Expectation of reward modulates cognitive signals in the basal ganglia

The mesolimbic system and the loss of higher order network features in schizophrenia when learning without reward

Introduction

Schizophrenia is characterized by a loss of network features between cognition and reward sub-circuits (notably involving the mesolimbic system), and this loss may explain deficits in learning and cognition. Learning in schizophrenia has typically been studied with tasks that include reward related contingencies, but recent theoretical models have argued that a loss of network features should be seen even when learning without reward. We tested this model using a learning paradigm that required participants to learn without reward or feedback. We used a novel method for capturing higher order network features, to demonstrate that the mesolimbic system is heavily implicated in the loss of network features in schizophrenia, even when learning without reward.

Methods

fMRI data (Siemens Verio 3T) were acquired in a group of schizophrenia patients and controls (n=78; 46 SCZ, 18 ≤ Age ≤ 50) while participants engaged in associative learning without reward-related contingencies. The task was divided into task-active conditions for encoding (of associations) and cued-retrieval (where the cue was to be used to retrieve the associated memoranda). No feedback was provided during retrieval. From the fMRI time series data, network features were defined as follows: First, for each condition of the task, we estimated 2nd order undirected functional connectivity for each participant (uFC, based on zero lag correlations between all pairs of regions). These conventional 2nd order features represent the task/condition evoked synchronization of activity between pairs of brain regions. Next, in each of the patient and control groups, the statistical relationship between all possible pairs of 2nd order features were computed. These higher order features represent the consistency between all possible pairs of 2nd order features in that group and embed within them the contributions of individual regions to such group structure.

Results

From the identified inter-group differences (SCZ ≠ HC) in higher order features, we quantified the respective contributions of individual brain regions. Two principal effects emerged: 1) SCZ were characterized by a massive loss of higher order features during multiple task conditions (encoding and retrieval of associations). 2) Nodes in the mesolimbic system were over-represented in the loss of higher order features in SCZ, and notably so during retrieval.

Discussion

Our analytical goals were linked to a recent circuit-based integrative model which argued that synergy between learning and reward circuits is lost in schizophrenia. The model's notable prediction was that such a loss would be observed even when patients learned without reward. Our results provide substantial support for these predictions where we observed a loss of network features between the brain's sub-circuits for a) learning (including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex) and b) reward processing (specifically constituents of the mesolimbic system that included the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens. Our findings motivate a renewed appraisal of the relationship between reward and cognition in schizophrenia and we discuss their relevance for putative behavioral interventions.

Rapid integration of face detection and task set in visually guided reaching

The superior colliculus (SC) has been increasingly implicated in the rapid processing of evolutionarily relevant stimuli like faces, but the behavioural relevance of such processing is unclear. The SC has also been implicated in the generation of express visuomotor responses (EVR), which are very short-latency (~80 ms) bursts of muscle activity time-locked to visual target presentation. These observations led us to investigate the influence of faces on EVRs. We recorded upper limb muscle activity from healthy participants as they reached toward targets in the presence of a distractor. In some experiments, faces were used as stimuli. Across blocks of trials, we varied the instruction as to which stimulus served as the target or distractor. Doing so allowed us to assess the impact of instruction on muscle recruitment given identical visual stimuli. We found that responses were uniquely modulated in tasks involving high-contrast faces, promoting reaches toward or away from a face depending on instruction. Follow-up experiments confirmed that the phenomenon required highly salient repeated faces and was not observed to non-facial stimuli nor to faces expressing different affects. This study extends the hypothesis that the SC mediates the EVR by demonstrating that faces impact muscle recruitment at short latencies that precede cortical activity for face perception. Our results constitute direct evidence for the behavioural relevance of face detection in the brainstem, and also implicate a role for top-down cortical pre-setting of the EVR depending on task context.

A Basal Ganglia model for understanding working memory functions in healthy and Parkinson's conditions

Working memory (WM) is considered as the scratchpad for reading, writing, and processing information necessary to perform cognitive tasks. The Basal Ganglia (BG) and Prefrontal Cortex are two important parts of the brain that are involved in WM functions, and both structures receive projections from dopaminergic nuclei. In this modelling study, we specifically focus on modelling the WM functions of the BG, the WM deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) conditions, and the impact of dopamine deficiency on different kinds of WM functions. Though there are many experimental and modelling studies of WM properties, there is a paucity of models of the BG that provide insights into the contributions of the BG in WM functions. The proposed model of BG uses bistable flip-flop neurons to model striatal up-down neurons, a network of nonlinear oscillators to model the oscillations of the Indirect Pathway of BG and race-model for action selection. Five different WM tasks are used to demonstrate the generalisation ability of the proposed model. Experimental data from the four tasks are compared with model performance in both control and PD conditions. The model is extended to predict the response time of subjects and in the PD version of the model, the effect of dopaminergic medication on WM performance is also simulated. The proposed model of BG is a unified model that can explain the WM functions of the BG over a wide variety of tasks in both normal and PD conditions, and can be used to understand why specific WM functions are impaired whereas others remain intact in PD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-023-10056-y.

Pupil dilation reflects effortful action invigoration in overcoming aversive Pavlovian biases

"Pavlovian" or "motivational" biases describe the phenomenon that the valence of prospective outcomes modulates action invigoration: Reward prospect invigorates action, whereas punishment prospect suppresses it. The adaptive role of these biases in decision-making is still unclear. One idea is that they constitute a fast-and-frugal decision strategy in situations characterized by high arousal, e.g., in presence of a predator, which demand a quick response. In this pre-registered study (N = 35), we tested whether such a situation-induced via subliminally presented angry versus neutral faces-leads to increased reliance on Pavlovian biases. We measured trial-by-trial arousal by tracking pupil diameter while participants performed an orthogonalized Motivational Go/NoGo Task. Pavlovian biases were present in responses, reaction times, and even gaze, with lower gaze dispersion under aversive cues reflecting "freezing of gaze." The subliminally presented faces did not affect responses, reaction times, or pupil diameter, suggesting that the arousal manipulation was ineffective. However, pupil dilations reflected facets of bias suppression, specifically the physical (but not cognitive) effort needed to overcome aversive inhibition: Particularly strong and sustained dilations occurred when participants managed to perform Go responses to aversive cues. Conversely, no such dilations occurred when they managed to inhibit responses to Win cues. These results suggest that pupil diameter does not reflect response conflict per se nor the inhibition of prepotent responses, but specifically effortful action invigoration as needed to overcome aversive inhibition. We discuss our results in the context of the "value of work" theory of striatal dopamine.

Computational models advance deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

Deep brain stimulation(DBS) has become an effective intervention for advanced Parkinson's disease(PD), but the exact mechanism of DBS is still unclear. In this review, we discuss the history of DBS, the anatomy and internal architecture of the basal ganglia (BG), the abnormal pathological changes of the BG in PD, and how computational models can help understand and advance DBS. We also describe two types of models: mathematical theoretical models and clinical predictive models. Mathematical theoretical models simulate neurons or neural networks of BG to shed light on the mechanistic principle underlying DBS, while clinical predictive models focus more on patients' outcomes, helping to adapt treatment plans for each patient and advance novel electrode designs. Finally, we provide insights and an outlook on future technologies.

Effects of reward and effort history on decision making and movement vigor during foraging

During foraging, animals explore a site and harvest reward and then abandon that site and travel to the next opportunity. One aspect of this behavior involves decision making, and the other involves movement control. These two aspects of behavior may be linked via an underlying desire to maximize a single normative utility: the sum of all rewards acquired, minus all efforts expended, divided by time. According to this theory, the history of rewards, and not just its immediate availability, should dictate how long one should stay and harvest reward and how vigorously one should travel to the next opportunity. We tested this theory in a series of experiments in which humans used their hand to harvest tokens at a reward patch and then used their arm to reach toward another patch. After a history of high rewards, the subjects not only shortened their harvest duration but also moved more vigorously toward the next reward opportunity. In contrast, after a history of high effort they lengthened their harvest duration but reduced their movement vigor, reaching more slowly to the next reward site. Thus, a history of high reward or low effort biased decisions by promoting early abandonment of the reward site and biased movements by promoting vigor.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Much of life is spent foraging. Whereas previous work has focused on the decision regarding time spent harvesting from a reward patch, here we test the idea that both decision making and movement control are tuned to optimize the net rate of reward in an environment. Our results show that movement patterns reflect not just immediate expectations but also past experiences in the environment, providing fundamental insight into the factors governing volitional control of arm movements.

Neural Representations of Post-Decision Accuracy and Reward Expectation in the Caudate Nucleus and Frontal Eye Field

Performance monitoring that supports ongoing behavioral adjustments is often examined in the context of either choice confidence for perceptual decisions (i.e., "did I get it right?") or reward expectation for reward-based decisions (i.e., "what reward will I receive?"). However, our understanding of how the brain encodes these distinct evaluative signals remains limited because they are easily conflated, particularly in commonly used two-alternative tasks with symmetric rewards for correct choices. Previously we used a motion-discrimination task with asymmetric rewards to identify neural substrates of forming reward-biased perceptual decisions in the caudate nucleus (part of the striatum in the basal ganglia) and the frontal eye field (FEF, in prefrontal cortex). Here we leveraged this task design to partially decouple estimates of accuracy and reward expectation and examine their impacts on subsequent decisions and their representations in those two brain areas. We identified distinguishable representations of these two evaluative signals in individual caudate and FEF neurons, with regional differences in their distribution patterns and time courses. We observed that well-trained monkeys (both sexes) used both evaluative signals, infrequently but consistently, to adjust their subsequent decisions. We found further that these behavioral adjustments had reliable relationships with the neural representations of both evaluative signals in caudate, but not FEF. These results suggest that the cortico-striatal decision network may use diverse evaluative signals to monitor and adjust decision-making behaviors, adding to our understanding of the different roles that the FEF and caudate nucleus play in a diversity of decision-related computations.

Distinct value computations support rapid sequential decisions

The value of the environment determines animals' motivational states and sets expectations for error-based learning1-3. How are values computed? Reinforcement learning systems can store or cache values of states or actions that are learned from experience, or they can compute values using a model of the environment to simulate possible futures3. These value computations have distinct trade-offs, and a central question is how neural systems decide which computations to use or whether/how to combine them4-8. Here we show that rats use distinct value computations for sequential decisions within single trials. We used high-throughput training to collect statistically powerful datasets from 291 rats performing a temporal wagering task with hidden reward states. Rats adjusted how quickly they initiated trials and how long they waited for rewards across states, balancing effort and time costs against expected rewards. Statistical modeling revealed that animals computed the value of the environment differently when initiating trials versus when deciding how long to wait for rewards, even though these decisions were only seconds apart. Moreover, value estimates interacted via a dynamic learning rate. Our results reveal how distinct value computations interact on rapid timescales, and demonstrate the power of using high-throughput training to understand rich, cognitive behaviors.

Striatum supports fast learning but not memory recall

Animals learn to carry out motor actions in specific sensory contexts to achieve goals. The striatum has been implicated in producing sensory-motor associations, yet its contribution to memory formation or recall is not clear. To investigate the contribution of striatum to these processes, mice were taught to associate a cue, consisting of optogenetic activation of striatum-projecting neurons in visual cortex, with forelimb reaches to access food pellets. As necessary to direct learning, striatal neural activity encoded both the sensory context and outcome of reaching. With training, the rate of cued reaching increased, but brief optogenetic inhibition of striatal activity arrested learning and prevented trial-to-trial improvements in performance. However, the same manipulation did not affect performance improvements already consolidated into short- (within an hour) or long-term (across days) memories. Hence, striatal activity is necessary for trial-to-trial improvements in task performance, leading to plasticity in other brain areas that mediate memory recall.

The value of time in the invigoration of human movements when interacting with a robotic exoskeleton

Time and effort are thought to be subjectively balanced during the planning of goal-directed actions, thereby setting the vigor of volitional movements. Theoretical models predicted that the value of time should then amount to high levels of effort. However, the time-effort trade-off has so far only been studied for a narrow range of efforts. To investigate the extent to which humans can invest in a time-saving effort, we used a robotic exoskeleton to substantially vary the energetic cost associated with a certain vigor during reaching movements. In this situation, minimizing the time-effort trade-off should lead to high and low human efforts for upward and downward movements, respectively. Consistently, all participants expended substantial amounts of energy upward and remained essentially inactive by harnessing the work of gravity downward, while saving time in both cases. A common time-effort trade-off may therefore determine the vigor of reaching movements for a wide range of efforts.

Contributions of the Basal Ganglia to Visual Perceptual Decisions

The basal ganglia (BG) make up a prominent nexus between visual and motor-related brain regions. In contrast to the BG's well-established roles in movement control and value-based decision making, their contributions to the transformation of visual input into an action remain unclear, especially in the context of perceptual decisions based on uncertain visual evidence. This article reviews recent progress in our understanding of the BG's contributions to the formation, evaluation, and adjustment of such decisions. From theoretical and experimental perspectives, the review focuses on four key stations in the BG network, namely, the striatum, pallidum, subthalamic nucleus, and midbrain dopamine neurons, which can have different roles and together support the decision process.

Moving, fast and slow: behavioural insights into bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease

The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease, including the hallmark slowness of movement, termed bradykinesia, were described more than 100 years ago. Despite significant advances in elucidating the genetic, molecular and neurobiological changes in Parkinson's disease, it remains conceptually unclear exactly why patients with Parkinson's disease move slowly. To address this, we summarize behavioural observations of movement slowness in Parkinson's disease and discuss these findings in a behavioural framework of optimal control. In this framework, agents optimize the time it takes to gather and harvest rewards by adapting their movement vigour according to the reward that is at stake and the effort that needs to be expended. Thus, slow movements can be favourable when the reward is deemed unappealing or the movement very costly. While reduced reward sensitivity, which makes patients less inclined to work for reward, has been reported in Parkinson's disease, this appears to be related mainly to motivational deficits (apathy) rather than bradykinesia. Increased effort sensitivity has been proposed to underlie movement slowness in Parkinson's disease. However, careful behavioural observations of bradykinesia are inconsistent with abnormal computations of effort costs due to accuracy constraints or movement energetic expenditure. These inconsistencies can be resolved when considering that a general disability to switch between stable and dynamic movement states can contribute to an abnormal composite effort cost related to movement in Parkinson's disease. This can account for paradoxical observations such as the abnormally slow relaxation of isometric contractions or difficulties in halting a movement in Parkinson's disease, both of which increase movement energy expenditure. A sound understanding of the abnormal behavioural computations mediating motor impairment in Parkinson's disease will be vital for linking them to their underlying neural dynamics in distributed brain networks and for grounding future experimental studies in well-defined behavioural frameworks.

Rewards weaken cross-modal inhibition of return with visual targets

Previous studies have shown that rewards weaken visual inhibition of return (IOR). However, the specific mechanisms underlying the influence of rewards on cross-modal IOR remain unclear. Based on the Posner exogenous cue-target paradigm, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of rewards on exogenous spatial cross-modal IOR in both visual cue with auditory target (VA) and auditory cue with visual target (AV) conditions. The results showed the following: in the AV condition, the IOR effect size in the high-reward condition was significantly lower than that in the low-reward condition. However, in the VA condition, there was no significant IOR in either the high- or low-reward condition and there was no significant difference between the two conditions. In other words, the use of rewards modulated exogenous spatial cross-modal IOR with visual targets; specifically, high rewards may have weakened IOR in the AV condition. Taken together, our study extended the effect of rewards on IOR to cross-modal attention conditions and demonstrated for the first time that higher motivation among individuals under high-reward conditions weakened the cross-modal IOR with visual targets. Moreover, the present study provided evidence for future research on the relationship between reward and attention.

Behavioral and neural representation of expected reward and risk

When faced with uncertainty, individuals' value-based decisions are influenced by the expected rewards and risks. Understanding how reward and risk are processed and integrated at the behavioral and neural levels is essential for building up utility theories. Using a modified monetary incentive delay task in which the mean of two possible outcomes (expected reward) and the standard deviation (SD) of the possible outcomes (risk) were parametrically manipulated and orthogonalized, we measured eye movements, response times (RTs), and brain activity when participants seek to secure a reward. We found that RTs varied as a function of the mean but not the SD of the potential reward, suggesting that expected rewards are the main driver of RTs. Moreover, the difference between gazes focused on high vs. low value rewards became smaller when the magnitude of the potential reward (mean of possible outcomes) was larger and when risk (SD of possible outcomes) became smaller, highlighting that reward and risk have different effects on attention deployment. Processing the mean reward activated the striatum. The positive striatal connectivity to the amygdala and negative striatal connectivity to the superior frontal gyrus were correlated with individuals' sensitivity to the expected reward. In contrast, processing risk activated the anterior insula. Its positive connectivity to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and negative connectivity to the anterior midcingulate cortex were correlated with individual differences in risk sensitivity, further suggesting the functional dissociation of reward and risk at the neural level. Our findings, based on several different measures, delineate the distinct representations of reward and risk in non-decision contexts and provide insight into how these utility parameters modulate attention, motivation, and brain networks.

Nucleus accumbens D1-receptors regulate and focus transitions to reward-seeking action

It is well established that dopamine transmission is integral in mediating the influence of reward expectations on reward-seeking actions. However, the precise causal role of dopamine transmission in moment-to-moment reward-motivated behavioral control remains contentious, particularly in contexts where it is necessary to refrain from responding to achieve a beneficial outcome. To examine this, we manipulated dopamine transmission pharmacologically as rats performed a Go/No-Go task that required them to either make or withhold action to gain either a small or large reward. D1R Stimulation potentiated cue-driven action initiation, including fast impulsive actions on No-Go trials. By contrast, D1R blockade primarily disrupted the successful completion of Go trial sequences. Surprisingly, while after global D1R blockade this was characterized by a general retardation of reward-seeking actions, nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) D1R blockade had no effect on the speed of action initiation or impulsive actions. Instead, fine-grained analyses showed that this manipulation decreased the precision of animals' goal-directed actions, even though they usually still followed the appropriate response sequence. Strikingly, such "unfocused" responding could also be observed off-drug, particularly when only a small reward was on offer. These findings suggest that the balance of activity at NAcC D1Rs plays a key role in enabling the rapid activation of a focused, reward-seeking state to enable animals to efficiently and accurately achieve their goal.

Fast and slow contributions to decision-making in corticostriatal circuits

We make complex decisions using both fast judgments and slower, more deliberative reasoning. For example, during value-based decision-making, animals make rapid value-guided orienting eye movements after stimulus presentation that bias the upcoming decision. The neural mechanisms underlying these processes remain unclear. To address this, we recorded from the caudate nucleus and orbitofrontal cortex while animals made value-guided decisions. Using population-level decoding, we found a rapid, phasic signal in caudate that predicted the choice response and closely aligned with animals' initial orienting eye movements. In contrast, the dynamics in orbitofrontal cortex were more consistent with a deliberative system serially representing the value of each available option. The phasic caudate value signal and the deliberative orbitofrontal value signal were largely independent from each other, consistent with value-guided orienting and value-guided decision-making being independent processes.

Learning under social versus nonsocial uncertainty: A meta-analytic approach

Much of the uncertainty that clouds our understanding of the world springs from the covert values and intentions held by other people. Thus, it is plausible that specialized mechanisms that compute learning signals under uncertainty of exclusively social origin operate in the brain. To test this hypothesis, we scoured academic databases for neuroimaging studies involving learning under uncertainty, and performed a meta‐analysis of brain activation maps that compared learning in the face of social versus nonsocial uncertainty. Although most of the brain activations associated with learning error signals were shared between social and nonsocial conditions, we found some evidence for functional segregation of error signals of exclusively social origin during learning in limited regions of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and insula. This suggests that most behavioral adaptations to navigate social environments are reused from frontal and subcortical areas processing generic value representation and learning, but that a specialized circuitry might have evolved in prefrontal regions to deal with social context representation and strategic action.

Reward and plasticity: Implications for neurorehabilitation

Neuroplasticity follows nervous system injury in the presence or absence of rehabilitative treatments. Rehabilitative interventions can be used to modulate adaptive neuroplasticity, reducing motor impairment and improving activities of daily living in patients with brain lesions. Learning principles guide some rehabilitative interventions. While basic science research has shown that reward combined with training enhances learning, this principle has been only recently explored in the context of neurorehabilitation. Commonly used reinforcers may be more or less rewarding depending on the individual or the context in which the task is performed. Studies in healthy humans showed that both reward and punishment can enhance within-session motor performance; but reward, and not punishment, improves consolidation and retention of motor skills. On the other hand, neurorehabilitative training after brain lesions involves complex tasks (e.g., walking and activities of daily living). The contribution of reward to neurorehabilitation is incompletely understood. Here, we discuss recent research on the role of reward in neurorehabilitation and the needed directions of future research.

How the value of the environment controls persistence in visual search

Classic foraging theory predicts that humans and animals aim to gain maximum reward per unit time. However, in standard instrumental conditioning tasks individuals adopt an apparently suboptimal strategy: they respond slowly when the expected value is low. This reward-related bias is often explained as reduced motivation in response to low rewards. Here we present evidence this behavior is associated with a complementary increased motivation to search the environment for alternatives. We trained monkeys to search for reward-related visual targets in environments with different values. We found that the reward-related bias scaled with environment value, was consistent with persistent searching after the target was already found, and was associated with increased exploratory gaze to objects in the environment. A novel computational model of foraging suggests that this search strategy could be adaptive in naturalistic settings where both environments and the objects within them provide partial information about hidden, uncertain rewards.

Dissociating the Impact of Movement Time and Energy Costs on Decision-Making and Action Initiation in Humans

Recent theories and data suggest that adapted behavior involves economic computations during which multiple trade-offs between reward value, accuracy requirement, energy expenditure, and elapsing time are solved so as to obtain rewards as soon as possible while spending the least possible amount of energy. However, the relative impact of movement energy and duration costs on perceptual decision-making and movement initiation is poorly understood. Here, we tested 31 healthy subjects on a perceptual decision-making task in which they executed reaching movements to report probabilistic choices. In distinct blocks of trials, the reaching duration (“Time” condition) and energy (“Effort” condition) costs were independently varied compared to a “Reference” block, while decision difficulty was maintained similar at the block level. Participants also performed a simple delayed-reaching (DR) task aimed at estimating movement initiation duration in each motor condition. Results in that DR task show that long duration movements extended reaction times (RTs) in most subjects, whereas energy-consuming movements led to mixed effects on RTs. In the decision task, about half of the subjects decreased their decision durations (DDs) in the Time condition, while the impact of energy on DDs were again mixed across subjects. Decision accuracy was overall similar across motor conditions. These results indicate that movement duration and, to a lesser extent, energy expenditure, idiosyncratically affect perceptual decision-making and action initiation. We propose that subjects who shortened their choices in the time-consuming condition of the decision task did so to limit a drop of reward rate.

Working Memory: From Neural Activity to the Sentient Mind

Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain and manipulate information in the conscious mind over a timescale of seconds. This ability is thought to be maintained through the persistent discharges of neurons in a network of brain areas centered on the prefrontal cortex, as evidenced by neurophysiological recordings in nonhuman primates, though both the localization and the neural basis of WM has been a matter of debate in recent years. Neural correlates of WM are evident in species other than primates, including rodents and corvids. A specialized network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, aided by neuromodulatory influences of dopamine, is critical for the maintenance of neuronal activity. Limitations in WM capacity and duration, as well as its enhancement during development, can be attributed to properties of neural activity and circuits. Changes in these factors can be observed through training-induced improvements and in pathological impairments. WM thus provides a prototypical cognitive function whose properties can be tied to the spiking activity of brain neurons. © 2021 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 11:1-41, 2021.

Statistical shape analysis of putamen in early-onset Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the shape differences in the putamen of early-onset Parkinson's patients compared with healthy controls and to assess and to assess sub-regional brain abnormalities.

METHODS

This study was conducted using the 3-T MRI scans of 23 early-onset Parkinson's patients and age and gender matched control subjects. Landmark coordinate data obtained and Procrustes analysis was used to compare mean shapes. The relationships between the centroid sizes of the left and right putamen, and the durations of disease examined using growth curve models.

RESULTS

While there was a significant difference between the right putamen shape of control and patient groups, there was not found a significant difference in terms of left putamen. Sub-regional analyses showed that for the right putamen, the most prominent deformations were localized in the middle-posterior putamen and minimal deformations were seen in the anterior putamen.

CONCLUSION

Although they were not as pronounced as those in the right putamen, the deformations in the left putamen mimic the deformations in the right putamen which are found mainly in the middle-posterior putamen and at a lesser extend in the anterior putamen.

Chemogenetic inactivation reveals the inhibitory control function of the prefronto-striatal pathway in the macaque brain

The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) has a strong monosynaptic connection with the caudate nucleus (CdN) of the striatum. Previous human MRI studies have suggested that this LPFC-CdN pathway plays an important role in inhibitory control and working memory. We aimed to validate the function of this pathway at a causal level by pathway-selective manipulation of neural activity in non-human primates. To this end, we trained macaque monkeys on a delayed oculomotor response task with reward asymmetry and expressed an inhibitory type of chemogenetic receptors selectively to LPFC neurons that project to the CdN. Ligand administration reduced the inhibitory control of impulsive behavior, as well as the task-related neuronal responses observed in the local field potentials from the LPFC and CdN. These results show that we successfully suppressed pathway-selective neural activity in the macaque brain, and the resulting behavioral changes suggest that the LPFC-CdN pathway is involved in inhibitory control.

Throwing open the doors of perception: The role of dopamine in visual processing

Animals form associations between visual cues and behaviours. Although dopamine is known to be critical in many areas of the brain to bind sensory information with appropriate responses, dopamine's role in the visual system is less well understood. Visual signals, which indicate the likely occurrence of a rewarding or aversive stimulus or indicate the context within which such stimuli may arrive, modulate activity in the superior colliculus and alter behaviour. However, such signals primarily originate in cortical and basal ganglia circuits, and evidence of direct signalling from midbrain dopamine neurons to superior colliculus is lacking. Instead, hypothalamic A13 dopamine neurons innervate the superior colliculus, and dopamine receptors are differentially expressed in the superior colliculus, with D1 receptors in superficial layers and D2 receptors in deep layers. However, it remains unknown if A13 dopamine neurons control behaviours through their effect on afferents within the superior colliculus. We propose that A13 dopamine neurons may play a critical role in processing information in the superior colliculus, modifying behavioural responses to visual cues, and propose some testable hypotheses regarding dopamine's effect on visual perception.

Vision as oculomotor reward: cognitive contributions to the dynamic control of saccadic eye movements

Humans and other primates are equipped with a foveated visual system. As a consequence, we reorient our fovea to objects and targets in the visual field that are conspicuous or that we consider relevant or worth looking at. These reorientations are achieved by means of saccadic eye movements. Where we saccade to depends on various low-level factors such as a targets' luminance but also crucially on high-level factors like the expected reward or a targets' relevance for perception and subsequent behavior. Here, we review recent findings how the control of saccadic eye movements is influenced by higher-level cognitive processes. We first describe the pathways by which cognitive contributions can influence the neural oculomotor circuit. Second, we summarize what saccade parameters reveal about cognitive mechanisms, particularly saccade latencies, saccade kinematics and changes in saccade gain. Finally, we review findings on what renders a saccade target valuable, as reflected in oculomotor behavior. We emphasize that foveal vision of the target after the saccade can constitute an internal reward for the visual system and that this is reflected in oculomotor dynamics that serve to quickly and accurately provide detailed foveal vision of relevant targets in the visual field.

Single caudate neurons encode temporally discounted value for formulating motivation for action

The term 'temporal discounting' describes both choice preferences and motivation for delayed rewards. Here we show that neuronal activity in the dorsal part of the primate caudate head (dCDh) signals the temporally discounted value needed to compute the motivation for delayed rewards. Macaque monkeys performed an instrumental task, in which visual cues indicated the forthcoming size and delay duration before reward. Single dCDh neurons represented the temporally discounted value without reflecting changes in the animal's physiological state. Bilateral pharmacological or chemogenetic inactivation of dCDh markedly distorted the normal task performance based on the integration of reward size and delay, but did not affect the task performance for different reward sizes without delay. These results suggest that dCDh is involved in encoding the integrated multi-dimensional information critical for motivation.

Acetylcholine from the nucleus basalis magnocellularis facilitates the retrieval of well-established memory

Retrieval deficit of long-term memory is a cardinal symptom of dementia and has been proposed to associate with abnormalities in the central cholinergic system. Difficulty in the retrieval of memory is experienced by healthy individuals and not limited to patients with neurological disorders that result in forgetfulness. The difficulty of retrieving memories is associated with various factors, such as how often the event was experienced or remembered, but it is unclear how the cholinergic system plays a role in the retrieval of memory formed by a daily routine (accumulated experience). To investigate this point, we trained rats moderately (for a week) or extensively (for a month) to detect a visual cue in a two-alternative forced-choice task. First, we confirmed the well-established memory in the extensively trained group was more resistant to the retrieval problem than recently acquired memory in the moderately trained group. Next, we tested the effect of a cholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, on the retrieval of memory after a long no-task period in extensively trained rats. Pre-administration of donepezil improved performance and reduced the latency of task initiation compared to the saline-treated group. Finally, we lesioned cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), which project to the entire neocortex, by injecting the cholinergic toxin 192 IgG-saporin. NBM-lesioned rats showed severely impaired task initiation and performance. These abilities recovered as the trials progressed, though they never reached the level observed in rats with intact NBM. These results suggest that acetylcholine released from the NBM contributes to the retrieval of well-established memory developed by a daily routine.

Chemogenetic dissection of the primate prefronto-subcortical pathways for working memory and decision-making

The primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) is situated at the core of higher brain functions via neural circuits such as those linking the caudate nucleus and mediodorsal thalamus. However, the distinctive roles of these prefronto-subcortical pathways remain elusive. Combining in vivo neuronal projection mapping with chemogenetic synaptic silencing, we reversibly dissected key pathways from dorsolateral part of the PFC (dlPFC) to the dorsal caudate (dCD) and lateral mediodorsal thalamus (MDl) individually in single monkeys. We found that silencing the bilateral dlPFC-MDl projections, but not the dlPFC-dCD projections, impaired performance in a spatial working memory task. Conversely, silencing the unilateral dlPFC-dCD projection, but not the unilateral dlPFC-MDl projection, altered preference in a decision-making task. These results revealed dissociable roles of the prefronto-subcortical pathways in working memory and decision-making, representing the technical advantage of imaging-guided pathway-selective chemogenetic manipulation for dissecting neural circuits underlying cognitive functions in primates.

Sensitivity of express saccades to the expected value of the target

Express saccades, a distinct fast mode of visually guided saccades, are probably underpinned by a specific pathway that is at least partially different from the one underlying regular saccades. Whether and how this pathway deals with information on the subjective value of a saccade target is unknown. We studied the influence of varying reward expectancies and compared it with the impact of a temporal gap between the disappearance of the fixation dot and the appearance of the target on the visually guided saccades of two rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We found that increasing reward expectancy increased the probability and decreased the reaction time of express saccades. The latter influence was stronger in the later parts of the reaction time distribution of express saccades, satisfactorily captured by a linear shift model of change in the saccadic reaction time distribution. Although different in strength, increasing reward expectancy and inserting a temporal gap resulted in similar effects on saccadic reaction times, suggesting that these two factors summon the same mechanism to facilitate saccadic reaction times.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Express saccades are the fastest visually driven way of shifting gaze to targets of interest. We examined whether the pathway underlying these saccades has access to information on the value of saccade targets. We found that not only regular saccades but also express saccades occur earlier in case of higher expectations of reward. Yet, the sensitivity of express saccades to reward decreases linearly when approaching the earliest possible reaction time.

Precis of Vigor: Neuroeconomics of movement control

Why do we run toward people we love, but only walk toward others? Why do people in New York seem to walk faster than other cities? Why do our eyes linger longer on things we value more? There is a link between how the brain assigns value to things, and how it controls our movements. This link is an ancient one, developed through shared neural circuits that on one hand teach us how to value things, and on the other hand control the vigor with which we move. As a result, when there is damage to systems that signal reward, like dopamine and serotonin, that damage not only affects our mood and patterns of decision making, but how we move. In this book, we first ask why in principle evolution should have developed a shared system of control between valuation and vigor. We then focus on the neural basis of vigor, synthesizing results from experiments that have measured activity in various brain structures and neuromodulators, during tasks in which animals decide how patiently they should wait for reward, and how vigorously they should move to acquire it. Thus, the way we move unmasks one of our well-guarded secrets: how much we value the thing we are moving toward.

I am happy for us: Neural processing of vicarious joy when winning for parents versus strangers

This study investigated the neural processes underlying vicarious joy and their dependence on emotional closeness. Prior studies revealed that the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a target brain region for processing rewards for self, but the neural mechanisms of processing rewards for others are not yet well understood. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm was employed in young adults (N = 30), in combination with a self-report questionnaire on the perceived emotional closeness to the target. We examined the neural correlates of vicarious rewards when winning money for oneself or one of three other targets. To examine family relationships, two of the targets were the mother and father of the participants, and the third target was an unknown stranger. We found an increase in activation in the NAcc when playing for family members compared with a stranger. We further observed a difference in neural activation when winning for the father compared with the mother in an extended network involving the medial prefrontal cortex and precuneus, brain regions involved in mentalizing. These findings were not related to reports of emotional closeness. This new paradigm has considerable value for future research into the fundamental neural processes underlying empathy and vicarious joy.

Frontal eye field and caudate neurons make different contributions to reward-biased perceptual decisions

Many decisions require trade-offs between sensory evidence and internal preferences. Potential neural substrates include the frontal eye field (FEF) and caudate nucleus, but their distinct roles are not understood. Previously we showed that monkeys’ decisions on a direction-discrimination task with asymmetric rewards reflected a biased accumulate-to-bound decision process (Fan et al., 2018) that was affected by caudate microstimulation (Doi et al., 2020). Here we compared single-neuron activity in FEF and caudate to each other and to accumulate-to-bound model predictions derived from behavior. Task-dependent neural modulations were similar in both regions. However, choice-selective neurons in FEF, but not caudate, encoded behaviorally derived biases in the accumulation process. Baseline activity in both regions was sensitive to reward context, but this sensitivity was not reliably associated with behavioral biases. These results imply distinct contributions of FEF and caudate neurons to reward-biased decision-making and put experimental constraints on the neural implementation of accumulation-to-bound-like computations.

Neural Substrates of Brand Love: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies

Brand love is a critical concept for building a relationship between brands and consumers because falling in love with a brand can lead to strong brand loyalty. Despite the importance of marketing strategies, however, the underlying neural mechanisms of brand love remain unclear. The present study used an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis method to investigate the neural correlates of brand love and compared it with those of maternal and romantic love. In total, 47 experiments investigating brand, maternal, and romantic love were examined, and the neural systems involved for the three loves were compared and contrasted. Results revealed that the putamen and insula were commonly activated in the three loves. Moreover, activated brain regions in brand love were detected in the dorsal striatum. Activated regions for maternal love were detected in the cortical area and globus pallidus and were associated with pair bonds, empathy, and altruism. Finally, those for romantic love were detected in the hedonic, strong passionate, and intimate-related regions, such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. Thus, the common regions of brain activation between brand and romantic love were in the dorsal striatum. Meanwhile, no common activated regions were observed between brand and maternal love except for the regions shared among the three love types. Although brand love shared little with the two interpersonal (maternal and romantic) loves and relatively resembled aspects of romantic rather than maternal love, our results demonstrated that brand love may have intrinsically different dispositions from the two interpersonal loves.

Striosomes Mediate Value-Based Learning Vulnerable in Age and a Huntington's Disease Model

Learning valence-based responses to favorable and unfavorable options requires judgments of the relative value of the options, a process necessary for species survival. We found, using engineered mice, that circuit connectivity and function of the striosome compartment of the striatum are critical for this type of learning. Calcium imaging during valence-based learning exhibited a selective correlation between learning and striosomal but not matrix signals. This striosomal activity encoded discrimination learning and was correlated with task engagement, which, in turn, could be regulated by chemogenetic excitation and inhibition. Striosomal function during discrimination learning was disturbed with aging and severely so in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. Anatomical and functional connectivity of parvalbumin-positive, putative fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs) to striatal projection neurons was enhanced in striosomes compared with matrix in mice that learned. Computational modeling of these findings suggests that FSIs can modulate the striosomal signal-to-noise ratio, crucial for discrimination and learning.

Dissociation of Medial Frontal β-Bursts and Executive Control

The neural mechanisms of executive and motor control concern both basic researchers and clinicians. In human studies, preparation and cancellation of movements are accompanied by changes in the β-frequency band (15-29 Hz) of electroencephalogram (EEG). Previous studies with human participants performing stop signal (countermanding) tasks have described reduced frequency of transient β-bursts over sensorimotor cortical areas before movement initiation and increased β-bursting over medial frontal areas with movement cancellation. This modulation has been interpreted as contributing to the trial-by-trial control of behavior. We performed identical analyses of EEG recorded over the frontal lobe of macaque monkeys (one male, one female) performing a saccade countermanding task. While we replicate the occurrence and modulation of β-bursts associated with initiation and cancellation of saccades, we found that β-bursts occur too infrequently to account for the observed stopping behavior. We also found β-bursts were more common after errors, but their incidence was unrelated to response time (RT) adaptation. These results demonstrate the homology of this EEG signature between humans and macaques but raise questions about the current interpretation of β band functional significance.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The finding of increased β-bursting over medial frontal cortex with movement cancellation in humans is difficult to reconcile with the finding of modulation too late to contribute to movement cancellation in medial frontal cortex of macaque monkeys. To obtain comparable measurement scales, we recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) over medial frontal cortex of macaques performing a stop signal (countermanding) task. We replicated the occurrence and modulation of β-bursts associated with the cancellation of movements, but we found that β-bursts occur too infrequently to account for observed stopping behavior. Unfortunately, this finding raises doubts whether β-bursts can be a causal mechanism of response inhibition, which impacts future applications in devices such as brain-machine interfaces.

Tonically Active Neurons in the Monkey Dorsal Striatum Signal Outcome Feedback during Trial-and-error Search Behavior

An animal's choice behavior is shaped by the outcome feedback from selected actions in a trial-and-error approach. Tonically active neurons (TANs), presumed cholinergic interneurons in the striatum, are thought to be involved in the learning and performance of reward-directed behaviors, but it remains unclear how TANs are involved in shaping reward-directed choice behaviors based on the outcome feedback. To this end, we recorded activity of TANs from the dorsal striatum of two macaque monkeys (Macaca fuscata; 1 male, 1 female) while they performed a multi-step choice task to obtain multiple rewards. In this task, the monkeys first searched for a rewarding target from among three alternatives in a trial-and-error manner and then earned additional rewards by repeatedly choosing the rewarded target. We found that a considerable proportion of TANs selectively responded to either the reward or the no-reward outcome feedback during the trial-and-error search, but these feedback responses were not observed during repeat trials. Moreover, the feedback responses of TANs were similarly observed in any search trials, without distinctions regarding the predicted probability of rewards and the location of chosen targets. Unambiguously, TANs detected reward and no-reward feedback specifically when the monkeys performed trial-and-error searches, in which the monkeys were learning the value of the targets and adjusting their subsequent choice behavior based on the reward and no-reward feedback. These results suggest that striatal cholinergic interneurons signal outcome feedback specifically during search behavior, in circumstances where the choice outcomes cannot be predicted with certainty by the animals.

Interindividual differences in incentive sensitivity moderate motivational effects of competition and cooperation on motor performance

Established research has documented the pervasive influence of incentives (i.e., food, sex, money) on animal and human behavior. Additionally, motivational theories postulating intra–individually stable preferences for specific types of incentives (i.e., motives) highlight that effects of a given incentive are highly dependent on the motive disposition of the individual. Indeed, also research on motor performance has documented the interactive effects of motives and motive–specific incentives on motor outcomes. However, the majority of this research has relied on correlational designs focusing on the effects of the achievement motive, with few studies addressing the role of the affiliation and power motive. In order to extend findings in this domain, we tested whether a fit between individuals’ power (affiliation) motive and incentives of competition (cooperation) would improve motor performance. Following baseline measures, participants performed a dart–throwing task as part of a dyadic performance (i.e., cooperative) or a one–on–one competition scenario. In the dyadic performance scenario, a stronger affiliation motive did not translate to better performance. However, in the one–on–one competition scenario a stronger power motive was associated with better performance. Results highlight the role of the power motive in predicting motor performance, particularly in competitive situations.

Humans sacrifice decision-making for action execution when a demanding control of movement is required

A growing body of evidence suggests that decision-making and action execution are governed by partly overlapping operating principles. Especially, previous work proposed that a shared decision urgency/movement vigor signal, possibly computed in the basal ganglia, coordinates both deliberation and movement durations in a way that maximizes the reward rate. Recent data support one aspect of this hypothesis, indicating that the urgency level at which a decision is made influences the vigor of the movement produced to express this choice. Here we investigated whether, conversely, the motor context in which a movement is executed determines decision speed and accuracy. Twenty human subjects performed a probabilistic decision task in which perceptual choices were expressed by reaching movements toward targets whose size and distance from a starting position varied in distinct blocks of trials. We found strong evidence for an influence of the motor context on most of the subjects' decision policy, but contrary to the predictions of the "shared regulation" hypothesis, we observed that slow movements executed in the most demanding motor blocks in terms of accuracy were often preceded by faster and less accurate decisions compared with blocks of trials in which big targets allowed expression of choices with fast and inaccurate movements. These results suggest that decision-making and motor control are not regulated by one unique "invigoration" signal determining both decision urgency and action vigor, but more likely by independent, yet interacting, decision urgency and movement vigor signals.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Recent hypotheses propose that choices and movements share optimization principles derived from economy, possibly implemented by one unique context-dependent regulation signal determining both processes' speed. In the present behavioral study conducted on human subjects, we demonstrate that action properties indeed influence perceptual decision-making, but that decision duration and action vigor are actually independently set depending on the difficulty of the movement executed to report a choice.

Fast spiking interneuron activity in primate striatum tracks learning of attention cues

Cognitive flexibility depends on a fast neural learning mechanism for enhancing momentary relevant over irrelevant information. A possible neural mechanism realizing this enhancement uses fast spiking interneurons (FSIs) in the striatum to train striatal projection neurons to gate relevant and suppress distracting cortical inputs. We found support for such a mechanism in nonhuman primates during the flexible adjustment of visual attention in a reversal learning task. FSI activity was modulated by visual attention cues during feature-based learning. One FSI subpopulation showed stronger activation during learning, while another FSI subpopulation showed response suppression after learning, which could indicate a disinhibitory effect on the local circuit. Additionally, FSIs that showed response suppression to learned attention cues were activated by salient distractor events, suggesting they contribute to suppressing bottom-up distraction. These findings suggest that striatal fast spiking interneurons play an important role when cues are learned that redirect attention away from previously relevant to newly relevant visual information. This cue-specific activity was independent of motor-related activity and thus tracked specifically the learning of reward predictive visual features.

The caudate nucleus contributes causally to decisions that balance reward and uncertain visual information

Our decisions often balance what we observe and what we desire. A prime candidate for implementing this complex balancing act is the basal ganglia pathway, but its roles have not yet been examined experimentally in detail. Here, we show that a major input station of the basal ganglia, the caudate nucleus, plays a causal role in integrating uncertain visual evidence and reward context to guide adaptive decision-making. In monkeys making saccadic decisions based on motion cues and asymmetric reward-choice associations, single caudate neurons encoded both sources of information. Electrical microstimulation at caudate sites during motion viewing affected the monkeys’ decisions. These microstimulation effects included coordinated changes in multiple computational components of the decision process that mimicked the monkeys’ similarly coordinated voluntary strategies for balancing visual and reward information. These results imply that the caudate nucleus plays causal roles in coordinating decision processes that balance external evidence and internal preferences.

Towards Automaticity in Reinforcement Learning: A Model-Based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Introduction

Previous studies showed that over the course of learning many neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex adapt their firing rate towards the options with highest predicted value reward but it was showed that during later learning trials the brain switches to a more automatic processing mode governed by the basal ganglia. Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that during the early learning trials the predicted values of chosen options will be coded by a goal directed system in the medial frontal cortex but during the late trials the predicted values will be coded by the habitual learning system in the dorsal striatum.

Methods

In this study, using a 3 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner (fMRI), blood oxygen level dependent signal (BOLD) data was collected whilst participants (N=12) performed a reinforcement learning task. The task consisted of instrumental conditioning trials wherein each trial a participant choose one of the two available options in order to win or avoid losing money. In addition to that, depending on the experimental condition, participants received either monetary reward (gain money), monetary penalty (lose money) or neural outcome.

Results

Using model-based analysis for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) event related designs; region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed to nucleus accumbens, medial frontal cortex, caudate nucleus, putamen and globus pallidus internal and external segments. In order to compare the difference in brain activity for early (goal directed) versus late learning (habitual, automatic) trials, separate ROI analyses were performed for each anatomical sub-region. For the reward condition, we found significant activity in the medial frontal cortex (p<0.05) only for early learning trials but activity is shifted to bilateral putamen (p<0.05) during later trials. However, for the loss condition no significant activity was found for early trials except globus pallidus internal segment showed a significant activity (p<0.05) for later trials.

Conclusion

We found that during reinforcement learning activation in the brain shifted from the medial frontal regions to dorsal regions of the striatum. These findings suggest that there are two separable (early goal directed and late habitual) learning systems in the brain.

Combinatorial Developmental Controls on Striatonigral Circuits

Cortical pyramidal cells are generated locally, from pre-programmed progenitors, to form functionally distinct areas. By contrast, striatal projection neurons (SPNs) are generated remotely from a common source, undergo migration to form mosaics of striosomes and matrix, and become incorporated into functionally distinct sectors. Striatal circuits might thus have a unique logic of developmental organization, distinct from those of the neocortex. We explore this possibility in mice by mapping one set of SPNs, those in striosomes, with striatonigral projections to the dopamine-containing substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Same-age SPNs exhibit topographic striatonigral projections, according to their resident sector. However, the different birth dates of resident SPNs within a given sector specify the destination of their axons within the SNpc. These findings highlight a logic intercalating birth date-dependent and birth date-independent factors in determining the trajectories of SPN axons and organizing specialized units of striatonigral circuitry that could influence behavioral expression and vulnerabilities to disease.

Globus pallidus dynamics reveal covert strategies for behavioral inhibition

Flexible behavior requires restraint of actions that are no longer appropriate. This behavioral inhibition critically relies on frontal cortex - basal ganglia circuits. Within the basal ganglia, the globus pallidus pars externa (GPe) has been hypothesized to mediate selective proactive inhibition: being prepared to stop a specific action, if needed. Here we investigate population dynamics of rat GPe neurons during preparation-to-stop, stopping, and going. Rats selectively engaged proactive inhibition towards specific actions, as shown by slowed reaction times (RTs). Under proactive inhibition, GPe population activity occupied state-space locations farther from the trajectory followed during normal movement initiation. Furthermore, the state-space locations were predictive of distinct types of errors: failures-to-stop, failures-to-go, and incorrect choices. Slowed RTs on correct proactive trials reflected starting bias towards the alternative action, which was overcome before progressing towards action initiation. Our results demonstrate that rats can exert cognitive control via strategic adjustments to their GPe network state.

Topographic distinction in long-term value signals between presumed dopamine neurons and presumed striatal projection neurons in behaving monkeys

Nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) projections are anatomically organized along the dorsolateral-ventromedial axis, conveying long-term value signals to the striatum for shaping actions toward multiple future rewards. The present study examines whether the topographic organization of long-term value signals are observed upon activity of presumed DA neurons and presumed striatal projection neurons (phasically active neurons, PANs), as predicted based on anatomical literature. Our results indicate that DA neurons in the dorsolateral midbrain encode long-term value signals on a short timescale, while ventromedial midbrain DA neurons encode such signals on a relatively longer timescale. Activity of the PANs in the dorsal striatum is more heterogeneous for encoding long-term values, although significant differences in long-term value signals were observed between the caudate nucleus and putamen. These findings suggest that topographic DA signals for long-term values are not simply transferred to striatal neurons, possibly due to the contribution of other projections to the striatum.

Saccade vigor and the subjective economic value of visual stimuli

Decisions are made based on the subjective value that the brain assigns to options. However, subjective value is a mathematical construct that cannot be measured directly, but rather is inferred from choices. Recent results have demonstrated that reaction time, amplitude, and velocity of movements are modulated by reward, raising the possibility that there is a link between how the brain evaluates an option and how it controls movements toward that option. Here, we asked people to choose among risky options represented by abstract stimuli, some associated with gain (points in a game), and others with loss. From their choices we estimated the subjective value that they assigned to each stimulus. In probe trials, a single stimulus appeared at center, instructing subjects to make a saccade to a peripheral target. We found that the reaction time, peak velocity, and amplitude of the peripherally directed saccade varied roughly linearly with the subjective value that the participant had assigned to the central stimulus: reaction time was shorter, velocity was higher, and amplitude was larger for stimuli that the participant valued more. Naturally, participants differed in how much they valued a given stimulus. Remarkably, those who valued a stimulus more, as evidenced by their choices in decision trials, tended to move with shorter reaction time and greater velocity in response to that stimulus in probe trials. Overall, the reaction time of the saccade in response to a stimulus partly predicted the subjective value that the brain assigned to that stimulus.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Behavioral economics relies on subjective evaluation, an abstract quantity that cannot be measured directly but must be inferred by fitting decision models to the choice patterns. Here, we present a new approach to estimate subjective value: with nothing to fit, we show that it is possible to estimate subjective value based on movement kinematics, providing a modest ability to predict a participant's preferences without prior measurement of their choice patterns.

Basal Ganglia Circuits for Action Specification

Behavior is readily classified into patterns of movements with inferred common goals-actions. Goals may be discrete; movements are continuous. Through the careful study of isolated movements in laboratory settings, or via introspection, it has become clear that animals can exhibit exquisite graded specification to their movements. Moreover, graded control can be as fundamental to success as the selection of which action to perform under many naturalistic scenarios: a predator adjusting its speed to intercept moving prey, or a tool-user exerting the perfect amount of force to complete a delicate task. The basal ganglia are a collection of nuclei in vertebrates that extend from the forebrain (telencephalon) to the midbrain (mesencephalon), constituting a major descending extrapyramidal pathway for control over midbrain and brainstem premotor structures. Here we discuss how this pathway contributes to the continuous specification of movements that endows our voluntary actions with vigor and grace.

The Contribution of AMPA and NMDA Receptors to Persistent Firing in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Working Memory

Many tasks demand that information is kept online for a few seconds before it is used to guide behavior. The information is kept in working memory as the persistent firing of neurons encoding the memorized information. The neural mechanisms responsible for persistent activity are not yet well understood. Theories attribute an important role to ionotropic glutamate receptors, and it has been suggested that NMDARs are particularly important for persistent firing because they exhibit long time constants. Ionotropic AMPARs have shorter time constants and have been suggested to play a smaller role in working memory. Here we compared the contribution of AMPARs and NMDARs to persistent firing in the dlPFC of male macaque monkeys performing a delayed saccade to a memorized spatial location. We used iontophoresis to eject small amounts of glutamate receptor antagonists, aiming to perturb, but not abolish, neuronal activity. We found that both AMPARs and NMDARs contributed to persistent activity. Blockers of the NMDARs decreased persistent firing associated with the memory of the neuron's preferred spatial location but had comparatively little effect on the representation of the antipreferred location. They therefore decreased the information conveyed by persistent firing about the memorized location. In contrast, AMPAR blockers decreased activity elicited by the memory of both the preferred and antipreferred location, with a smaller effect on the information conveyed by persistent activity. Our results provide new insights into the contribution of AMPARs and NMDARs to persistent activity during working memory tasks.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Working memory enables us to hold on to information that is no longer available to the senses. It relies on the persistent activity of neurons that code for the memorized information, but the detailed mechanisms are not yet well understood. Here we investigated the role of NMDARs and AMPARs in working memory using iontophoresis of antagonists in the PFC of monkeys remembering the location of a visual stimulus for an eye movement response. AMPARs and NMDARs both contributed to persistent activity. NMDAR blockers mostly decreased persistent firing associated with the memory of the neuron's preferred spatial location, whereas AMPAR blockers caused a more general suppression. These results provide new insight into the contribution of AMPARs and NMDARs to working memory.

Hypomania and saccadic changes in Parkinson's disease: influence of D2 and D3 dopaminergic signalling

In order to understand the influence of two dopaminergic signalling pathways, TaqIA rs1800497 (influencing striatal D2 receptor density) and Ser9Gly rs6280 (influencing the striatal D3 dopamine-binding affinity), on saccade generation and psychiatric comorbidities in Parkinson’s disease, this study aimed to investigate the association of saccadic performance in hypomanic or impulsive behaviour in parkinsonian patients; besides we questioned whether variants of D2 (A1+/A1−) and D3 (B1+/B1−) receptor polymorphism influence saccadic parameters differently, and if clinical parameters or brain connectivity changes modulate this association in the nigro-caudatal and nigro-collicular tract. Initially, patients and controls were compared regarding saccadic performance and differed in the parameter duration in memory-guided saccades (MGS) and visually guided saccades (VGS) trials (p < 0.0001) and in the MGS trial (p < 0.03). We were able to find associations between hypomanic behaviour (HPS) and saccade parameters (duration, latency, gain and amplitude) for both conditions [MGS (p = 0.036); VGS (p = 0.033)], but not for impulsive behaviour. For the A1 variant duration was significantly associated with HPS [VGS (p = 0.024); MGS (p = 0.033)]. In patients with the B1 variant, HPS scores were more consistently associated with duration [VGS (p = 0.005); MGS (p = 0.015), latency [VGS (p = 0.022)]] and amplitude [MGS (p = 0.006); VGS (p = 0.005)]. The mediation analysis only revealed a significant indirect effect for amplitude in the MGS modality for the variable UPDRS-ON (p < 0.05). All other clinical scales and brain connectivity parameters were not associated with behavioural traits. Collectively, our findings stress the role of striatal D2 and D3 signalling mechanisms in saccade generation and suggest that saccadic performance is associated with the clinical psychiatric state in Parkinson’s disease.