on two different stimulus-outcome relationships (eg, tone-grain pellets and noise-sucrose solution) and two different action-outcome relationships (eg, left press-grain and right press-sucrose). At test, we found that flupentixol pretreatment blocked the response invigoration generated by the cues but spared their ability to bias action selection to favor the action whose outcome was signaled by the cue being presented. The response-biasing influence of noncontingent reward deliveries was also unaffected by flupentixol. Interestingly, although flupentixol had a modest effect on the immediate response invigoration produced by those rewards, it was particularly potent in countering the lingering enhancement of responding produced by multiple reward deliveries. These findings indicate that dopamine mediates the general incentive motivational effects of noncontingent rewards and reward-paired cues but does not support their ability to bias

Counteracting effect of threat on reward enhancements during working memory.

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Choi, Jong Moon; Padmala, Srikanth; Pessoa, Luiz

2015-01-01

Cognitive performance has been shown to be enhanced when performance-based rewards are at stake. On the other hand, task-irrelevant threat processing has been shown to have detrimental effects during several cognitive tasks. Crucially, the impact of reward and threat on cognition has been studied largely independently of one another. Hence, our understanding of how reward and threat simultaneously contribute to performance is incomplete. To fill in this gap, the present study investigated how reward and threat interact with one another during a cognitive task. We found that threat of shock counteracted the beneficial effect of reward during a working memory task. Furthermore, individual differences in self-reported reward-sensitivity and anxiety were linked to the extent to which reward and threat interacted during behaviour. Together, the current findings contribute to a limited but growing literature unravelling how positive and negative information processing jointly influence cognition.

Expected reward modulates encoding-related theta activity before an event.

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Gruber, Matthias J; Watrous, Andrew J; Ekstrom, Arne D; Ranganath, Charan; Otten, Leun J

2013-01-01

Oscillatory brain activity in the theta frequency range (4-8 Hz) before the onset of an event has been shown to affect the likelihood of successfully encoding the event into memory. Recent work has also indicated that frontal theta activity might be modulated by reward, but it is not clear how reward expectancy, anticipatory theta activity, and memory formation might be related. Here, we used scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to assess the relationship between these factors. EEG was recorded from healthy adults while they memorized a series of words. Each word was preceded by a cue that indicated whether a high or low monetary reward would be earned if the word was successfully remembered in a later recognition test. Frontal theta power between the presentation of the reward cue and the onset of a word was predictive of later memory for the word, but only in the high reward condition. No theta differences were observed before word onset following low reward cues. The magnitude of prestimulus encoding-related theta activity in the high reward condition was correlated with the number of high reward words that were later confidently recognized. These findings provide strong evidence for a link between reward expectancy, theta activity, and memory encoding. Theta activity before event onset seems to be especially important for the encoding of motivationally significant stimuli. One possibility is that dopaminergic activity during reward anticipation mediates frontal theta activity related to memory. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An affect misattribution pathway to perceptions of intrinsic reward

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leander, N. Pontus; Kay, Aaron C.; Chartrand, Tanya L.; Payne, B. Keith

Intrinsic rewards are typically thought to stem from an activity's inherent properties and not from separable rewards one receives from it. Yet, people may not consciously notice or remember all the subtle external rewards that correspond with an activity and may misattribute some directly to the

Promising high monetary rewards for future task performance increases intermediate task performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire M Zedelius

Full Text Available In everyday life contexts and work settings, monetary rewards are often contingent on future performance. Based on research showing that the anticipation of rewards causes improved task performance through enhanced task preparation, the present study tested the hypothesis that the promise of monetary rewards for future performance would not only increase future performance, but also performance on an unrewarded intermediate task. Participants performed an auditory Simon task in which they responded to two consecutive tones. While participants could earn high vs. low monetary rewards for fast responses to every second tone, their responses to the first tone were not rewarded. Moreover, we compared performance under conditions in which reward information could prompt strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented for a relatively long duration to conditions preventing strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented very briefly. Results showed that high (vs. low rewards sped up both rewarded and intermediate, unrewarded responses, and the effect was independent of the duration of reward presentation. Moreover, long presentation led to a speed-accuracy trade-off for both rewarded and unrewarded tones, whereas short presentation sped up responses to rewarded and unrewarded tones without this trade-off. These results suggest that high rewards for future performance boost intermediate performance due to enhanced task preparation, and they do so regardless whether people respond to rewards in a strategic or non-strategic manner.

Promising high monetary rewards for future task performance increases intermediate task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zedelius, Claire M; Veling, Harm; Bijleveld, Erik; Aarts, Henk

2012-01-01

In everyday life contexts and work settings, monetary rewards are often contingent on future performance. Based on research showing that the anticipation of rewards causes improved task performance through enhanced task preparation, the present study tested the hypothesis that the promise of monetary rewards for future performance would not only increase future performance, but also performance on an unrewarded intermediate task. Participants performed an auditory Simon task in which they responded to two consecutive tones. While participants could earn high vs. low monetary rewards for fast responses to every second tone, their responses to the first tone were not rewarded. Moreover, we compared performance under conditions in which reward information could prompt strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented for a relatively long duration) to conditions preventing strategic performance adjustments (i.e., when reward information was presented very briefly). Results showed that high (vs. low) rewards sped up both rewarded and intermediate, unrewarded responses, and the effect was independent of the duration of reward presentation. Moreover, long presentation led to a speed-accuracy trade-off for both rewarded and unrewarded tones, whereas short presentation sped up responses to rewarded and unrewarded tones without this trade-off. These results suggest that high rewards for future performance boost intermediate performance due to enhanced task preparation, and they do so regardless whether people respond to rewards in a strategic or non-strategic manner.

Enhanced cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization and intrinsic excitability of NAc medium spiny neurons in adult but not adolescent rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity

Science.gov (United States)

Oginsky, Max F.; Maust, Joel D.; Corthell, John T.; Ferrario, Carrie R.

2015-01-01

Rationale Basal and diet-induced differences in mesolimbic function, particularly within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), may contribute to human obesity; these differences may be more pronounced in susceptible populations. Objectives We determined whether there are differences in cocaine-induced behavioral plasticity in rats that are susceptible vs. resistant to diet-induced obesity, and basal differences in the striatal neuron function in adult and adolescent obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats. Methods Susceptible and resistant outbred rats were identified based on “junk-food” diet-induced obesity. Then, the induction and expression of cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization, which is mediated by enhanced striatal function and is associated with increased motivation for rewards and reward-paired cues, were evaluated. Basal differences in mesolimbic function were examined in selectively bred obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats (P70-80 and P30-40) using both cocaine induced locomotion and whole-cell patch clamping approaches in NAc core medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Results In rats that became obese after eating “junk-food”, the expression of locomotor sensitization was enhanced compared to non-obese rats, with similarly strong responses to 7.5 and 15 mg/kg cocaine. Without diet manipulation, obesity-prone rats were hyper-responsive to the acute locomotor-activating effects of cocaine, and the intrinsic excitability of NAc core MSNs was enhanced by ~60% at positive and negative potentials. These differences were present in adult, but not adolescent rats. Post-synaptic glutamatergic transmission was similar between groups. Conclusions Mesolimbic systems, particularly NAc MSNs, are hyper-responsive in obesity-prone individuals; and interactions between predisposition and experience influence neurobehavioral plasticity in ways that may promote weight gain and hamper weight loss in susceptible rats. PMID:26612617

Reward-based spatial crowdsourcing with differential privacy preservation

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Ping; Zhang, Lefeng; Zhu, Tianqing

2017-11-01

In recent years, the popularity of mobile devices has transformed spatial crowdsourcing (SC) into a novel mode for performing complicated projects. Workers can perform tasks at specified locations in return for rewards offered by employers. Existing methods ensure the efficiency of their systems by submitting the workers' exact locations to a centralised server for task assignment, which can lead to privacy violations. Thus, implementing crowsourcing applications while preserving the privacy of workers' location is a key issue that needs to be tackled. We propose a reward-based SC method that achieves acceptable utility as measured by task assignment success rates, while efficiently preserving privacy. A differential privacy model ensures rigorous privacy guarantee, and Laplace noise is introduced to protect workers' exact locations. We then present a reward allocation mechanism that adjusts each piece of the reward for a task using the distribution of the workers' locations. Through experimental results, we demonstrate that this optimised-reward method is efficient for SC applications.

Reward and motivation in pain and pain relief

Science.gov (United States)

Navratilova, Edita; Porreca, Frank

2015-01-01

Pain is fundamentally unpleasant, a feature that protects the organism by promoting motivation and learning. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. The aversiveness of pain, as well as the reward from relief of pain, is encoded by brain reward/motivational mesocorticolimbic circuitry. In this Review, we describe current knowledge of the impact of acute and chronic pain on reward/motivation circuits gained from preclinical models and from human neuroimaging. We highlight emerging clinical evidence suggesting that anatomical and functional changes in these circuits contribute to the transition from acute to chronic pain. We propose that assessing activity in these conserved circuits can offer new outcome measures for preclinical evaluation of analgesic efficacy to improve translation and speed drug discovery. We further suggest that targeting reward/motivation circuits may provide a path for normalizing the consequences of chronic pain to the brain, surpassing symptomatic management to promote recovery from chronic pain. PMID:25254980

Extrinsic rewards undermine altruistic tendencies in 20-month-olds.

Science.gov (United States)

Warneken, Felix; Tomasello, Michael

2008-11-01

The current study investigated the influence of rewards on very young children's helping behavior. After 20-month-old infants received a material reward during a treatment phase, they subsequently were less likely to engage in further helping during a test phase as compared with infants who had previously received social praise or no reward at all. This so-called overjustification effect suggests that even the earliest helping behaviors of young children are intrinsically motivated and that socialization practices involving extrinsic rewards can undermine this tendency.

Ventral striatal activity links adversity and reward processing in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamkar, Niki H; Lewis, Daniel J; van den Bos, Wouter; Morton, J Bruce

2017-08-01

Adversity impacts many aspects of psychological and physical development including reward-based learning and decision-making. Mechanisms relating adversity and reward processing in children, however, remain unclear. Here, we show that adversity is associated with potentiated learning from positive outcomes and impulsive decision-making, but unrelated to learning from negative outcomes. We then show via functional magnetic resonance imaging that the link between adversity and reward processing is partially mediated by differences in ventral striatal response to rewards. The findings suggest that early-life adversity is associated with alterations in the brain's sensitivity to rewards accounting, in part, for the link between adversity and altered reward processing in children. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Dopamine and reward: comment on Hernandez et al. (2006).

Science.gov (United States)

Gallistel, C R

2006-08-01

Many lines of evidence suggest that the dopaminergic projection from the midbrain tegmentum to the forebrain must play a critical role in mediating the behavioral effects of natural and artificial rewards, with brain stimulation reward and addictive drugs included in the latter category. However, a closer look reveals many incongruities. The work of G. Hernandez et al. (2006) resolves several puzzles. It implies that the dopaminergic projection does not carry the signal that encodes the magnitude of a brain stimulation reward. It suggests that the elevation in the tonic levels of dopamine consequent on brain stimulation reward modulates the registration of the magnitude of the reward. This reconciles the psychophysical evidence with the pharmacological, electrophysiological, and anatomical evidence. However, some serious puzzles do remain.

An empirical study of the reward preferences of South African employees

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Robin J. Snelgar

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Adapting traditional reward systems to focus on employee preferences has become a necessity as companies strive to attract, motivate and retain a skilled and high performing workforce. Research purpose: The aim of the study was to identify certain categories of rewards that employees consider to be most important, including base pay, contingency pay, benefits, performance and career management, quality work environment, and work–home integration. The impact of these reward categories on an organisation’s ability to attract, motivate and retain employees was explored, together with the influence of demographic variables on reward preferences. Motivation for the study: There is much debate over whether reward packages should be tailor-made to suit individual employees. It has been argued that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach with regard to rewards is no longer effective. Research design, approach and method: A structured questionnaire, based on the total rewards model, was used to achieve the objectives of the study. A sample of 250 employees from 11 medium-sized to large-sized organisations participated in the study. Main findings: The results showed that base pay is deemed to be the most preferred reward component amongst respondents; however, they are most dissatisfied with the level at which this reward is provided by their current employers. Base pay is also the most important reward when attracting and retaining employees. Differences between reward preferences and demographic variables, including age, gender and job level, were found. Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should design their reward systems according to the preferences of their employees by focusing on base pay and contingency or variable pay. These rewards will also serve to retain them; although, to motivate employees, non-cash awards and recognition should be emphasised. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to literature on reward

Post-learning hippocampal dynamics promote preferential retention of rewarding events

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Gruber, Matthias J.; Ritchey, Maureen; Wang, Shao-Fang; Doss, Manoj K.; Ranganath, Charan

2016-01-01

Reward motivation is known to modulate memory encoding, and this effect depends on interactions between the substantia nigra/ ventral tegmental area complex (SN/VTA) and the hippocampus. It is unknown, however, whether these interactions influence offline neural activity in the human brain that is thought to promote memory consolidation. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test the effect of reward motivation on post-learning neural dynamics and subsequent memory for objects that were learned in high- or low-reward motivation contexts. We found that post-learning increases in resting-state functional connectivity between the SN/VTA and hippocampus predicted preferential retention of objects that were learned in high-reward contexts. In addition, multivariate pattern classification revealed that hippocampal representations of high-reward contexts were preferentially reactivated during post-learning rest, and the number of hippocampal reactivations was predictive of preferential retention of items learned in high-reward contexts. These findings indicate that reward motivation alters offline post-learning dynamics between the SN/VTA and hippocampus, providing novel evidence for a potential mechanism by which reward could influence memory consolidation. PMID:26875624

20 CFR 670.535 - Are Job Corps centers required to establish behavior management systems?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... behavior management systems? 670.535 Section 670.535 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING... systems? (a) Yes, each Job Corps center must establish and maintain its own student incentives system to encourage and reward students' accomplishments. (b) The Job Corps center must establish and maintain a...

Reward sensitivity to faces versus objects in children: an ERP study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stavropoulos, Katherine K M; Carver, Leslie J

2014-10-01

How children respond to social and nonsocial rewards has important implications for understanding social cognitive development. Adults find faces intrinsically rewarding. However, little is known about how children respond to face vs nonface rewards. We utilized event-related potentials (the stimulus-preceding negativity, SPN) to measure differences in reward anticipation during a guessing game in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were presented with reward indicators accompanied by incidental face or nonface stimuli. Nonface stimuli were comprised of scrambled faces in the shape of arrows, controlling for low-level properties of the two conditions. Children showed an increased SPN when the reward stimuli were accompanied by faces, relative to nonface stimuli. This suggests that children find a face stimulus more rewarding than a nonface stimulus. The results have important implications for processing social vs nonsocial rewards in typically developing children, and allow testing of populations with deficits in social reward processing, such as autism spectrum disorder. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Drug-sensitive reward in crayfish: an invertebrate model system for the study of SEEKING, reward, addiction, and withdrawal.

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Huber, Robert; Panksepp, Jules B; Nathaniel, Thomas; Alcaro, Antonio; Panksepp, Jaak

2011-10-01

In mammals, rewarding properties of drugs depend on their capacity to activate appetitive motivational states. With the underlying mechanisms strongly conserved in evolution, invertebrates have recently emerged as a powerful new model in addiction research. In crayfish natural reward has proven surprisingly sensitive to human drugs of abuse, opening an unlikely avenue of research into the basic biological mechanisms of drug addiction. In a series of studies we first examined the presence of natural reward systems in crayfish, then characterized its sensitivity to a wide range of human drugs of abuse. A conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm was used to demonstrate that crayfish seek out those environments that had previously been paired with the psychostimulants cocaine and amphetamine, and the opioid morphine. The administration of amphetamine exerted its effects at a number of sites, including the stimulation of circuits for active exploratory behaviors (i.e., SEEKING). A further study examined morphine-induced reward, extinction and reinstatement in crayfish. Repeated intra-circulatory infusions of morphine served as a reward when paired with distinct visual or tactile cues. Morphine-induced CPP was extinguished after repeated saline injections. Following this extinction phase, morphine-experienced crayfish were once again challenged with the drug. The priming injections of morphine reinstated CPP at all tested doses, suggesting that morphine-induced CPP is unrelenting. In an exploration of drug-associated behavioral sensitization in crayfish we concurrently mapped measures of locomotion and rewarding properties of morphine. Single and repeated intra-circulatory infusions of morphine resulted in persistent locomotory sensitization, even 5 days following the infusion. Moreover, a single dose of morphine was sufficient to induce long-term behavioral sensitization. CPP for morphine and context-dependent cues could not be disrupted over a drug free period of 5

Reward-Enhanced Memory in Younger and Older Adults

OpenAIRE

Julia Spaniol; Cécile Schain; Holly J. Bowen

2014-01-01

Objectives. We investigated how the anticipation of remote monetary reward modulates intentional episodic memory formation in younger and older adults. On the basis of prior findings of preserved reward–cognition interactions in aging, we predicted that reward anticipation would be associated with enhanced memory in both younger and older adults. On the basis of previous demonstrations of a time-dependent effect of reward anticipation on memory, we expected the memory enhancement to increase ...

Reward retroactively enhances memory consolidation for related items

OpenAIRE

Patil, Anuya; Murty, Vishnu P.; Dunsmoor, Joseph E.; Phelps, Elizabeth A.; Davachi, Lila

2017-01-01

Reward motivation has been shown to modulate episodic memory processes in order to support future adaptive behavior. However, for a memory system to be truly adaptive, it should enhance memory for rewarded events as well as for neutral events that may seem inconsequential at the time of encoding but can gain importance later. Here, we investigated the influence of reward motivation on retroactive memory enhancement selectively for conceptually related information. We found behavioral evidence...

The impact of a total reward system of work engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crystal Hoole

2016-11-01

Research purpose: The overall purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between total rewards and work engagement in a South African context and to determine which reward categories predict work engagement. The study further endeavoured to determine whether gender and age had a moderating effect on the relationship between total rewards and engagement. Motivation for the study: Statistics report that less than 30% of all working people are optimally engaged in their work. Considering that individuals spend more than a third of their lives at work committing themselves emotionally, physically and psychologically – research indicates that employees are no longer satisfied with traditional reward systems and want to feel valued and appreciated. Research approach, design and method: In this quantitative, cross-sectional research design using a non-probability convenience and purposive sampling strategy, 318 questionnaires were collected and analysed from financial institutions in Gauteng in which opinions were sought on the importance of different types of rewards structures and preferences, and how engaged they are in their workplace. The 17-item UWES and Nienaber total reward preference model were the chosen measuring instruments. Main findings: A small statistically significant correlation (r = 0.25; p < 0.05; small effect was found between total rewards and work engagement, and 12% of the variance of work engagement was explained. Only performance and career management significantly predicted work engagement. Practical/Managerial implications: Although small, the significant correlation between total rewards and work engagement implies that total rewards are important motivators for employees in the workplace. Of the total rewards scales tested, only performance and career management significantly predicted work engagement, suggesting that more research is needed. Organisations seeking to implement total reward strategies should pay specific

Aversive counterconditioning attenuates reward signalling in the ventral striatum

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Anne Marije Kaag

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Appetitive conditioning refers to the process of learning cue-reward associations and is mediated by the mesocorticolimbic system. Appetitive conditioned responses are difficult to extinguish, especially for highly salient rewards such as food and drugs. We investigate whether aversive counterconditioning can alter reward reinstatement in the ventral striatum in healthy volunteers using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI. In the initial conditioning phase, two different stimuli were reinforced with a monetary reward. In the subsequent counterconditioning phase, one of these stimuli was paired with an aversive shock to the wrist. In the following extinction phase, none of the stimuli were reinforced. In the final reinstatement phase, reward was reinstated by informing the participants that the monetary gain could be doubled. Our fMRI data revealed that reward signalling in the ventral striatum and ventral tegmental area following reinstatement was smaller for the stimulus that was counterconditioned with an electrical shock, compared to the non-counterconditioned stimulus. A functional connectivity analysis showed that aversive counterconditioning strengthened striatal connectivity with the hippocampus and insula. These results suggest that reward signalling in the ventral striatum can be attenuated through aversive counterconditioning, possibly by concurrent retrieval of the aversive association through enhanced connectivity with hippocampus and insula.

Changes in reward-induced brain activation in opiate addicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Soelch, C; Chevalley, A F; Künig, G; Missimer, J; Magyar, S; Mino, A; Schultz, W; Leenders, K L

2001-10-01

Many studies indicate a role of the cerebral dopaminergic reward system in addiction. Motivated by these findings, we examined in opiate addicts whether brain regions involved in the reward circuitry also react to human prototypical rewards. We measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography (PET) during a visuo-spatial recognition task with delayed response in control subjects and in opiate addicts participating in a methadone program. Three conditions were defined by the types of feedback: nonsense feedback; nonmonetary reinforcement; or monetary reward, received by the subjects for a correct response. We found in the control subjects rCBF increases in regions associated with the meso-striatal and meso-corticolimbic circuits in response to both monetary reward and nonmonetary reinforcement. In opiate addicts, these regions were activated only in response to monetary reward. Furthermore, nonmonetary reinforcement elicited rCBF increases in limbic regions of the opiate addicts that were not activated in the control subjects. Because psychoactive drugs serve as rewards and directly affect regions of the dopaminergic system like the striatum, we conclude that the differences in rCBF increases between controls and addicts can be attributed to an adaptive consequence of the addiction process.

Reward/Punishment reversal learning in older suicide attempters.

Science.gov (United States)

Dombrovski, Alexandre Y; Clark, Luke; Siegle, Greg J; Butters, Meryl A; Ichikawa, Naho; Sahakian, Barbara J; Szanto, Katalin

2010-06-01

Suicide rates are high in old age, and the contribution of cognitive risk factors remains poorly understood. Suicide may be viewed as an outcome of an altered decision process. The authors hypothesized that impairment in reward/punishment-based learning, a component of affective decision making, is associated with attempted suicide in late-life depression. They expected that suicide attempters would discount past reward/punishment history, focusing excessively on the most recent rewards and punishments. The authors further hypothesized that this impairment could be dissociated from executive abilities, such as forward planning. The authors assessed reward/punishment-based learning using the probabilistic reversal learning task in 65 individuals age 60 and older: suicide attempters, suicide ideators, nonsuicidal depressed elderly, and nondepressed comparison subjects. The authors used a reinforcement learning computational model to decompose reward/punishment processing over time. The Stockings of Cambridge test served as a control measure of executive function. Suicide attempters but not suicide ideators showed impaired probabilistic reversal learning compared to both nonsuicidal depressed elderly and nondepressed comparison subjects, after controlling for effects of education, global cognitive function, and substance use. Model-based analyses revealed that suicide attempters discounted previous history to a higher degree relative to comparison subjects, basing their choice largely on reward/punishment received on the last trial. Groups did not differ in their performance on the Stockings of Cambridge test. Older suicide attempters display impaired reward/punishment-based learning. The authors propose a hypothesis that older suicide attempters make overly present-focused decisions, ignoring past experiences. Modification of this "myopia for the past" may have therapeutic potential.

Reward-modulated motor information in identified striatum neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Isomura, Yoshikazu; Takekawa, Takashi; Harukuni, Rie; Handa, Takashi; Aizawa, Hidenori; Takada, Masahiko; Fukai, Tomoki

2013-06-19

It is widely accepted that dorsal striatum neurons participate in either the direct pathway (expressing dopamine D1 receptors) or the indirect pathway (expressing D2 receptors), controlling voluntary movements in an antagonistically balancing manner. The D1- and D2-expressing neurons are activated and inactivated, respectively, by dopamine released from substantia nigra neurons encoding reward expectation. However, little is known about the functional representation of motor information and its reward modulation in individual striatal neurons constituting the two pathways. In this study, we juxtacellularly recorded the spike activity of single neurons in the dorsolateral striatum of rats performing voluntary forelimb movement in a reward-predictable condition. Some of these neurons were identified morphologically by a combination of juxtacellular visualization and in situ hybridization for D1 mRNA. We found that the striatal neurons exhibited distinct functional activations before and during the forelimb movement, regardless of the expression of D1 mRNA. They were often positively, but rarely negatively, modulated by expecting a reward for the correct motor response. The positive reward modulation was independent of behavioral differences in motor performance. In contrast, regular-spiking and fast-spiking neurons in any layers of the motor cortex displayed only minor and unbiased reward modulation of their functional activation in relation to the execution of forelimb movement. Our results suggest that the direct and indirect pathway neurons cooperatively rather than antagonistically contribute to spatiotemporal control of voluntary movements, and that motor information is subcortically integrated with reward information through dopaminergic and other signals in the skeletomotor loop of the basal ganglia.

The Dilemmas of Adopting Performance Related Pay as a Reward ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Dilemmas of Adopting Performance Related Pay as a Reward Strategy for ... over automatic pay increase (formal and transparent reward systems linked to ... of reward and compensation, and low level of motivation and performance.

Food reward system: current perspectives and future research needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Alonso, Miguel; Woods, Stephen C; Pelchat, Marcia; Grigson, Patricia Sue; Stice, Eric; Farooqi, Sadaf; Khoo, Chor San; Mattes, Richard D; Beauchamp, Gary K

2015-05-01

This article reviews current research and cross-disciplinary perspectives on the neuroscience of food reward in animals and humans, examines the scientific hypothesis of food addiction, discusses methodological and terminology challenges, and identifies knowledge gaps and future research needs. Topics addressed herein include the role of reward and hedonic aspects in the regulation of food intake, neuroanatomy and neurobiology of the reward system in animals and humans, responsivity of the brain reward system to palatable foods and drugs, translation of craving versus addiction, and cognitive control of food reward. The content is based on a workshop held in 2013 by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute.

Orbitofrontal reward sensitivity and impulsivity in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilbertz, Gregor; van Elst, Ludger Tebartz; Delgado, Mauricio R; Maier, Simon; Feige, Bernd; Philipsen, Alexandra; Blechert, Jens

2012-03-01

Impulsivity symptoms of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) such as increased risk taking have been linked with impaired reward processing. Previous studies have focused on reward anticipation or on rewarded executive functioning tasks and have described a striatal hyporesponsiveness and orbitofrontal alterations in adult and adolescent ADHD. Passive reward delivery and its link to behavioral impulsivity are less well understood. To study this crucial aspect of reward processing we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with electrodermal assessment in male and female adult ADHD patients (N=28) and matched healthy control participants (N=28) during delivery of monetary and non-monetary rewards. Further, two behavioral tasks assessed risky decision making (game of dice task) and delay discounting. Results indicated that both groups activated ventral and dorsal striatum and the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) in response to high-incentive (i.e. monetary) rewards. A similar, albeit less strong activation pattern was found for low-incentive (i.e. non-monetary) rewards. Group differences emerged when comparing high and low incentive rewards directly: activation in the mOFC coded for the motivational change in reward delivery in healthy controls, but not ADHD patients. Additionally, this dysfunctional mOFC activity in patients correlated with risky decision making and delay discounting and was paralleled by physiological arousal. Together, these results suggest that the mOFC codes reward value and type in healthy individuals whereas this function is deficient in ADHD. The brain-behavior correlations suggest that this deficit might be related to behavioral impulsivity. Reward value processing difficulties in ADHD should be considered when assessing reward anticipation and emotional learning in research and applied settings. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Endogenous Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Suppresses High-Fat Food Intake by Reducing Synaptic Drive onto Mesolimbic Dopamine Neurons

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Xue-Feng Wang

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 and its analogs act as appetite suppressants and have been proven to be clinically efficacious in reducing body weight in obese individuals. Central GLP-1 is expressed in a small population of brainstem cells located in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS, which project to a wide range of brain areas. However, it remains unclear how endogenous GLP-1 released in the brain contributes to appetite regulation. Using chemogenetic tools, we discovered that central GLP-1 acts on the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA and suppresses high-fat food intake. We used integrated pathway tracing and synaptic physiology to further demonstrate that activation of GLP-1 receptors specifically reduces the excitatory synaptic strength of dopamine (DA neurons within the VTA that project to the nucleus accumbens (NAc medial shell. These data suggest that GLP-1 released from NTS neurons can reduce highly palatable food intake by suppressing mesolimbic DA signaling.

Cigarette craving is associated with blunted reward processing in nicotine-dependent smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Peechatka, Alyssa L; Whitton, Alexis E; Farmer, Stacey L; Pizzagalli, Diego A; Janes, Amy C

2015-10-01

Dysfunctional reward processing leading to the undervaluation of non-drug rewards is hypothesized to play a crucial role in nicotine dependence. However, it is unclear if blunted reward responsivity and the desire to use nicotine are directly linked after a brief period of abstinence. Such an association would suggest that individuals with reduced reward responsivity may be at increased risk to experience nicotine craving. Reward function was evaluated with a probabilistic reward task (PRT), which measures reward responsivity to monetary incentives. To identify whether smoking status influenced reward function, PRT performance was compared between non-depressed, nicotine-dependent smokers and non-smokers. Within smokers, correlations were conducted to determine if blunted reward responsivity on the PRT was associated with increased nicotine craving. Time since last nicotine exposure was standardized to 4h for all smokers. Smokers and non-smokers did not differ in reward responsivity on the PRT. However, within smokers, a significant negative correlation was found between reward responsivity and intensity of nicotine craving. The current findings show that, among smokers, the intensity of nicotine craving is linked to lower sensitivity to non-drug rewards. This finding is in line with prior theories that suggest reward dysfunction in some clinical populations (e.g., depressive disorders, schizophrenia) may facilitate nicotine use. The current study expands on such theories by indicating that sub-clinical variations in reward function are related to motivation for nicotine use. Identifying smokers who show blunted sensitivity to non-drug rewards may help guide treatments aimed at mitigating the motivation to smoke. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.