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Keskin-Gokcelli D, Kizilates-Evin G, Eroglu-Koc S, Oguz K, Eraslan C, Kitis O, Gonul AS. The effect of emotional faces on reward-related probability learning in depressed patients. J Affect Disord 2024; 351:184-193. [PMID: 38286231 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Existing research indicates that individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) exhibit a bias toward salient negative stimuli. However, the impact of such biased stimuli on concurrent cognitive and affective processes in individuals with depression remains inadequately understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of salient environmental stimuli, specifically emotional faces, on reward-associated processes in MDD. METHODS Thirty-three patients with recurrent MDD and thirty-two healthy controls (HC) matched for age, sex, and education were included in the study. We used a reward-related associative learning (RRAL) task primed with emotional (happy, sad, neutral) faces to investigate the effect of salient stimuli on reward-related learning and decision-making in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants were instructed to ignore emotional faces during the task. The fMRI data were analyzed using a full-factorial general linear model (GLM) in Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM12). RESULTS In depressed patients, cues primed with sad faces were associated with reduced amygdala activation. However, both HC and MDD group exhibited reduced ventral striatal activity while learning reward-related cues and receiving rewards. LIMITATIONS The patients'medication usage was not standardized. CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the functional alteration of the amygdala in response to cognitive tasks presented with negative emotionally salient stimuli in the environment of MDD patients. The observed alterations in amygdala activity suggest potential interconnected effects with other regions of the prefrontal cortex. Understanding the intricate neural connections and their disruptions in depression is crucial for unraveling the complex pathophysiology of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duygu Keskin-Gokcelli
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Gozde Kizilates-Evin
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Hulusi Behcet Life Sciences Research Laboratory, Neuroimaging Unit, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Seda Eroglu-Koc
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Kaya Oguz
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Computer Engineering, Izmir University of Economics, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Cenk Eraslan
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Omer Kitis
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Ali Saffet Gonul
- SoCAT Lab, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Mercer School of Medicine, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA.
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Stoll FM, Rudebeck PH. Preferences reveal dissociable encoding across prefrontal-limbic circuits. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00198-3. [PMID: 38640933 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Individual preferences for the flavor of different foods and fluids exert a strong influence on behavior. Most current theories posit that preferences are integrated with other state variables in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is thought to derive the relative subjective value of available options to guide choice behavior. Here, we report that instead of a single integrated valuation system in the OFC, another complementary one is centered in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) in macaques. Specifically, we found that the OFC and vlPFC preferentially represent outcome flavor and outcome probability, respectively, and that preferences are separately integrated into value representations in these areas. In addition, the vlPFC, but not the OFC, represented the probability of receiving the available outcome flavors separately, with the difference between these representations reflecting the degree of preference for each flavor. Thus, both the vlPFC and OFC exhibit dissociable but complementary representations of subjective value, both of which are necessary for decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic M Stoll
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Lipschultz Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Peter H Rudebeck
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Lipschultz Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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Ryan-Lortie J, Pelletier G, Pilgrim M, Fellows LK. Gaze differences in configural and elemental evaluation during multi-attribute decision-making. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1167095. [PMID: 37694112 PMCID: PMC10485368 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1167095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction While many everyday choices are between multi-attribute options, how attribute values are integrated to allow such choices remains unclear. Recent findings suggest a distinction between elemental (attribute-by-attribute) and configural (holistic) evaluation of multi-attribute options, with different neural substrates. Here, we asked if there are behavioral or gaze pattern differences between these putatively distinct modes of multi-attribute decision-making. Methods Thirty-nine healthy men and women learned the monetary values of novel multi-attribute pseudo-objects (fribbles) and then made choices between pairs of these objects while eye movements were tracked. Value was associated with individual attributes in the elemental condition, and with unique combinations of attributes in the configural condition. Choice, reaction time, gaze fixation time on options and individual attributes, and within- and between-option gaze transitions were recorded. Results There were systematic behavioral differences between elemental and configural conditions. Elemental trials had longer reaction times and more between-option transitions, while configural trials had more within-option transitions. The effect of last fixation on choice was more pronounced in the configural condition. Discussion We observed differences in gaze patterns and the influence of last fixation location on choice in multi-attribute value-based choices depending on how value is associated with those attributes. This adds support for the claim that multi-attribute option values may emerge either elementally or holistically, reminiscent of similar distinctions in multi-attribute object recognition. This may be important to consider in neuroeconomics research that involve visually-presented complex objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Ryan-Lortie
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Gabriel Pelletier
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Matthew Pilgrim
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Lesley K. Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Jahn CI, Grohn J, Cuell S, Emberton A, Bouret S, Walton ME, Kolling N, Sallet J. Neural responses in macaque prefrontal cortex are linked to strategic exploration. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3001985. [PMID: 36716348 PMCID: PMC9910800 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have been shown to strategically explore. They can identify situations in which gathering information about distant and uncertain options is beneficial for the future. Because primates rely on scarce resources when they forage, they are also thought to strategically explore, but whether they use the same strategies as humans and the neural bases of strategic exploration in monkeys are largely unknown. We designed a sequential choice task to investigate whether monkeys mobilize strategic exploration based on whether information can improve subsequent choice, but also to ask the novel question about whether monkeys adjust their exploratory choices based on the contingency between choice and information, by sometimes providing the counterfactual feedback about the unchosen option. We show that monkeys decreased their reliance on expected value when exploration could be beneficial, but this was not mediated by changes in the effect of uncertainty on choices. We found strategic exploratory signals in anterior and mid-cingulate cortex (ACC/MCC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). This network was most active when a low value option was chosen, which suggests a role in counteracting expected value signals, when exploration away from value should to be considered. Such strategic exploration was abolished when the counterfactual feedback was available. Learning from counterfactual outcome was associated with the recruitment of a different circuit centered on the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), where we showed that monkeys represent chosen and unchosen reward prediction errors. Overall, our study shows how ACC/MCC-dlPFC and OFC circuits together could support exploitation of available information to the fullest and drive behavior towards finding more information through exploration when it is beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline I. Jahn
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Motivation, Brain and Behavior Team, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Paris Cité universités, Université Paris Descartes, Frontières du Vivant, Paris, France
- * E-mail: (CIJ); (JG); (NK); (JS)
| | - Jan Grohn
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (CIJ); (JG); (NK); (JS)
| | - Steven Cuell
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Emberton
- Biomedical Science Services, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastien Bouret
- Motivation, Brain and Behavior Team, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Paris, France
| | - Mark E. Walton
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nils Kolling
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, OBHA, University of Oxford, Headington, United Kingdom
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, Bron, France
- * E-mail: (CIJ); (JG); (NK); (JS)
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, Bron, France
- * E-mail: (CIJ); (JG); (NK); (JS)
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Huang J, Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Wei L, Zhang X, Jin C, Yang J, Li Z, Liang S. The current status and trend of the functional magnetic resonance combined with stimulation in animals. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:963175. [PMID: 36213733 PMCID: PMC9540855 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.963175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
As a non-radiative, non-invasive imaging technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has excellent effects on studying the activation of blood oxygen levels and functional connectivity of the brain in human and animal models. Compared with resting-state fMRI, fMRI combined with stimulation could be used to assess the activation of specific brain regions and the connectivity of specific pathways and achieve better signal capture with a clear purpose and more significant results. Various fMRI methods and specific stimulation paradigms have been proposed to investigate brain activation in a specific state, such as electrical, mechanical, visual, olfactory, and direct brain stimulation. In this review, the studies on animal brain activation using fMRI combined with different stimulation methods were retrieved. The instruments, experimental parameters, anesthesia, and animal models in different stimulation conditions were summarized. The findings would provide a reference for studies on estimating specific brain activation using fMRI combined with stimulation.
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Herpers J, Vanduffel W, Vogels R. Limited Pairings of Electrical Micro-stimulation of the Ventral Tegmental Area and a Visual Stimulus Enhance Visual Cortical Responses. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:1259-1273. [PMID: 35468206 PMCID: PMC7614035 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies demonstrated that pairing a visual stimulus and electrical micro-stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA-EM) for multiple days is sufficient to induce visual cortical plasticity and changes perception. However, a brief epoch of VTA-EM-stimulus pairing within a single day has been shown to result in a behavioral preference for the paired stimulus. Here, we investigated whether a brief single-day session of VTA-EM-stimulus pairings is sufficient to induce changes in visual cortical responses. We examined macaque posterior inferior temporal (PIT) cortex because previous studies demonstrated response changes after VTA-EM stimulus pairing in that area. Multi-unit recordings in PIT were interleaved with VTA-EM-stimulus pairing epochs. During the short VTA-EM-stimulus pairing epochs (60 pairings), one image (fractal) was paired with VTA-EM (STIM) whereas another, unpaired fractal was presented as control. Two other fractals (dummies) were presented only during the recordings. The difference in response between the STIM and control fractals already increased after the first VTA-EM-stimulus pairing epoch, reflecting a relative increase of the response to the STIM fractal. However, the response to the STIM fractal did not increase further with more VTA-EM-stimulus pairing epochs. The relative increase in firing rate for the paired fractal was present early in the response, in line with a local/ bottom-up origin. These effects were absent when comparing the responses to the dummies pre- and post-VTA-EM. This study shows that pairing a visual image and VTA-EM in a brief single-day session is sufficient to increase the response for the paired image in macaque PIT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerome Herpers
- Laboratory for Neuro-and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven, 3000, Belgium,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Wim Vanduffel
- Laboratory for Neuro-and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven, 3000, Belgium,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02144, USA
| | - Rufin Vogels
- Laboratory for Neuro-and Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven, 3000, Belgium,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium,Corresponding author
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7
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Sliwinska MW, Searle LR, Earl M, O'Gorman D, Pollicina G, Burton AM, Pitcher D. Face learning via brief real-world social interactions includes changes in face-selective brain areas and hippocampus. Perception 2022; 51:521-538. [PMID: 35542977 PMCID: PMC9396469 DOI: 10.1177/03010066221098728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Making new acquaintances requires learning to recognise previously unfamiliar faces. In the current study, we investigated this process by staging real-world social interactions between actors and the participants. Participants completed a face-matching behavioural task in which they matched photographs of the actors (whom they had yet to meet), or faces similar to the actors (henceforth called foils). Participants were then scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing photographs of actors and foils. Immediately after exiting the scanner, participants met the actors for the first time and interacted with them for 10 min. On subsequent days, participants completed a second behavioural experiment and then a second fMRI scan. Prior to each session, actors again interacted with the participants for 10 min. Behavioural results showed that social interactions improved performance accuracy when matching actor photographs, but not foil photographs. The fMRI analysis revealed a difference in the neural response to actor photographs and foil photographs across all regions of interest (ROIs) only after social interactions had occurred. Our results demonstrate that short social interactions were sufficient to learn and discriminate previously unfamiliar individuals. Moreover, these learning effects were present in brain areas involved in face processing and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena W Sliwinska
- School of Psychology, 4589Liverpool John Moores University, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of York, UK
| | | | - Megan Earl
- Department of Psychology, University of York, UK
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8
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Dennison JB, Sazhin D, Smith DV. Decision neuroscience and neuroeconomics: Recent progress and ongoing challenges. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2022; 13:e1589. [PMID: 35137549 PMCID: PMC9124684 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In the past decade, decision neuroscience and neuroeconomics have developed many new insights in the study of decision making. This review provides an overarching update on how the field has advanced in this time period. Although our initial review a decade ago outlined several theoretical, conceptual, methodological, empirical, and practical challenges, there has only been limited progress in resolving these challenges. We summarize significant trends in decision neuroscience through the lens of the challenges outlined for the field and review examples where the field has had significant, direct, and applicable impacts across economics and psychology. First, we review progress on topics including reward learning, explore-exploit decisions, risk and ambiguity, intertemporal choice, and valuation. Next, we assess the impacts of emotion, social rewards, and social context on decision making. Then, we follow up with how individual differences impact choices and new exciting developments in the prediction and neuroforecasting of future decisions. Finally, we consider how trends in decision-neuroscience research reflect progress toward resolving past challenges, discuss new and exciting applications of recent research, and identify new challenges for the field. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Reasoning and Decision Making Psychology > Emotion and Motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey B Dennison
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Daniel Sazhin
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David V Smith
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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Primate anterior insular cortex represents economic decision variables proposed by prospect theory. Nat Commun 2022; 13:717. [PMID: 35132070 PMCID: PMC8821715 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28278-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, risk attitude is highly context-dependent, varying with wealth levels or for different potential outcomes, such as gains or losses. These behavioral effects have been modelled using prospect theory, with the key assumption that humans represent the value of each available option asymmetrically as a gain or loss relative to a reference point. It remains unknown how these computations are implemented at the neuronal level. Here we show that macaques, like humans, change their risk attitude across wealth levels and gain/loss contexts using a token gambling task. Neurons in the anterior insular cortex (AIC) encode the ‘reference point’ (i.e., the current wealth level of the monkey) and reflect ‘loss aversion’ (i.e., option value signals are more sensitive to change in the loss than in the gain context) as postulated by prospect theory. In addition, changes in the activity of a subgroup of AIC neurons correlate with the inter-trial fluctuations in choice and risk attitude. Taken together, we show that the primate AIC in risky decision-making may be involved in monitoring contextual information used to guide the animal’s willingness to accept risk. Prospect theory predicts irrational effects in human decision-making, but relies on ad-hoc assumptions. Here, authors provide a neural basis for this by showing that anterior insular cortex encodes key economic variables proposed by prospect theory.
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10
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Murray EA, Fellows LK. Prefrontal cortex interactions with the amygdala in primates. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:163-179. [PMID: 34446829 PMCID: PMC8616954 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01128-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This review addresses functional interactions between the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, with emphasis on their contributions to behavior and cognition. The interplay between these two telencephalic structures contributes to adaptive behavior and to the evolutionary success of all primate species. In our species, dysfunction in this circuitry creates vulnerabilities to psychopathologies. Here, we describe amygdala-PFC contributions to behaviors that have direct relevance to Darwinian fitness: learned approach and avoidance, foraging, predator defense, and social signaling, which have in common the need for flexibility and sensitivity to specific and rapidly changing contexts. Examples include the prediction of positive outcomes, such as food availability, food desirability, and various social rewards, or of negative outcomes, such as threats of harm from predators or conspecifics. To promote fitness optimally, these stimulus-outcome associations need to be rapidly updated when an associative contingency changes or when the value of a predicted outcome changes. We review evidence from nonhuman primates implicating the PFC, the amygdala, and their functional interactions in these processes, with links to experimental work and clinical findings in humans where possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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11
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Folloni D, Fouragnan E, Wittmann MK, Roumazeilles L, Tankelevitch L, Verhagen L, Attali D, Aubry JF, Sallet J, Rushworth MFS. Ultrasound modulation of macaque prefrontal cortex selectively alters credit assignment-related activity and behavior. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabg7700. [PMID: 34910510 PMCID: PMC8673758 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg7700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Credit assignment is the association of specific instances of reward to the specific events, such as a particular choice, that caused them. Without credit assignment, choice values reflect an approximate estimate of how good the environment was when the choice was made—the global reward state—rather than exactly which outcome the choice caused. Combined transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging in macaques demonstrate credit assignment–related activity in prefrontal area 47/12o, and when this signal was disrupted with TUS, choice value representations across the brain were impaired. As a consequence, behavior was no longer guided by choice value, and decision-making was poorer. By contrast, global reward state–related activity in the adjacent anterior insula remained intact and determined decision-making after prefrontal disruption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Folloni
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Elsa Fouragnan
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Marco K. Wittmann
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lea Roumazeilles
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lev Tankelevitch
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lennart Verhagen
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6525 HR, Netherlands
| | - David Attali
- Physics for Medicine Paris, ESPCI Paris, INSERM, CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- GHU PARIS Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, site Sainte-Anne, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire, Paris 15, F-75014 Paris, France
- Université de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Jean-François Aubry
- Physics for Medicine Paris, ESPCI Paris, INSERM, CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Jerome Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 18 Avenue Doyen Lepine, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Matthew F. S. Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Pelletier G, Aridan N, Fellows LK, Schonberg T. A Preferential Role for Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Assessing "the Value of the Whole" in Multiattribute Object Evaluation. J Neurosci 2021; 41:5056-5068. [PMID: 33906899 PMCID: PMC8197643 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0241-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Everyday decision-making commonly involves assigning values to complex objects with multiple value-relevant attributes. Drawing on object recognition theories, we hypothesized two routes to multiattribute evaluation: assessing the value of the whole object based on holistic attribute configuration or summing individual attribute values. In two samples of healthy human male and female participants undergoing eye tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while evaluating novel pseudo objects, we found evidence for both forms of evaluation. Fixations to and transitions between attributes differed systematically when the value of pseudo objects was associated with individual attributes or attribute configurations. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and perirhinal cortex were engaged when configural processing was required. These results converge with our recent findings that individuals with vmPFC lesions were impaired in decisions requiring configural evaluation but not when evaluating the sum of the parts. This suggests that multiattribute decision-making engages distinct evaluation mechanisms relying on partially dissociable neural substrates, depending on the relationship between attributes and value.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Decision neuroscience has only recently begun to address how multiple choice-relevant attributes are brought together during evaluation and choice among complex options. Object recognition research makes a crucial distinction between individual attribute and holistic/configural object processing, but how the brain evaluates attributes and whole objects remains unclear. Using fMRI and eye tracking, we found that the vmPFC and the perirhinal cortex contribute to value estimation specifically when value was related to whole objects, that is, predicted by the unique configuration of attributes and not when value was predicted by the sum of individual attribute values. This perspective on the interactions between subjective value and object processing mechanisms provides a novel bridge between the study of object recognition and reward-guided decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Pelletier
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Nadav Aridan
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Tom Schonberg
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
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Lawrence KE, Hernandez LM, Eilbott J, Jack A, Aylward E, Gaab N, Van Horn JD, Bernier RA, Geschwind DH, McPartland JC, Nelson CA, Webb SJ, Pelphrey KA, Bookheimer SY, Dapretto M. Neural responsivity to social rewards in autistic female youth. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:178. [PMID: 32488083 PMCID: PMC7266816 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0824-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism is hypothesized to be in part driven by a reduced sensitivity to the inherently rewarding nature of social stimuli. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated that autistic males do indeed display reduced neural activity to social rewards, but it is unknown whether this finding extends to autistic females, particularly as behavioral evidence suggests that affected females may not exhibit the same reduction in social motivation as their male peers. We therefore used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine social reward processing during an instrumental implicit learning task in 154 children and adolescents (ages 8-17): 39 autistic girls, 43 autistic boys, 33 typically developing girls, and 39 typically developing boys. We found that autistic girls displayed increased activity to socially rewarding stimuli, including greater activity in the nucleus accumbens relative to autistic boys, as well as greater activity in lateral frontal cortices and the anterior insula compared with typically developing girls. These results demonstrate for the first time that autistic girls do not exhibit the same reduction in activity within social reward systems as autistic boys. Instead, autistic girls display increased neural activation to such stimuli in areas related to reward processing and salience detection. Our findings indicate that a reduced sensitivity to social rewards, as assessed with a rewarded instrumental implicit learning task, does not generalize to affected female youth and highlight the importance of studying potential sex differences in autism to improve our understanding of the condition and its heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine E Lawrence
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Leanna M Hernandez
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Jeffrey Eilbott
- Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington D.C., USA
| | - Allison Jack
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, USA
| | - Elizabeth Aylward
- Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, USA
| | - Nadine Gaab
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, USA
| | - John D Van Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
| | - Raphael A Bernier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Neurology and Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - James C McPartland
- Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Sara J Webb
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
- Center on Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, USA
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
| | - Susan Y Bookheimer
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Mirella Dapretto
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
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14
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Pelekanos V, Mok RM, Joly O, Ainsworth M, Kyriazis D, Kelly MG, Bell AH, Kriegeskorte N. Rapid event-related, BOLD fMRI, non-human primates (NHP): choose two out of three. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7485. [PMID: 32366956 PMCID: PMC7198564 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64376-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) typically employs the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism. In non-human primates (NHP), contrast enhancement is possible using monocrystalline iron-oxide nanoparticles (MION) contrast agent, which has a more temporally extended response function. However, using BOLD fMRI in NHP is desirable for interspecies comparison, and the BOLD signal’s faster response function promises to be beneficial for rapid event-related (rER) designs. Here, we used rER BOLD fMRI in macaque monkeys while viewing real-world images, and found visual responses and category selectivity consistent with previous studies. However, activity estimates were very noisy, suggesting that the lower contrast-to-noise ratio of BOLD, suboptimal behavioural performance, and motion artefacts, in combination, render rER BOLD fMRI challenging in NHP. Previous studies have shown that rER fMRI is possible in macaques with MION, despite MION’s prolonged response function. To understand this, we conducted simulations of the BOLD and MION response during rER, and found that no matter how fast the design, the greater amplitude of the MION response outweighs the contrast loss caused by greater temporal smoothing. We conclude that although any two of the three elements (rER, BOLD, NHP) have been shown to work well, the combination of all three is particularly challenging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassilis Pelekanos
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. .,School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
| | - Robert M Mok
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Olivier Joly
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Matthew Ainsworth
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Diana Kyriazis
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Maria G Kelly
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrew H Bell
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Nikolaus Kriegeskorte
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA
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15
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Jahfari S, Theeuwes J, Knapen T. Learning in Visual Regions as Support for the Bias in Future Value-Driven Choice. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:2005-2018. [PMID: 31711119 PMCID: PMC7175016 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Reinforcement learning can bias decision-making toward the option with the highest expected outcome. Cognitive learning theories associate this bias with the constant tracking of stimulus values and the evaluation of choice outcomes in the striatum and prefrontal cortex. Decisions however first require processing of sensory input, and to date, we know far less about the interplay between learning and perception. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study (N = 43) relates visual blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to value beliefs during choice and signed prediction errors after outcomes. To understand these relationships, which co-occurred in the striatum, we sought relevance by evaluating the prediction of future value-based decisions in a separate transfer phase where learning was already established. We decoded choice outcomes with a 70% accuracy with a supervised machine learning algorithm that was given trial-by-trial BOLD from visual regions alongside more traditional motor, prefrontal, and striatal regions. Importantly, this decoding of future value-driven choice outcomes again highlighted an important role for visual activity. These results raise the intriguing possibility that the tracking of value in visual cortex is supportive for the striatal bias toward the more valued option in future choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Jahfari
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Theeuwes
- Department of Applied and Experimental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tomas Knapen
- Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Applied and Experimental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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16
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Kocsel N, Galambos A, Szabó E, Édes AE, Magyar M, Zsombók T, Pap D, Kozák LR, Bagdy G, Kökönyei G, Juhász G. Altered neural activity to monetary reward/loss processing in episodic migraine. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5420. [PMID: 30931979 PMCID: PMC6443660 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41867-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The dysfunctions of the mesolimbic cortical reward circuit have been proposed to contribute to migraine pain. Although supporting empirical evidence was mainly found in connection with primary rewards or in chronic migraine where the pain experience is (almost) constant. Our goal however was to investigate the neural correlates of secondary reward/loss anticipation and consumption using the monetary incentive delay task in 29 episodic migraine patients and 41 headache-free controls. Migraine patients showed decreased activation in one cluster covering the right inferior frontal gyrus during reward consumption compared to controls. We also found significant negative correlation between the time of the last migraine attack before the scan and activation of the parahippocampal gyrus and the right hippocampus yielded to loss anticipation. During reward/loss consumption, a relative increase in the activity of the visual areas was observed the more time passed between the last attack and the scan session. Our results suggest intact reward/loss anticipation but altered reward consumption in migraine, indicating a decreased reactivity to monetary rewards. The findings also raise the possibility that neural responses to loss anticipation and reward/loss consumption could be altered by the proximity of the last migraine attack not just during pre-ictal periods, but interictally as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália Kocsel
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,SE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Galambos
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Edina Szabó
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea Edit Édes
- SE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Máté Magyar
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Terézia Zsombók
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dorottya Pap
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - György Bagdy
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gyöngyi Kökönyei
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. .,SE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. .,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Gabriella Juhász
- SE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, The University of Manchester and Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
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17
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Haile TM, Bohon KS, Romero MC, Conway BR. Visual stimulus-driven functional organization of macaque prefrontal cortex. Neuroimage 2019; 188:427-444. [PMID: 30521952 PMCID: PMC6401279 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.11.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The extent to which the major subdivisions of prefrontal cortex (PFC) can be functionally partitioned is unclear. In approaching the question, it is often assumed that the organization is task dependent. Here we use fMRI to show that PFC can respond in a task-independent way, and we leverage these responses to uncover a stimulus-driven functional organization. The results were generated by mapping the relative location of responses to faces, bodies, scenes, disparity, color, and eccentricity in four passively fixating macaques. The results control for individual differences in functional architecture and provide the first account of a systematic visual stimulus-driven functional organization across PFC. Responses were focused in dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC), in the ventral prearcuate region; and in ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC), extending into orbital PFC. Face patches were in the VLPFC focus and were characterized by a striking lack of response to non-face stimuli rather than an especially strong response to faces. Color-biased regions were near but distinct from face patches. One scene-biased region was consistently localized with different contrasts and overlapped the disparity-biased region to define the DLPFC focus. All visually responsive regions showed a peripheral visual-field bias. These results uncover an organizational scheme that presumably constrains the flow of information about different visual modalities into PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodros M Haile
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, United States
| | - Kaitlin S Bohon
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, United States
| | - Maria C Romero
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, United States
| | - Bevil R Conway
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, United States.
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18
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Kaskan PM, Dean AM, Nicholas MA, Mitz AR, Murray EA. Gustatory responses in macaque monkeys revealed with fMRI: Comments on taste, taste preference, and internal state. Neuroimage 2018; 184:932-942. [PMID: 30291973 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of the neural mechanisms underlying value-based decision making typically employ food or fluid rewards to motivate subjects to perform cognitive tasks. Rewards are often treated as interchangeable, but it is well known that the specific tastes of foods and fluids and the values associated with their taste sensations influence choices and contribute to overall levels of food consumption. Accordingly, we characterized the gustatory system in three macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and examined whether gustatory responses were modulated by preferences and hydration status. To identify taste-responsive cortex, we delivered small quantities (0.1 ml) of sucrose (sweet), citric acid (sour), or distilled water in random order without any predictive cues while scanning monkeys using event-related fMRI. Neural effects were evaluated by using each session in each monkey as a data point in a second-level analysis. By contrasting BOLD responses to sweet and sour tastes with those from distilled water in a group level analysis, we identified taste responses in primary gustatory cortex area G, an adjacent portion of the anterior insular cortex, and prefrontal cortex area 12o. Choice tests administered outside the scanner revealed that all three monkeys strongly preferred sucrose to citric acid or water. BOLD responses in the ventral striatum, ventral pallidum, and amygdala reflected monkeys' preferences, with greater BOLD responses to sucrose than citric acid. Finally, we examined the influence of hydration level by contrasting BOLD responses to receipt of fluids when monkeys were thirsty and after ad libitum water consumption. BOLD responses in area G and area 12o in the left hemisphere were greater following full hydration. By contrast, BOLD responses in portions of medial frontal cortex were reduced after ad libitum water consumption. These findings highlight brain regions involved in representing taste, taste preference and internal state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Kaskan
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Aaron M Dean
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mark A Nicholas
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew R Mitz
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Elisabeth A Murray
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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19
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Sasikumar D, Emeric E, Stuphorn V, Connor CE. First-Pass Processing of Value Cues in the Ventral Visual Pathway. Curr Biol 2018; 28:538-548.e3. [PMID: 29429619 PMCID: PMC5958621 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2017] [Revised: 11/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Real-world value often depends on subtle, continuously variable visual cues specific to particular object categories, like the tailoring of a suit, the condition of an automobile, or the construction of a house. Here, we used microelectrode recording in behaving monkeys to test two possible mechanisms for category-specific value-cue processing: (1) previous findings suggest that prefrontal cortex (PFC) identifies object categories, and based on category identity, PFC could use top-down attentional modulation to enhance visual processing of category-specific value cues, providing signals to PFC for calculating value, and (2) a faster mechanism would be first-pass visual processing of category-specific value cues, immediately providing the necessary visual information to PFC. This, however, would require learned mechanisms for processing the appropriate cues in a given object category. To test these hypotheses, we trained monkeys to discriminate value in four letter-like stimulus categories. Each category had a different, continuously variable shape cue that signified value (liquid reward amount) as well as other cues that were irrelevant. Monkeys chose between stimuli of different reward values. Consistent with the first-pass hypothesis, we found early signals for category-specific value cues in area TE (the final stage in monkey ventral visual pathway) beginning 81 ms after stimulus onset-essentially at the start of TE responses. Task-related activity emerged in lateral PFC approximately 40 ms later and consisted mainly of category-invariant value tuning. Our results show that, for familiar, behaviorally relevant object categories, high-level ventral pathway cortex can implement rapid, first-pass processing of category-specific value cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Sasikumar
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Erik Emeric
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Veit Stuphorn
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Charles E Connor
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
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20
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Temporal-prefrontal cortical network for discrimination of valuable objects in long-term memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E2135-E2144. [PMID: 29437980 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707695115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Remembering and discriminating objects based on their previously learned values are essential for goal-directed behaviors. While the cerebral cortex is known to contribute to object recognition, surprisingly little is known about its role in retaining long-term object-value associations. To address this question, we trained macaques to arbitrarily associate small or large rewards with many random fractal objects (>100) and then used fMRI to study the long-term retention of value-based response selectivity across the brain. We found a pronounced long-term value memory in core subregions of temporal and prefrontal cortex where, several months after training, fractals previously associated with high reward ("good" stimuli) elicited elevated fMRI responses compared with those associated with low reward ("bad" stimuli). Similar long-term value-based modulation was also observed in subregions of the striatum, amygdala, and claustrum, but not in the hippocampus. The value-modulated temporal-prefrontal subregions showed strong resting-state functional connectivity to each other. Moreover, for areas outside this core, the magnitude of long-term value responses was predicted by the strength of resting-state functional connectivity to the core subregions. In separate testing, free-viewing gaze behavior indicated that the monkeys retained stable long-term memory of object value. These results suggest an implicit and high-capacity memory mechanism in the temporal-prefrontal circuitry and its associated subcortical regions for long-term retention of object-value memories that can guide value-oriented behavior.
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21
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Differences in reward processing between putative cell types in primate prefrontal cortex. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189771. [PMID: 29261734 PMCID: PMC5736196 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-unit studies in monkeys have demonstrated that neurons in the prefrontal cortex predict the reward type, reward amount or reward availability associated with a stimulus. To examine contributions of pyramidal cells and interneurons in reward processing, single-unit activity was extracellularly recorded in prefrontal cortices of four monkeys performing a reward prediction task. Based on their shapes of spike waveforms, prefrontal neurons were classified into broad-spike and narrow-spike units that represented putative pyramidal cells and interneurons, respectively. We mainly observed that narrow-spike neurons showed higher firing rates but less bursty discharges than did broad-spike neurons. Both narrow-spike and broad-spike cells selectively responded to the stimulus, reward and their interaction, and the proportions of each type of selective neurons were similar between the two cell classes. Moreover, the two types of cells displayed equal reliability of reward or stimulus discrimination. Furthermore, we found that broad-spike and narrow-spike cells showed distinct mechanisms for encoding reward or stimulus information. Broad-spike neurons raised their firing rate relative to the baseline rate to represent the preferred reward or stimulus information, whereas narrow-spike neurons inhibited their firing rate lower than the baseline rate to encode the non-preferred reward or stimulus information. Our results suggest that narrow-spike and broad-spike cells were equally involved in reward and stimulus processing in the prefrontal cortex. They utilized a binary strategy to complementarily represent reward or stimulus information, which was consistent with the task structure in which the monkeys were required to remember two reward conditions and two visual stimuli.
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22
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Papageorgiou GK, Sallet J, Wittmann MK, Chau BKH, Schüffelgen U, Buckley MJ, Rushworth MFS. Inverted activity patterns in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during value-guided decision-making in a less-is-more task. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1886. [PMID: 29192186 PMCID: PMC5709383 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01833-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex has been linked to choice evaluation and decision-making in humans but understanding the role it plays is complicated by the fact that little is known about the corresponding area of the macaque brain. We recorded activity in macaques using functional magnetic resonance imaging during two very different value-guided decision-making tasks. In both cases ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity reflected subjective choice values during decision-making just as in humans but the relationship between the blood oxygen level-dependent signal and both decision-making and choice value was inverted and opposite to the relationship seen in humans. In order to test whether the ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity related to choice values is important for decision-making we conducted an additional lesion experiment; lesions that included the same ventromedial prefrontal cortex region disrupted normal subjective evaluation of choices during decision-making. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex in humans shows functional magnetic resonance imaging signals related to the subjective values of choices that are taken during decision-making as well as task-negative signals. Here, the authors report that in macaque ventromedial prefrontal cortex both activity patterns are inverted and lesions of this area disrupt subjective choice evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios K Papageorgiou
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK. .,McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Jerome Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
| | - Bolton K H Chau
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK.,Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Urs Schüffelgen
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
| | - Mark J Buckley
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
| | - Matthew F S Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
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23
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Griggs WS, Kim HF, Ghazizadeh A, Costello MG, Wall KM, Hikosaka O. Flexible and Stable Value Coding Areas in Caudate Head and Tail Receive Anatomically Distinct Cortical and Subcortical Inputs. Front Neuroanat 2017; 11:106. [PMID: 29225570 PMCID: PMC5705870 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2017.00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Anatomically distinct areas within the basal ganglia encode flexible- and stable-value memories for visual objects (Hikosaka et al., 2014), but an important question remains: do they receive inputs from the same or different brain areas or neurons? To answer this question, we first located flexible and stable value-coding areas in the caudate head (CDh) and caudate tail (CDt) of two rhesus macaque monkeys, and then injected different retrograde tracers into these areas of each monkey. We found that CDh and CDt received different inputs from several cortical and subcortical areas including temporal cortex, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, amygdala, claustrum and thalamus. Superior temporal cortex and inferior temporal cortex projected to both CDh and CDt, with more CDt-projecting than CDh-projecting neurons. In superior temporal cortex and dorsal inferior temporal cortex, layers 3 and 5 projected to CDh while layers 3 and 6 projected to CDt. Prefrontal and cingulate cortex projected mostly to CDh bilaterally, less to CDt unilaterally. A cluster of neurons in the basolateral amygdala projected to CDt. Rostral-dorsal claustrum projected to CDh while caudal-ventral claustrum projected to CDt. Within the thalamus, different nuclei projected to either CDh or CDt. The medial centromedian nucleus and lateral parafascicular nucleus projected to CDt while the medial parafascicular nucleus projected to CDh. The inferior pulvinar and lateral dorsal nuclei projected to CDt. The ventral anterior and medial dorsal nuclei projected to CDh. We found little evidence of neurons projecting to both CDh and CDt across the brain. These data suggest that CDh and CDt can control separate functions using anatomically separate circuits. Understanding the roles of these striatal projections will be important for understanding how value memories are created and stored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Whitney S Griggs
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Hyoung F Kim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, South Korea.,Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon, South Korea
| | - Ali Ghazizadeh
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - M Gabriela Costello
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Kathryn M Wall
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Okihide Hikosaka
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.,National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
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24
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Specialized Representations of Value in the Orbital and Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex: Desirability versus Availability of Outcomes. Neuron 2017; 95:1208-1220.e5. [PMID: 28858621 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Advantageous foraging choices benefit from an estimation of two aspects of a resource's value: its current desirability and availability. Both orbitofrontal and ventrolateral prefrontal areas contribute to updating these valuations, but their precise roles remain unclear. To explore their specializations, we trained macaque monkeys on two tasks: one required updating representations of a predicted outcome's desirability, as adjusted by selective satiation, and the other required updating representations of an outcome's availability, as indexed by its probability. We evaluated performance on both tasks in three groups of monkeys: unoperated controls and those with selective, fiber-sparing lesions of either the OFC or VLPFC. Representations that depend on the VLPFC but not the OFC play a necessary role in choices based on outcome availability; in contrast, representations that depend on the OFC but not the VLPFC play a necessary role in choices based on outcome desirability.
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25
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Kocsel N, Szabó E, Galambos A, Édes A, Pap D, Elliott R, Kozák LR, Bagdy G, Juhász G, Kökönyei G. Trait Rumination Influences Neural Correlates of the Anticipation but Not the Consumption Phase of Reward Processing. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:85. [PMID: 28539875 PMCID: PMC5423966 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative evidence suggests that trait rumination can be defined as an abstract information processing mode, which leads people to constantly anticipate the likely impact of present events on future events and experiences. A previous study with remitted depressed patients suggested that enhanced rumination tendencies distort brain mechanisms of anticipatory processes associated with reward and loss cues. In the present study, we explored the impact of trait rumination on neural activity during reward and loss anticipation among never-depressed people. We analyzed the data of 37 healthy controls, who performed the monetary incentive delay (MID) task which was designed for the simultaneous measurement of the anticipation (motivational) and consumption (hedonic) phase of reward processing, during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our results show that rumination—after controlling for age, gender, and current mood—significantly influenced neural responses to reward (win) cues compared to loss cues. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) triangularis, left anterior insula, and left rolandic operculum was positively related to Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) scores. We did not detect any significant rumination-related activations associated with win-neutral or loss-neutral cues and with reward or loss consumption. Our results highlight the influence of trait rumination on reward anticipation in a non-depressed sample. They also suggest that for never-depressed ruminators rewarding cues are more salient than loss cues. BOLD response during reward consumption did not relate to rumination, suggesting that rumination mainly relates to processing of the motivational (wanting) aspect of reward rather than the hedonic (liking) aspect, at least in the absence of pathological mood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália Kocsel
- Doctoral School of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Edina Szabó
- Doctoral School of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Galambos
- Doctoral School of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea Édes
- MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Dorottya Pap
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Rebecca Elliott
- Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of ManchesterManchester, UK.,Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of ManchesterManchester, UK
| | - Lajos R Kozák
- MR Research Center, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - György Bagdy
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Juhász
- MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of ManchesterManchester, UK
| | - Gyöngyi Kökönyei
- Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd UniversityBudapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE NAP B Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis UniversityBudapest, Hungary
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