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Alí Diez I, Fàbrega-Camps G, Parra-Tíjaro J, Marco-Pallarés J. Anticipatory and consummatory neural correlates of monetary and music rewarding stimuli. Brain Cogn 2024; 179:106186. [PMID: 38843763 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/17/2024]
Abstract
Most of the literature on the neural bases of human reward and punishment processing has used monetary gains and losses, but less is known about the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the anticipation and consumption of other types of rewarding stimuli. In the present study, EEG was recorded from 19 participants who completed a modified version of the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task. During the task, cues providing information about potential future outcomes were presented to the participants. Then, they had to respond rapidly to a target stimulus to win money or listening to pleasant music, or to avoid losing money or listening to unpleasant music. Results revealed similar responses for monetary and music cues, with increased activity for cues indicating potential gains compared to losses. However, differences emerged in the outcome phase between money and music. Monetary outcomes showed an interaction between the type of the cue and the outcome in the Feedback Related Negativity and Fb-P3 ERPs and increased theta activity increased for negative feedbacks. In contrast, music outcomes showed significant interactions in the Fb-P3 and theta activities. These findings suggest similar neurophysiological mechanisms in processing cues for potential positive or negative outcomes in these two types of stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Italo Alí Diez
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Spain; Department of Psychology, University of La Frontera, Chile
| | - Gemma Fàbrega-Camps
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Spain
| | - Jeison Parra-Tíjaro
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Spain
| | - Josep Marco-Pallarés
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Spain.
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2
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Walker CS, Li L, Baracchini G, Tremblay-Mercier J, Spreng RN, Geddes MR. Neurobehavioral Mechanisms Influencing the Association Between Generativity, the Desire to Promote Well-Being of Younger Generations, and Purpose in Life in Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2024; 79:gbae060. [PMID: 38623965 PMCID: PMC11138215 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbae060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Generativity, the desire and action to improve the well-being of younger generations, is associated with purpose in life among older adults. However, the neurobehavioral factors supporting the relationship between generativity and purpose in life remain unknown. This study aims to identify the functional neuroanatomy of generativity and mechanisms linking generativity with purpose in life in at-risk older adults. METHODS Fifty-eight older adults (mean age = 70.8, SD = 5.03, 45 females) with a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were recruited from the PREVENT-AD cohort. Participants underwent brain imaging and completed questionnaires assessing generativity, social support, and purpose in life. Mediation models examined whether social support mediated the association between generativity and purpose in life. Seed-to-voxel analyses investigated the association between generativity and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum (VS), and whether this rsFC moderated the relationship between generativity and purpose in life. RESULTS Affectionate social support mediated the association between generative desire and purpose in life. Generative desire was associated with rsFC between VS and precuneus, and, vmPFC and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rdlPFC). The vmPFC-rdlPFC rsFC moderated the association between generative desire and purpose in life. DISCUSSION These findings provide insight into how the brain supports complex social behavior and, separately, purpose in life in at-risk aging. Affectionate social support may be a putative target process to enhance purpose in life in older adults. This knowledge contributes to future developments of personalized interventions that promote healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin S Walker
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Linda Li
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Giulia Baracchini
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre for Studies in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jennifer Tremblay-Mercier
- Centre for Studies in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - R Nathan Spreng
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre for Studies in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Maiya R Geddes
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre for Studies in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, Douglas Mental Health Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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3
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Wieman ST, Fields JS, Arditte Hall KA, MacDonald HZ, Liverant GI. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on anhedonia, reward exposure and responsiveness, and sleep in college students. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2024; 72:351-355. [PMID: 35298368 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2047705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic's effects on college student mental health and its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Although necessary, physical distancing abruptly restricts interaction with environmental rewards and disrupts sleep patterns, both of which may contribute to psychological symptoms (eg, depression and anhedonia). This study explored differences in psychological symptoms, reward exposure and responsiveness, and sleep before versus during the pandemic. Methods: Eighty-seven college students completed baseline questionnaires and a one-week daily diary paradigm. The sample was divided into two groups based on data collection before (pre-) or after (post-COVID-19) implementation of state-wide COVID-19 physical distancing measures. Results: Findings highlight higher anhedonia, decrements in exposure to social, professional, and exercise related rewards, lower aniticipatory reward responsiveness, and lower sleep efficiency among college students during the initial months of the pandemic. Conclusions: Findings suggest anhedonia, reward system functioning, and sleep may be important targets to mitigate against college student mental health sequelae during COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah T Wieman
- Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, USA
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Lloyd B, Nieuwenhuis S. The effect of reward-induced arousal on the success and precision of episodic memory retrieval. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2105. [PMID: 38267573 PMCID: PMC10808342 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52486-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Moment-to-moment fluctuations in arousal can have large effects on learning and memory. For example, when neutral items are predictive of a later reward, they are often remembered better than neutral items without a reward association. This reward anticipation manipulation is thought to induce a heightened state of arousal, resulting in stronger encoding. It is unclear, however, whether these arousal-induced effects on encoding are 'all-or-none', or whether encoding precision varies from trial to trial with degree of arousal. Here, we examined whether trial-to-trial variability in reward-related pupil-linked arousal might correspond to variability in participants' long-term memory encoding precision. We tested this using a location memory paradigm in which half of the to-be-encoded neutral items were linked to later monetary reward, while the other half had no reward association. After the encoding phase, we measured immediate item location memory on a continuous scale, allowing us to assess both memory success and memory precision. We found that pre-item baseline pupil size and pupil size during item encoding were not related to subsequent memory performance. In contrast, the anticipation of instrumental reward increased pupil size, and a smaller anticipatory increase in pupil size was linked to greater subsequent memory success but not memory precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth Lloyd
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Sander Nieuwenhuis
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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5
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Rappaport BI, Kujawa A, Arfer KB, Pegg S, Kelly D, Jackson JJ, Luby JL, Barch DM. Behavioral and psychiatric correlates of brain responses to social feedback. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14413. [PMID: 37612834 PMCID: PMC10841166 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Maladaptive responses to peer acceptance and rejection arise in numerous psychiatric disorders in adolescence; yet, homogeneity and heterogeneity across disorders suggest common and unique mechanisms of impaired social function. We tested the hypothesis that social feedback is processed similarly to other forms of feedback (e.g., monetary) by examining the correspondence between the brain's response to social acceptance and rejection and behavioral performance on a separate reward and loss task. We also examined the relationship between these brain responses and depression and social anxiety severity. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirteen 16-21-year olds who received virtual peer acceptance/rejection feedback in an event-related potential (ERP) task. We used temporospatial principal component analysis and identified a component consistent with the reward positivity (RewP) or feedback negativity (FN). RewP to social acceptance was not significantly related to reward bias or the FN to social rejection related to loss avoidance. The relationship between RewP and depression severity, while nonsignificant, was of a similar magnitude to prior studies. Exploratory analyses yielded a significant relationship between lower socioeconomic status (SES) and blunted RewP and between lower SES and heightened loss avoidance and blunted reward bias. These findings build on prior work to improve our understanding of the function of the brain's response to social feedback, while also suggesting a pathway for further study, whereby poverty leads to depression via social and reward learning mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology & Human Development Vanderbilt University
| | | | - Samantha Pegg
- Department of Psychology & Human Development Vanderbilt University
| | - Danielle Kelly
- Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine Washington University in St. Louis
| | | | - Joan L. Luby
- Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Psychological & Brain Science Washington University in St. Louis
- Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine Washington University in St. Louis
- Department of Radiology School of Medicine Washington University in St. Louis
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Menéndez-Granda M, Schmidt N, Orth M, Klink K, Horn S, Kliegel M, Peter J. The effect of loss incentives on prospective memory in healthy older adults: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial using ultra-high field fMRI. BMC Psychiatry 2023; 23:722. [PMID: 37803337 PMCID: PMC10557285 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05229-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prospective memory is important for our health and independence but declines with age. Hence, interventions to enhance prospective memory, for example by providing an incentive, may promote healthy ageing. The neuroanatomical correlates of prospective memory and the processing of incentive-related prospective memory changes in older adults are not fully understood. In an fMRI study, we will therefore test whether incentives improve prospective memory in older adults and how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general, and when incentives are provided. Since goals and interests change across adulthood, avoiding losses is becoming more important for older adults than achieving gains. We therefore posit that loss-related incentives will enhance prospective memory, which will be subserved by increased prefrontal and midbrain activity. METHODS We will include n = 60 healthy older adults (60-75 years of age) in a randomized, single-blind, and parallel-group study. We will acquire 7T fMRI data in an incentive group and a control group (n = 30 each, stratified by education, age, and sex). Before and after fMRI, all participants will complete questionnaires and cognitive tests to assess possible confounders (e.g., income, personality traits, sensitivity to reward or punishment). DISCUSSION The results of this study will clarify whether loss-related incentives can enhance prospective memory and how any enhancement is processed in the brain. In addition, we will determine how prospective memory is processed in the brain in general. The results of our study will be an important step towards a better understanding of how prospective memory changes when we get older and for developing interventions to counteract cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Menéndez-Granda
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nadine Schmidt
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michael Orth
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Klink
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Horn
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research, LIVES Centre, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jessica Peter
- University Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland.
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Solomonov N, Victoria LW, Lyons K, Phan DK, Alexopoulos GS, Gunning FM, Flückiger C. Social reward processing in depressed and healthy individuals across the lifespan: A systematic review and a preliminary coordinate-based meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Behav Brain Res 2023; 454:114632. [PMID: 37598904 PMCID: PMC10557626 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social rewards (e.g., social feedback, praise, and social interactions) are fundamental to social learning and relationships across the life span. Exposure to social rewards is linked to activation in key brain regions, that are impaired in major depression. This is the first summary of neuroimaging literature on social reward processing in depressed and healthy individuals. METHOD We screened 409 studies and identified 25 investigating task-based fMRI activation during exposure to social stimuli in depressed and healthy populations across the lifespan. We conducted a systematic review followed by an Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) analysis of three main contrasts: a) positive social feedback vs. neutral stimuli; b) negative social feedback vs. neutral stimuli; c) positive vs. negative social feedback. We also compared activation patterns in depressed versus healthy controls. RESULTS Systematic review revealed that social rewards elicit increased activation in subcortical reward regions (NAcc, amygdala, ventral striatum, thalamus) in healthy and depressed individuals; and decreased activation in prefrontal reward regions (medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex) among depressed persons. Our meta-analysis showed, in both depressed and healthy individuals, increased cluster activation of the putamen and caudate in response to negative social stimuli vs. positive stimuli. We also found increased cluster activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the medial frontal gyrus (MFG) in healthy controls vs. depressed individuals, in response to negative social stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Processing of social stimuli elicits activation of key brain regions involved in affective and social information processing. Interventions for depression can increase social reward responsivity to improve outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nili Solomonov
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA.
| | - Lindsay W Victoria
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA
| | - Krystalle Lyons
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA
| | - Dustin K Phan
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA; University of Kassel, Germany
| | - George S Alexopoulos
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA
| | - Faith M Gunning
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, USA
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8
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Sobczak A, Bunzeck N. Effects of positive and negative social feedback on motivation, evaluative learning, and socio-emotional processing. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2023; 8:28. [PMID: 37587116 PMCID: PMC10432544 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-023-00178-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Social rewards and punishments are strong motivators. Since experimental work has focused on young adults using simplistic feedback, the effects of more naturalistic stimuli on motivation, evaluative learning, and socio-emotional processing with advanced age remain unclear. Therefore, we compared the effects of static (photos) vs dynamic (videos) social feedback in a social incentive delay (SID) task in young (18-35 years) and older adults (50-84 years) with neutral, positive, and negative feedback, on response times (RTs), and assessed the emotional valence of feedback cues and feedback videos. We found that anticipating positive and negative social feedback accelerated RTs regardless of age and without additional effects of video feedback. Furthermore, the results suggest a valence transfer from positive feedback videos to predictive cues in both groups (i.e., evaluative learning). Finally, older adults reported less pronounced negative affect for negative feedback videos, indicating age differences in socio-emotional processing. As such, our findings foster our understanding of the underlying cognitive and emotional aspects involved in the processing of social rewards and punishments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Sobczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Nico Bunzeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
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9
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Panza F, Solfrizzi V, Sardone R, Dibello V, Castellana F, Zupo R, Stallone R, Lampignano L, Bortone I, Mollica A, Berardino G, Ruan Q, Altamura M, Bellomo A, Daniele A, Lozupone M. Depressive and Biopsychosocial Frailty Phenotypes: Impact on Late-life Cognitive Disorders. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD230312. [PMID: 37355907 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
In older age, frailty is a detrimental transitional status of the aging process featuring an increased susceptibility to stressors defined by a clinical reduction of homoeostatic reserves. Multidimensional frailty phenotypes have been associated with all-cause dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), AD neuropathology, vascular dementia, and non-AD dementias. In the present article, we reviewed current evidence on the existing links among depressive and biopsychosocial frailty phenotypes and late-life cognitive disorders, also examining common pathways and mechanisms underlying these links. The depressive frailty phenotype suggested by the construct of late-life depression (LLD) plus physical frailty is poorly operationalized. The biopsychosocial frailty phenotype, with its coexistent biological/physical and psychosocial dimensions, defines a biological aging status and includes motivational, emotional, and socioeconomic domains. Shared biological pathways/substrates among depressive and biopsychosocial frailty phenotypes and late-life cognitive disorders are hypothesized to be inflammatory and cardiometabolic processes, together with multimorbidity, loneliness, mitochondrial dysfunction, dopaminergic neurotransmission, specific personality traits, lack of subjective/objective social support, and neuroendocrine dysregulation. The cognitive frailty phenotype, combining frailty and cognitive impairment, may be a risk factor for LLD and vice versa, and a construct of depressive frailty linking physical frailty and LLD may be a good dementia predictor. Frailty assessment may enable clinicians to better target the pharmacological and psychological treatment of LLD. Given the epidemiological links of biopsychosocial frailty with dementia and MCI, multidomain interventions might contribute to delay the onset of late-life cognitive disorders and other adverse health-related outcomes, such as institutionalization, more frequent hospitalization, disability, and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Panza
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
- "Cesare Frugoni" Internal and Geriatric Medicine and Memory Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Solfrizzi
- "Cesare Frugoni" Internal and Geriatric Medicine and Memory Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
| | - Rodolfo Sardone
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
| | - Vittorio Dibello
- "Cesare Frugoni" Internal and Geriatric Medicine and Memory Unit, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy
- Department of Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fabio Castellana
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberta Zupo
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
| | - Roberta Stallone
- Neuroscience and Education, Human Resources Excellence in Research, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Luisa Lampignano
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
| | - Ilaria Bortone
- Unit of Research Methodology and Data Sciences for Population Health, National Institute of Gastroenterology "Saverio de Bellis", Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Italy
| | - Anita Mollica
- Psychiatric Unit, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Berardino
- Psychiatric Unit, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Qingwei Ruan
- Laboratory of Aging, Anti-aging & Cognitive Performance, Shanghai Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatrics, Huadong Hospital, Shanghai Medical 14 College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mario Altamura
- Psychiatric Unit, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Antonello Bellomo
- Psychiatric Unit, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Antonio Daniele
- Department of Neuroscience, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy
| | - Madia Lozupone
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience "DiBraiN", University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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10
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Steffen J, Marković D, Glöckner F, Neukam PT, Kiebel SJ, Li SC, Smolka MN. Shorter planning depth and higher response noise during sequential decision-making in old age. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7692. [PMID: 37169942 PMCID: PMC10175280 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33274-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Forward planning is crucial to maximize outcome in complex sequential decision-making scenarios. In this cross-sectional study, we were particularly interested in age-related differences of forward planning. We presumed that especially older individuals would show a shorter planning depth to keep the costs of model-based decision-making within limits. To test this hypothesis, we developed a sequential decision-making task to assess forward planning in younger (age < 40 years; n = 25) and older (age > 60 years; n = 27) adults. By using reinforcement learning modelling, we inferred planning depths from participants' choices. Our results showed significantly shorter planning depths and higher response noise for older adults. Age differences in planning depth were only partially explained by well-known cognitive covariates such as working memory and processing speed. Consistent with previous findings, this indicates age-related shifts away from model-based behaviour in older adults. In addition to a shorter planning depth, our findings suggest that older adults also apply a variety of heuristical low-cost strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Steffen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Dimitrije Marković
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Franka Glöckner
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Philipp T Neukam
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stefan J Kiebel
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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Sobczak A, Yousuf M, Bunzeck N. Anticipating social feedback involves basal forebrain and mesolimbic functional connectivity. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120131. [PMID: 37094625 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The mesolimbic system and basal forebrain (BF) are implicated in processing rewards and punishment, but their interplay and functional properties of subregions with respect to future social outcomes remain unclear. Therefore, this study investigated regional responses and interregional functional connectivity of the lateral (l), medial (m), and ventral (v) Substantia Nigra (SN), Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc), Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), and Medial Septum/Diagonal Band (MS/DB) during reward and punishment anticipation in a social incentive delay task with neutral, positive, and negative feedback using high-resolution fMRI (1.5mm3). Neuroimaging data (n=36 healthy humans) of the anticipation phase was analyzed using mass-univariate, functional connectivity, and multivariate-pattern analysis. As expected, participants responded faster when anticipating positive and negative compared to neutral social feedback. At the neural level, anticipating social information engaged valence-related and valence-unrelated functional connectivity patterns involving the BF and mesolimbic areas. Precisely, valence-related connectivity between the lSN and NBM was associated with anticipating neutral social feedback, while connectivity between the vSN and NBM was associated with anticipating positive social feedback. A more complex pattern was observed for anticipating negative social feedback, including connectivity between the lSN and MS/DB, lSN and NAcc, as well as mSN and NAcc. To conclude, behavioral responses are modulated by the possibility to obtain positive and avoid negative social feedback. The neural processing of feedback anticipation relies on functional connectivity patterns between the BF and mesolimbic areas associated with the emotional valence of the social information. As such, our findings give novel insights into the underlying neural processes of social information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Sobczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Mushfa Yousuf
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Nico Bunzeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
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12
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Konar-Nié M, Guzman-Castillo A, Armijo-Weingart L, Aguayo LG. Aging in nucleus accumbens and its impact on alcohol use disorders. Alcohol 2023; 107:73-90. [PMID: 36087859 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2022.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Ethanol is one of the most widely consumed drugs in the world and prolonged excessive ethanol intake might lead to alcohol use disorders (AUDs), which are characterized by neuroadaptations in different brain regions, such as in the reward circuitry. In addition, the global population is aging, and it appears that they are increasing their ethanol consumption. Although research involving the effects of alcohol in aging subjects is limited, differential effects have been described. For example, studies in human subjects show that older adults perform worse in tests assessing working memory, attention, and cognition as compared to younger adults. Interestingly, in the field of the neurobiological basis of ethanol actions, there is a significant dichotomy between what we know about the effects of ethanol on neurochemical targets in young animals and how it might affect them in the aging brain. To be able to understand the distinct effects of ethanol in the aging brain, the following questions need to be answered: (1) How does physiological aging impact the function of an ethanol-relevant region (e.g., the nucleus accumbens)? and (2) How does ethanol affect these neurobiological systems in the aged brain? This review discusses the available data to try to understand how aging affects the nucleus accumbens (nAc) and its neurochemical response to alcohol. The data show that there is little information on the effects of ethanol in aged mice and rats, and that many studies had considered 2-3-month-old mice as adults, which needs to be reconsidered since more recent literature defines 6 months as young adults and >18 months as an older mouse. Considering the actual relevance of an aged worldwide population and that this segment is drinking more frequently, it appears at least reasonable to explore how ethanol affects the brain in adult and aged models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Konar-Nié
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile.
| | - Alejandra Guzman-Castillo
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile; Programa en Neurociencia, Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Universidad de Concepción, Concepcion, Chile.
| | - Lorena Armijo-Weingart
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile; Programa en Neurociencia, Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Universidad de Concepción, Concepcion, Chile.
| | - Luis Gerardo Aguayo
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile; Programa en Neurociencia, Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Universidad de Concepción, Concepcion, Chile.
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13
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Derksen SA, Brancart X, Rossi G. Measuring Personality Systems in Older Adults: Age-Neutrality of the Dutch BIS/BAS Questionnaire. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2023; 16:949-961. [PMID: 36992979 PMCID: PMC10042242 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s394510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction With a rapidly aging population, age-neutrality of psychological instruments is becoming ever more important for accurate assessment of older adults. This study aims to test the age-neutrality of the Dutch Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Approach System (BIS/BAS) scales by means of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) and Differential Test Functioning (DTF) analyses. Methods DIF and DTF analyses were conducted using an odds ratio approach. Potential DIF was examined for the two primary scales and three BAS subscales in 390 Dutch-speaking participants divided over three age groups. Results Overall, the BIS-BAS scales lacked age-neutrality when comparing older adults to young adults: eight out of 20 items (ie, 40%) displayed DIF according to the adjusted Bonferroni corrected cut-offs, which exceeds the threshold of 25% for large DIF. Thus, for 40% of the test items, items were differently endorsed by young and older adults with the same position on the construct measured by the item. Therefore, the implications of the item-level DIF on the scale level were investigated across age groups. DTF analyses revealed large DTF for all BIS and BAS scales according to the adjusted Bonferroni corrected cut-offs. Discussion DIF found in items on the BIS scale and BAS-Drive and BAS-Fun Seeking scale can probably be explained by a difference in degree of expression across age groups. A solution could be the development of age-specific norms. DIF on BAS-Reward Responsiveness subscale could be partly due to measuring a different construct across age groups. Rephrasing or replacing such items with DIF may increase age-neutrality of the BIS/BAS Scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie A Derksen
- Department of Psychology, Personality and Psychopathology Research Group (PEPS), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
- Correspondence: Sophie A Derksen, PE-PEPS, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium, Email
| | - Xenia Brancart
- Department of Psychology, Personality and Psychopathology Research Group (PEPS), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Gina Rossi
- Department of Psychology, Personality and Psychopathology Research Group (PEPS), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
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14
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Zareba MR, Furman W, Binder M. Influence of age and cognitive performance on resting-state functional connectivity of dopaminergic and noradrenergic centers. Brain Res 2022; 1796:148082. [PMID: 36115586 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.148082] [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: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Aging is associated with structural and functional changes in the brain, with a decline in cognitive functions observed as its inevitable concomitant. The body of literature suggests dopamine and noradrenaline as prominent candidate neuromodulators to mediate these effects; however, knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms is scarce. To fill this gap, we compared resting-state functional connectivity (FC) patterns of ventral tegmental area (VTA), substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and locus coeruleus (LC) in healthy young (20-35 years; N = 37) and older adults (55-80 years; N = 27). Additionally, we sought FC patterns of these structures associated with performance in tasks probing executive, attentional and reward functioning, and we compared the functional coupling of the bilateral SNc. The results showed that individual SNc had stronger coupling with ipsilateral cortical and subcortical areas along with the contralateral cerebellum in the whole sample, and that the strength of connections of this structure with angular gyrus and lateral orbitofrontal cortex predicted visuomotor search abilities. In turn, older age was associated with greater local synchronization within VTA, its lower FC with caudate, mediodorsal thalamus, and SNc, as well as higher FC of both midbrain dopaminergic seeds with red nuclei. LC functional coupling showed no differences between the groups and was not associated with any of the behavioral functions. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to report the age-related effects on VTA local synchronization and its connectivity with key recipients of dopaminergic innervation, such as striatum and mediodorsal thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Rafal Zareba
- Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Wiktoria Furman
- Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Marek Binder
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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15
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Hill KR, Hsu DT, Taylor SF, Ogden RT, DeLorenzo C, Parsey RV. Rejection sensitivity and mu opioid receptor dynamics associated with mood alterations in response to social feedback. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2022; 324:111505. [PMID: 35688046 PMCID: PMC9338686 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Rejection sensitivity (RS) is the heightened expectation or perception of social rejection and is a feature of many psychiatric disorders. As endogenous opioid pathways have been implicated in response to social rejection and reward, we hypothesize that RS will be negatively associated with mu opioid receptor (MOR) baseline binding and activity during rejection and acceptance stimuli. In exploratory analyses, we assessed the relationships between MOR activity and changes in mood and self-esteem before and after stimuli. Healthy participants, N = 75 (52% female), completed rejection and acceptance tasks during [11C]carfentanil positron emission tomography (PET) scans. MOR activity in the amygdala, midline thalamus, anterior insula, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) was evaluated. RS was not related to MOR baseline binding potential or activity during acceptance or rejection tasks in any region. Increased MOR activity in the NAc was associated with increase in ratings of self-esteem and positive mood during the period between acceptance task administration and approximately 5 min after the task completion. Our results suggest that endogenous opioid response to social rejection is independent of RS in healthy individuals. MOR activity in the NAc was associated with increase self-esteem and positive mood after experiencing social feedback, warranting further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn R Hill
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, United States.
| | - David T Hsu
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
| | - Stephan F Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States
| | - R Todd Ogden
- Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, United States
| | - Christine DeLorenzo
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, United States
| | - Ramin V Parsey
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, United States
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16
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The effect of learning to drum on behavior and brain function in autistic adolescents. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2106244119. [PMID: 35639696 PMCID: PMC9191342 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106244119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceThere is an acknowledged need for improved service provision in the context of autism spectrum disorders. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive role drum training can play in improving behavioral outcomes for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral difficulties. However, to date, none of these studies has explored how these behavioral changes translate at the neural level. Our study provides strong evidence that drumming not only reduces hyperactivity and inattention in autistic adolescents but also strengthens functional connectivity in brain regions responsible for inhibitory control and action outcome monitoring.
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17
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Suryoputri N, Kiesow H, Bzdok D. Population variation in social brain morphology: Links to socioeconomic status and health disparity. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:305-327. [PMID: 35658811 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2083230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Health disparity across layers of society involves reasons beyond the healthcare system. Socioeconomic status (SES) shapes people's daily interaction with their social environment and is known to impact various health outcomes. Using generative probabilistic modeling, we investigate health satisfaction and complementary indicators of socioeconomic lifestyle in the human social brain. In a population cohort of ~10,000 UK Biobank participants, our first analysis probed the relationship between health status and subjective social standing (i.e., financial satisfaction). We identified volume effects in participants unhappy with their health in regions of the higher associative cortex, especially the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and bilateral temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Specifically, participants in poor subjective health showed deviations in dmPFC and TPJ volume as a function of financial satisfaction. The second analysis on health status and objective social standing (i.e., household income) revealed volume deviations in regions of the limbic system for individuals feeling unhealthy. In particular, low-SES participants dissatisfied with their health showed deviations in volume distributions in the amygdala and hippocampus bilaterally. Thus, our population-level evidence speaks to the possibility that health status and socioeconomic position have characteristic imprints in social brain differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathania Suryoputri
- Department of Medical Engineering and Technomathematics, FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Jülich, Germany
| | - Hannah Kiesow
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Danilo Bzdok
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Montreal, Québec, Canada.,McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (BIC), Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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18
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Dubey I, Brett S, Ruta L, Bishain R, Chandran S, Bhavnani S, Belmonte MK, Estrin GL, Johnson M, Gliga T, Chakrabarti B. Quantifying preference for social stimuli in young children using two tasks on a mobile platform. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265587. [PMID: 35648753 PMCID: PMC9159616 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Children typically prefer to attend to social stimuli (e.g. faces, smiles) over non-social stimuli (e.g. natural scene, household objects). This preference for social stimuli is believed to be an essential building block for later social skills and healthy social development. Preference for social stimuli are typically measured using either passive viewing or instrumental choice paradigms, but not both. Since these paradigms likely tap into different mechanisms, the current study addresses this gap by administering both of these paradigms on an overlapping sample. In this study, we use a preferential looking task and an instrumental choice task to measure preference for social stimuli in 3-9 year old typically developing children. Children spent longer looking at social stimuli in the preferential looking task but did not show a similar preference for social rewards on the instrumental choice task. Task performance in these two paradigms were not correlated. Social skills were found to be positively related to the preference for social rewards on the choice task. This study points to putatively different mechanisms underlying the preference for social stimuli, and highlights the importance of choice of paradigms in measuring this construct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indu Dubey
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Brett
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Liliana Ruta
- Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Messina, Italy
| | - Rahul Bishain
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Sharat Chandran
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Supriya Bhavnani
- Centre for Chronic Conditions and Injuries, Public Health Foundation of India, Gurgaon, India
- Sangath, New Delhi, India
| | - Matthew K. Belmonte
- Com DEALL Trust, Bangalore, India
- Division of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Georgia Lockwood Estrin
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Johnson
- School of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Teodora Gliga
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Ashoka University, Sonipat, India
- India Autism Center, Kolkata, India
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19
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Opitz L, Wagner F, Rogenz J, Maas J, Schmidt A, Brodoehl S, Klingner CM. Still Wanting to Win: Reward System Stability in Healthy Aging. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:863580. [PMID: 35707701 PMCID: PMC9190761 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.863580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy aging is accompanied by multi-faceted changes. Especially within the brain, healthy aging exerts substantial impetus on core parts of cognitive and motivational networks. Rewards comprise basic needs, such as food, sleep, and social contact. Thus, a functionally intact reward system remains indispensable for elderly people to cope with everyday life and adapt to their changing environment. Research shows that reward system function is better preserved in the elderly than most cognitive functions. To investigate the compensatory mechanisms providing reward system stability in aging, we employed a well-established reward paradigm (Monetary Incentive Delay Task) in groups of young and old participants while undergoing EEG measurement. As a new approach, we applied EEG connectivity analyses to assess cortical reward-related network connectivity. At the behavioral level, our results confirm that the function of the reward system is preserved in old age. The mechanisms identified for maintaining reward system function in old age do not fit into previously described models of cognitive aging. Overall, older adults exhibit lower reward-related connectivity modulation, higher reliance on posterior and right-lateralized brain areas than younger adults, and connectivity modulation in the opposite direction than younger adults, with usually greater connectivity during non-reward compared to reward conditions. We believe that the reward system has unique compensatory mechanisms distinct from other cognitive functions, probably due to its etymologically very early origin. In summary, this study provides important new insights into cortical reward network connectivity in healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Opitz
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Franziska Wagner
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Clinician Scientist Program OrganAge, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- *Correspondence: Franziska Wagner,
| | - Jenny Rogenz
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Johanna Maas
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Alexander Schmidt
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Stefan Brodoehl
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Carsten M. Klingner
- Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Biomagnetic Center, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
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20
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Fareri DS, Hackett K, Tepfer LJ, Kelly V, Henninger N, Reeck C, Giovannetti T, Smith DV. Age-Related Differences in Ventral Striatal and Default Mode Network Function During Reciprocated Trust. Neuroimage 2022; 256:119267. [PMID: 35504565 PMCID: PMC9308012 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119267] [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] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Social relationships change across the lifespan as social networks narrow and motivational priorities shift to the present. Interestingly, aging is also associated with changes in executive function, including decision-making abilities, but it remains unclear how age-related changes in both domains interact to impact financial decisions involving other people. To study this problem, we recruited 50 human participants (Nyounger = 26, ages 18–34; Nolder = 24, ages 63–80) to play an economic trust game as the investor with three partners (friend, stranger, and computer) who played the role of investee. Investors underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the trust game while investees were seated outside of the scanner. Building on our previous work with younger adults showing both enhanced striatal responses and altered default-mode network (DMN) connectivity as a function of social closeness during reciprocated trust, we predicted that these relations would exhibit age-related differences. We found that striatal responses to reciprocated trust from friends relative to strangers and computers were blunted in older adults relative to younger adults, thus supporting our primary pre-registered hypothesis regarding social closeness. We also found that older adults exhibited enhanced DMN connectivity with the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during reciprocated trust from friends compared to computers while younger adults exhibited the opposite pattern. Taken together, these results advance our understanding of age-related differences in sensitivity to social closeness in the context of trusting others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic S Fareri
- Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA.
| | | | - Lindsey J Tepfer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Victoria Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Nicole Henninger
- Lew Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Crystal Reeck
- Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - David V Smith
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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21
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Calabrese JR, Goetschius LG, Murray L, Kaplan MR, Lopez-Duran N, Mitchell C, Hyde LW, Monk CS. Mapping frontostriatal white matter tracts and their association with reward-related ventral striatum activation in adolescence. Brain Res 2022; 1780:147803. [PMID: 35090884 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The ventral striatum (VS) is implicated in reward processing and motivation. Human and non-human primate studies demonstrate that the VS and prefrontal cortex (PFC), which comprise the frontostriatal circuit, interact to influence motivated behavior. However, there is a lack of research that precisely maps and quantifies VS-PFC white matter tracts. Moreover, no studies have linked frontostriatal white matter to VS activation. Using a multimodal neuroimaging approach with diffusion MRI (dMRI) and functional MRI (fMRI), the present study had two objectives: 1) to chart white matter tracts between the VS and specific PFC structures and 2) assess the association between the degree of VS-PFC white matter tract connectivity and VS activation in 187 adolescents. White matter connectivity was assessed with probabilistic tractography and functional activation was examined with two fMRI tasks (one task with social reward and another task using monetary reward). We found widespread but variable white matter connectivity between the VS and areas of the PFC, with the anterior insula and subgenual cingulate cortex demonstrating the greatest degree of connectivity with the VS. VS-PFC structural connectivity was related to functional activation in the VS though activation depended on the specific PFC region and reward task.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Laura Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Megan R Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Colter Mitchell
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Population Studies Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Luke W Hyde
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Christopher S Monk
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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22
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Saito A, Sato W, Yoshikawa S. Rapid detection of neutral faces associated with emotional value among older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 77:1219-1228. [PMID: 35137048 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac009] [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: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Previous studies using visual search paradigms have provided inconsistent results regarding rapid detection of emotional faces among older adults. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the emotional significance of the faces contributes to efficient searches for emotional faces due to the possible confounding effects of visual saliency. We addressed this issue by excluding the influence of visual factors and examined older adults' ability to detect faces with emotional meaning. METHOD We used an associative learning procedure in which neutral faces were paired with monetary reward or punishment, such that the neutral faces acquired positive or negative emotional value. Older participants completed the associative learning task and then engaged in a visual search task, in which previously learned neutral faces were presented as discrepant faces among newly presented neutral distractor faces. Data of young adults from a previous study that used identical experimental procedures were also analyzed. RESULTS Older participants exhibited lower learning ability than young participants. However, older adults who were successful at learning were able to detect neutral faces associated with reward or punishment more rapidly than those without monetary outcomes, similar to the pattern observed for young adults. DISCUSSION The results suggest that acquired emotional value promotes the detection of value-associated neutral faces among older adults who succeed at learning. It is therefore possible that the ability to detect faces that evoke emotions is preserved in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akie Saito
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
| | - Wataru Sato
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan.,Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Sakiko Yoshikawa
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.,Faculty of Art and Design, Kyoto University of The Arts, 2-116 Uryuuzan, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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23
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Influences of dopaminergic system dysfunction on late-life depression. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:180-191. [PMID: 34404915 PMCID: PMC8850529 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01265-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in cognition, reward processing, and motor function are clinical features relevant to both aging and depression. Individuals with late-life depression often show impairment across these domains, all of which are moderated by the functioning of dopaminergic circuits. As dopaminergic function declines with normal aging and increased inflammatory burden, the role of dopamine may be particularly salient for late-life depression. We review the literature examining the role of dopamine in the pathogenesis of depression, as well as how dopamine function changes with aging and is influenced by inflammation. Applying a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Initiative perspective, we then review work examining how dopaminergic signaling affects these domains, specifically focusing on Cognitive, Positive Valence, and Sensorimotor Systems. We propose a unified model incorporating the effects of aging and low-grade inflammation on dopaminergic functioning, with a resulting negative effect on cognition, reward processing, and motor function. Interplay between these systems may influence development of a depressive phenotype, with an initial deficit in one domain reinforcing decline in others. This model extends RDoC concepts into late-life depression while also providing opportunities for novel and personalized interventions.
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24
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Sobczak A, Repplinger S, Bauch EM, Brueggemann N, Lohse C, Hinrichs H, Buentjen L, Voges J, Zaehle T, Bunzeck N. Anticipating social incentives recruits alpha-beta oscillations in the human substantia nigra and invigorates behavior across the life span. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118696. [PMID: 34732325 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Anticipating social and non-social incentives recruits shared brain structures and promotes behavior. However, little is known about possible age-related behavioral changes, and how the human substantia nigra (SN) signals positive and negative social information. Therefore, we recorded intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) from the SN of Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients (n = 12, intraoperative, OFF medication) in combination with a social incentive delay task including photos of neutral, positive or negative human gestures and mimics as feedback. We also tested a group of non-operated PD patients (n = 24, ON and OFF medication), and a sample of healthy young (n = 51) and older (n = 52) adults with behavioral readouts only. Behaviorally, the anticipation of both positive and negative social feedback equally accelerated response times in contrast to neutral social feedback in healthy young and older adults. Although this effect was not significant in the group of operated PD patients - most likely due to the small sample size - iEEG recordings in their SN showed a significant increase in alpha-beta power (9-20 Hz) from 300 to 600 ms after cue onset again for both positive and negative cues. Finally, in non-operated PD patients, the behavioral effect was not modulated by medication status (ON vs OFF medication) suggesting that other processes than dopaminergic neuromodulation play a role in driving invigoration by social incentives. Together, our findings provide novel and direct evidence for a role of the SN in processing positive and negative social information via specific oscillatory mechanisms in the alpha-beta range, and they suggest that anticipating social value in simple cue-outcome associations is intact in healthy aging and PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Sobczak
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany.
| | - Stefan Repplinger
- Departments of Neurology and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany; International Graduate School ABINEP, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany
| | - Eva M Bauch
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany
| | - Norbert Brueggemann
- International Graduate School ABINEP, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany; Institute of Neurogenetics, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany
| | - Christina Lohse
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany
| | - Hermann Hinrichs
- Departments of Neurology and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany
| | - Lars Buentjen
- Departments of Neurology and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany
| | - Juergen Voges
- Departments of Neurology and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany
| | - Tino Zaehle
- Departments of Neurology and Stereotactic Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Straße 44, Magdeburg 39120, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106, Magdeburg
| | - Nico Bunzeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany; Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23562, Germany.
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25
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Pilgrim MJD, Ou ZYA, Sharp M. Exploring reward-related attention selectivity deficits in Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18751. [PMID: 34548517 PMCID: PMC8455525 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97526-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
An important aspect of managing a limited cognitive resource like attention is to use the reward value of stimuli to prioritize the allocation of attention to higher-value over lower-value stimuli. Recent evidence suggests this depends on dopaminergic signaling of reward. In Parkinson's disease, both reward sensitivity and attention are impaired, but whether these deficits are directly related to one another is unknown. We tested whether Parkinson's patients use reward information when automatically allocating their attention and whether this is modulated by dopamine replacement. We compared patients, tested both ON and OFF dopamine replacement medication, to older controls using a standard attention capture task. First, participants learned the different reward values of stimuli. Then, these reward-associated stimuli were used as distractors in a visual search task. We found that patients were generally distracted by the presence of the distractors but that the degree of distraction caused by the high-value and low-value distractors was similar. Furthermore, we found no evidence to support the possibility that dopamine replacement modulates the effect of reward on automatic attention allocation. Our results suggest a possible inability in Parkinson's patients to use the reward value of stimuli when automatically allocating their attention, and raise the possibility that reward-driven allocation of resources may affect the adaptive modulation of other cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J D Pilgrim
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Zhen-Yi Andy Ou
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Madeleine Sharp
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada.
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26
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Isaacowitz DM, Freund AM, Mayr U, Rothermund K, Tobler PN. Age-Related Changes in the Role of Social Motivation: Implications for Healthy Aging. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2021; 76:S115-S124. [PMID: 33881524 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Prior research has established the importance of social relations and social embeddedness for motivation in healthy aging. Thus, social orientation appears to be essential for understanding healthy aging. This article focuses particularly on age-related changes in goals concerning social orientation, such as increased prioritization of emotional goals, increased prosociality/altruistic motives, generativity, and ego transcendence. We then consider open questions regarding gaps in the links between goals related to social orientation and healthy aging, as well as the implications of theories and research on social goals for leveraging motivation to promote healthy aging. In particular, interventions to promote healthy behavior in late life may be most effective when they match the themes of older adults' strivings to find meaning and purpose in their personal goals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandra M Freund
- Department of Psychology and University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Philippe N Tobler
- Department of Psychology and University Research Priority Program "Dynamics of Healthy Aging", University of Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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27
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Cutler J, Wittmann MK, Abdurahman A, Hargitai LD, Drew D, Husain M, Lockwood PL. Ageing is associated with disrupted reinforcement learning whilst learning to help others is preserved. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4440. [PMID: 34290236 PMCID: PMC8295324 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24576-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Reinforcement learning is a fundamental mechanism displayed by many species. However, adaptive behaviour depends not only on learning about actions and outcomes that affect ourselves, but also those that affect others. Using computational reinforcement learning models, we tested whether young (age 18-36) and older (age 60-80, total n = 152) adults learn to gain rewards for themselves, another person (prosocial), or neither individual (control). Detailed model comparison showed that a model with separate learning rates for each recipient best explained behaviour. Young adults learned faster when their actions benefitted themselves, compared to others. Compared to young adults, older adults showed reduced self-relevant learning rates but preserved prosocial learning. Moreover, levels of subclinical self-reported psychopathic traits (including lack of concern for others) were lower in older adults and the core affective-interpersonal component of this measure negatively correlated with prosocial learning. These findings suggest learning to benefit others is preserved across the lifespan with implications for reinforcement learning and theories of healthy ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo Cutler
- Centre for Human Brain Health and Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ayat Abdurahman
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Luca D Hargitai
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Daniel Drew
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Masud Husain
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health and Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Christ Church, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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28
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Martins D, Rademacher L, Gabay AS, Taylor R, Richey JA, Smith DV, Goerlich KS, Nawijn L, Cremers HR, Wilson R, Bhattacharyya S, Paloyelis Y. Mapping social reward and punishment processing in the human brain: A voxel-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging findings using the social incentive delay task. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 122:1-17. [PMID: 33421544 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Social rewards or punishments motivate human learning and behaviour, and alterations in the brain circuits involved in the processing of these stimuli have been linked with several neuropsychiatric disorders. However, questions still remain about the exact neural substrates implicated in social reward and punishment processing. Here, we conducted four Anisotropic Effect Size Signed Differential Mapping voxel-based meta-analyses of fMRI studies investigating the neural correlates of the anticipation and receipt of social rewards and punishments using the Social Incentive Delay task. We found that the anticipation of both social rewards and social punishment avoidance recruits a wide network of areas including the basal ganglia, the midbrain, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the supplementary motor area, the anterior insula, the occipital gyrus and other frontal, temporal, parietal and cerebellar regions not captured in previous coordinate-based meta-analysis. We identified decreases in the BOLD signal during the anticipation of both social reward and punishment avoidance in regions of the default-mode network that were missed in individual studies likely due to a lack of power. Receipt of social rewards engaged a robust network of brain regions including the ventromedial frontal and orbitofrontal cortices, the anterior cingulate cortex, the amygdala, the hippocampus, the occipital cortex and the brainstem, but not the basal ganglia. Receipt of social punishments increased the BOLD signal in the orbitofrontal cortex, superior and inferior frontal gyri, lateral occipital cortex and the insula. In contrast to the receipt of social rewards, we also observed a decrease in the BOLD signal in the basal ganglia in response to the receipt of social punishments. Our results provide a better understanding of the brain circuitry involved in the processing of social rewards and punishment. Furthermore, they can inform hypotheses regarding brain areas where disruption in activity may be associated with dysfunctional social incentive processing during disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Martins
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - L Rademacher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Germany and Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - A S Gabay
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, New Radcliffe House, Oxford, OX2 6NW, UK
| | - R Taylor
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - J A Richey
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA
| | - D V Smith
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA
| | - K S Goerlich
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, Section Cognitive Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - L Nawijn
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - H R Cremers
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - R Wilson
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, United Kingdom
| | - S Bhattacharyya
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, United Kingdom
| | - Y Paloyelis
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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29
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Bailey PE, Brady B, Ebner NC, Ruffman T. Effects of Age on Emotion Regulation, Emotional Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2020; 75:802-810. [PMID: 30016531 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The degree to which older adults experience emotional empathy and show subsequent prosocial behavior versus experience personal distress in response to another's distress remains unclear. METHOD Young (n = 40; 17-29 years) and older (n = 39; 61-82 years) adults watched videos of individuals expressing pain or no pain. Pain mimicry was recorded using facial electromyography. Participants were then asked if they would spend the remaining time helping the experimenter. Self-reported tendency to suppress or reappraise emotion was assessed, as well as trait and state emotional empathy and personal distress. RESULTS Pain mimicry was associated with reduced trait suppression in older adults. In both age groups, greater emotional empathy, averaged across video condition, was associated with increased helping. In addition, relative to young adults, older adults reported more personal distress and emotional reactivity in response to the videos but were just as willing to help. They also put more effort into helping. DISCUSSION These findings contribute to clarification of mixed previous evidence regarding the experience of emotional empathy in young versus older adulthood. We discuss the importance of considering additional subcomponents of empathy such as emotion regulation, while also accounting for the relevance of the empathy induction to each age group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phoebe E Bailey
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Brooke Brady
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Natalie C Ebner
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville
| | - Ted Ruffman
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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30
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Crawford JL, Yee DM, Hallenbeck HW, Naumann A, Shapiro K, Thompson RJ, Braver TS. Dissociable Effects of Monetary, Liquid, and Social Incentives on Motivation and Cognitive Control. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2212. [PMID: 33013575 PMCID: PMC7509070 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are social creatures and, as such, can be motivated by aspects of social life (e.g., approval from others) to guide decision-making in everyday contexts. Indeed, a common view is that people may have stronger orientation toward social goals or incentives relative to other incentive modalities, such as food or money. However, current studies have only rarely addressed how social incentives compare to other types of rewards in motivating goal-directed behavior. The current study tested this claim; across two separate experiments, the effects of liquid and social incentives were compared in terms of their subsequent impact on task performance and self-reported affect and motivation. Critically, valenced social incentives offered both ecological validity (short video clips—Experiment 1) and continuity with prior stimuli used in the social reward and motivation literature (static images—Experiment 2) when examining their effect on behavior. Across both studies, the results replicate and extend prior work, demonstrating robust effects of liquid incentives on task performance and self-reported affect and motivation, while also supporting an interpretation of weaker motivational and affective effects for social incentives. These patterns of results highlight the complex and wide-ranging effects of social incentives and call into question the effectiveness of social incentives, relative to other incentive modalities, in motivating behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Crawford
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Debbie M Yee
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Haijing W Hallenbeck
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ashton Naumann
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Katherine Shapiro
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Renee J Thompson
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Todd S Braver
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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31
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Motivation and sensitivity to monetary reward in late-life insomnia: moderating role of sex and the inflammatory marker CRP. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:1664-1671. [PMID: 32544926 PMCID: PMC7419294 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-020-0735-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Insomnia is a well-established risk factor for late-life depression, yet the intermediary mechanisms are not known. One plausible mechanism is dysregulation of the reward system, a common feature of depression. The main objective of the current study was to determine whether late-life insomnia is associated with reduced motivation and reduced sensitivity for monetary reward. Secondary exploratory objectives were to test for sex-specific effects and whether elevated inflammation potentiated these associations. Nondepressed community dwelling older adults (n = 104; aged 60-80) who either met (n = 31) or did not meet (n = 73) criteria for insomnia disorder as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 completed the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task and provided blood samples for the assessment of C-reactive protein (CRP). Older adults with late-life insomnia showed reduced reward motivation 95% CI [-0.955, -0.569] and reduced reward sensitivity 95% CI [-0.430, -0.075] relative to comparison controls. In secondary exploratory analyses, late-life insomnia was associated with reduced motivation to a greater degree in males than in females 95% CI [0.072, 0.775], particularly when CRP was also elevated 95% CI [0.672, 1.551]. Late-life insomnia is associated with reduced motivation and sensitivity for monetary reward, which suggests insomnia may confer risk for late-life depression by dysregulation of reward mechanisms. Exploratory analyses suggest that older males with insomnia and elevated CRP may be particularly vulnerable to deficits in reward motivation. Although in need of replication and further study, results suggest that interventions that target insomnia or deficits in reward processing may mitigate the risk of depression in nondepressed older adults, especially older males with insomnia.
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32
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Cassidy BS, Hughes C, Krendl AC. A stronger relationship between reward responsivity and trustworthiness evaluations emerges in healthy aging. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2020; 28:669-686. [PMID: 32815772 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2020.1809630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Older adults (OA) evaluate faces to be more trustworthy than do younger adults (YA), yet the processes supporting these more positive evaluations are unclear. This study identified neural mechanisms spontaneously engaged during face perception that differentially relate to OA' and YA' later trustworthiness evaluations. We examined two mechanisms: salience (reflected by amygdala activation) and reward (reflected by caudate activation) - both of which are implicated in evaluating trustworthiness. We emphasized the salience and reward value of specific faces by having OA and YA evaluate ingroup male White and outgroup Black and Asian faces. Participants perceived faces during fMRI and made trustworthiness evaluations after the scan. OA rated White and Black faces as more trustworthy than YA. OA had a stronger positive relationship between caudate activity and trustworthiness than YA when perceiving ingroup, but not outgroup, faces. Ingroup cues might intensify how trustworthiness is rewarding to OA, potentially reinforcing their overall positivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany S Cassidy
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
| | - Colleen Hughes
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Anne C Krendl
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
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33
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Le TM, Chao H, Levy I, Li CSR. Age-Related Changes in the Neural Processes of Reward-Directed Action and Inhibition of Action. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1121. [PMID: 32587547 PMCID: PMC7298110 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging is associated with structural and functional brain changes which may impact the regulation of motivated behaviors, including both action and inhibition of action. As behavioral regulation is often exercised in response to reward, it remains unclear how aging may influence reward-directed action and inhibition of action differently. Here we addressed this issue with the functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 72 participants (aged 21-74) performing a reward go/no-go (GNG) task with approximately 2/3 go and 1/3 no-go trials. The go and no-go success trials were rewarded with a dollar or a nickel, and the incorrect responses were penalized. An additional block of the GNG task without reward/punishment served as the control to account for age-related slowing in processing speed. The results showed a prolonged response time (RT) in rewarded (vs. control) go trials with increasing age. Whole-brain multiple regressions of rewarded (vs. control) go trials against age and RT both revealed an age-related reduced activity of the anterior insula, middle frontal gyrus, and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, activity from these regions mediated the relationship between age and go performance. During rewarded (vs. control) no-go trials, age was associated with increased accuracy rate but decreased activation in the medial superior frontal and postcentral gyri. As these regions also exhibited age-related activity reduction during rewarded go, the finding suggests aging effects on common brain substrates that regulate both action and action inhibition. Taken together, age shows a broad negative modulation on neural activations but differential effects on performance during rewarded action and inhibition of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thang M. Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Herta Chao
- Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Ifat Levy
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Chiang-Shan R. Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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34
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Affiliation(s)
- Madia Lozupone
- Neurodegenerative Disease Unit, Department of Basic Medicine, Neuroscience, & Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Apulia, Italy
| | - Francesco Panza
- Unit of Epidemiological Research on Aging, National Institute of Gastroenterology 'Saverio de Bellis', Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, Bari, Apulia, Italy
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35
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Kiesow H, Dunbar RIM, Kable JW, Kalenscher T, Vogeley K, Schilbach L, Marquand AF, Wiecki TV, Bzdok D. 10,000 social brains: Sex differentiation in human brain anatomy. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz1170. [PMID: 32206722 PMCID: PMC7080454 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz1170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In human and nonhuman primates, sex differences typically explain much interindividual variability. Male and female behaviors may have played unique roles in the likely coevolution of increasing brain volume and more complex social dynamics. To explore possible divergence in social brain morphology between men and women living in different social environments, we applied probabilistic generative modeling to ~10,000 UK Biobank participants. We observed strong volume effects especially in the limbic system but also in regions of the sensory, intermediate, and higher association networks. Sex-specific brain volume effects in the limbic system were linked to the frequency and intensity of social contact, such as indexed by loneliness, household size, and social support. Across the processing hierarchy of neural networks, different conditions for social interplay may resonate in and be influenced by brain anatomy in sex-dependent ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Kiesow
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Joseph W. Kable
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Tobias Kalenscher
- Comparative Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Kai Vogeley
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine—Cognitive Neuroscience (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen Strasse, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Outpatient and Day Clinic for Disorders of Social Interaction, Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany
| | - Andre F. Marquand
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Neuroimaging, Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London, UK
| | | | - Danilo Bzdok
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA), Aachen, Germany
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Mila-Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Montreal, Canada
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Dhingra I, Zhang S, Zhornitsky S, Le TM, Wang W, Chao HH, Levy I, Li CSR. The effects of age on reward magnitude processing in the monetary incentive delay task. Neuroimage 2020; 207:116368. [PMID: 31743790 PMCID: PMC7463276 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested age-related differences in reward-directed behavior and cerebral processes in support of the age effects. However, it remains unclear how age may influence the processing of reward magnitude. Here, with 54 volunteers (22-74 years of age) participating in the Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MIDT) with explicit cues ($1, ¢1, or nil) and timed response to win, we characterized brain activations during anticipation and feedback and the effects of age on these regional activations. Behaviorally, age was associated with less reaction time (RT) difference between dollar and cent trials, as a result of slower response to the dollar trials; i.e., age was positively correlated with RT dollar - RT cent, with RT nil as a covariate. Both age and the RT difference ($1 - ¢1) were correlated with diminished activation of the right caudate head, right anterior insula, supplementary motor area (SMA)/pre-SMA, visual cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, right superior/middle frontal gyri, and left primary motor cortex during anticipation of $1 vs. ¢1 reward. Further, these regional activities mediated the age effects on RT differences. In responses to outcomes, age was associated with decreases in regional activations to dollar vs. cent loss but only because of higher age-related responses to cent losses. Together, these findings suggest age-related differences in sensitivity to the magnitude of reward. With lower cerebral responses during anticipation to win large rewards and higher responses to outcomes of small loss, aging incurs a constricted sensitivity to the magnitude of reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isha Dhingra
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Simon Zhornitsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Thang M Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Wuyi Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Herta H Chao
- Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ifat Levy
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Prosocial behavior in aging: which factors can explain age-related differences in social-economic decision making? Int Psychogeriatr 2019; 31:1747-1757. [PMID: 30782235 DOI: 10.1017/s1041610219000061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Older adults tend to exhibit more prosocial behavior than younger adults. However, little research has focused on understanding the factors that may explain such differences in the social decision-making process. The first aim was to examine if, and to what degree, the content of social information about a recipient has an impact on young vs. older adults' prosocial behavior. The second aim was to understand if empathic concern, Theory of Mind, and reasoning explain the (expected) age differences in prosociality. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING The study was conducted in northern Italy in a laboratory setting. PARTICIPANTS Forty-eight younger adults (Mage = 23.29; SD = 2.20) and 48 older adults (Mage = 70.19; SD = 5.13). MEASUREMENTS Prosocial behavior was measured using the Dictator Game in which participants split a sum of money with recipients presented with four levels of description: no information, physical description, positive psychological description, and negative psychological description. In addition, participants performed tasks on emphatic concern, Theory of Mind, and reasoning. RESULTS Results showed that older adults are more prosocial than younger adults in the Dictator Game. This finding was evident when the recipient was described with positive psychological and physical features. This pattern of results was statistically explained by the reduction in reasoning ability. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a relationship between age-related reduction in reasoning ability and older adults' prosocial behavior. The theoretical and practical implication of the empirical findings are discussed.
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Gaillard C, Guillod M, Ernst M, Torrisi S, Federspiel A, Schoebi D, Recabarren RE, Ouyang X, Mueller-Pfeiffer C, Horsch A, Homan P, Wiest R, Hasler G, Martin-Soelch C. Striatal responsiveness to reward under threat-of-shock and working memory load: A preliminary study. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01397. [PMID: 31557426 PMCID: PMC6790302 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 08/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Reward and stress are important determinants of motivated behaviors. Striatal regions play a crucial role in both motivation and hedonic processes. So far, little is known on how cognitive effort interacts with stress to modulate reward processes. This study examines how cognitive effort (load) interacts with an unpredictable acute stressor (threat-of-shock) to modulate motivational and hedonic processes in healthy adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS A reward task, involving stress with unpredictable mild electric shocks, was conducted in 23 healthy adults aged 20-37 (mean age: 24.7 ± 0.9; 14 females) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Manipulation included the use of (a) monetary reward for reinforcement, (b) threat-of-shock as the stressor, and (c) a spatial working memory task with two levels of difficulty (low and high load) for cognitive load. Reward-related activation was investigated in a priori three regions of interest, the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), caudate nucleus, and putamen. RESULTS During anticipation, threat-of-shock or cognitive load did not affect striatal responsiveness to reward. Anticipated reward increased activation in the ventral and dorsal striatum. During feedback delivery, both threat-of-shock and cognitive effort modulated striatal activation. Higher working memory load blunted NAcc responsiveness to reward delivery, while stress strengthened caudate nucleus reactivity regardless reinforcement or load. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide initial evidence that both stress and cognitive load modulate striatal responsiveness during feedback delivery but not during anticipation in healthy adults. Of clinical importance, sustained stress exposure might go along with dysregulated arousal, increasing therefore the risk for the development of maladaptive incentive-triggered motivation. This study brings new insight that might help to build a framework to understand common stress-related disorders, given that these psychiatric disorders involve disturbances of the reward system, cognitive deficits, and abnormal stress reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudie Gaillard
- IReach Lab, Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Guillod
- IReach Lab, Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Monique Ernst
- Section on Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Salvatore Torrisi
- Section on Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Psychiatric Neuroimaging Unit, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Dominik Schoebi
- Unit of Clinical Family Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Romina E Recabarren
- IReach Lab, Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Xinyi Ouyang
- iBM Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Mueller-Pfeiffer
- Department of Consultation-Liaison-Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Antje Horsch
- Department Woman-Mother-Child, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philipp Homan
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, New York, NY
| | - Roland Wiest
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gregor Hasler
- Unit of Psychiatry Research, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Chantal Martin-Soelch
- IReach Lab, Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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Zhang M, Siegle GJ, McNeil MR, Pratt SR, Palmer C. The role of reward and task demand in value-based strategic allocation of auditory comprehension effort. Hear Res 2019; 381:107775. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.107775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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40
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The influence of task complexity and information value on feedback processing in younger and older adults: No evidence for a positivity bias during feedback-induced learning in older adults. Brain Res 2019; 1717:74-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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41
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Doppler CEJ, Meyer L, Dovern A, Stühmer-Beckh J, Weiss PH, Fink GR. Differential Impact of Social and Monetary Reward on Procedural Learning and Consolidation in Aging and Its Structural Correlates. Front Aging Neurosci 2019; 11:188. [PMID: 31417395 PMCID: PMC6682642 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In young (n = 36, mean ± SD: 24.8 ± 4.5 years) and older (n = 34, mean ± SD: 65.1 ± 6.5 years) healthy participants, we employed a modified version of the Serial Reaction Time task to measure procedural learning (PL) and consolidation while providing monetary and social reward. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we additionally determined the structural correlates of reward-related motor performance (RMP) and PL. Monetary reward had a beneficial effect on PL in the older subjects only. In contrast, social reward significantly enhanced PL in the older and consolidation in the young participants. VBM analyses revealed that motor performance related to monetary reward was associated with larger grey matter volume (GMV) of the left striatum in the young, and motor performance related to social reward with larger GMV of the medial orbitofrontal cortex in the older group. The differential effects of social reward in young (improved consolidation) and both social and monetary rewards in older (enhanced PL) healthy subjects point to the potential of rewards for interventions targeting aging-associated motor decline or stroke-induced motor deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E J Doppler
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Linda Meyer
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum Leverkusen, Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Anna Dovern
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jaro Stühmer-Beckh
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Peter H Weiss
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Gereon R Fink
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Abstract
Background: We compared two types of metacognitive monitoring in younger and older adults: metacognitive accuracy for their overall memory performance and their ability to selectively remember high-value information. Method: Participants studied words paired with point values and were asked to maximise their point score. In Experiment 1, they predicted how many words they would remember while in Experiment 2, they predicted how many points they would earn. Results: In Experiment 1, while younger adults were accurate in their predictions, older adults were overconfident in the number of words they would recall throughout the task. In Experiment 2, however, both younger and older adults were equally accurate when predicting the amount of points they would earn after some task experience. Conclusions: While younger adults may have higher metacognitive accuracy for their capacity, older adults can accurately assess their ability to selectively remember information, suggesting potentially separate metacognitive mechanisms that are differentially affected by aging.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan D Castel
- a Department of Psychology, University of California , Los Angeles , CA , USA
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43
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Solomonov N, Bress JN, Sirey JA, Gunning FM, Flückiger C, Raue PJ, Areán PA, Alexopoulos GS. Engagement in Socially and Interpersonally Rewarding Activities as a Predictor of Outcome in "Engage" Behavioral Activation Therapy for Late-Life Depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019; 27:571-578. [PMID: 30797650 PMCID: PMC6511287 DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2018.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 12/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Loneliness and social isolation are associated with depressive symptoms, cognitive and physical disabilities, and increased risk of mortality among older adults. Socially rewarding activities reduce loneliness, and neurobiological evidence suggests that these activities may activate neural reward systems in older adults to a greater extent than other rewarding experiences. The current study was designed to investigate whether engagement in social and interpersonal activities (i.e., exposure to social rewards) predicts subsequent increase in behavioral activation and reduction in depressive symptoms in reward exposure treatment for late-life depression. METHODS Forty-eight older adults without cognitive impairment and with major depression received nine sessions of "Engage" psychotherapy. Behavioral activation and depression severity were assessed by trained raters at baseline and weeks 6 and 9. Patients' weekly behavioral plans were categorized into three groups: 1) solitary activities; 2) social-group activities (attending a social gathering or a social setting such as church or a senior center); and 3) interpersonal-individual activities (engaging in an interpersonal interaction with a specific friend or family member). RESULTS Mixed-effects models showed reduction in depression severity and increase in behavioral activation over time. In linear regression models, a higher percentage of interpersonal-individual activities (but not solitary or social-group activities) predicted subsequent increase in behavioral activation and improvement of depression. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the importance of understanding the effects of engagement in specific types of rewarding activities in behavioral activation treatments for late-life depression. Exposure to socially rewarding interpersonal interactions could contribute to the efficacy of psychotherapy for late-life depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nili Solomonov
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry (NS, JNB, JAS, FMG, GSA), Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY.
| | - Jennifer N Bress
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry (NS, JNB, JAS, FMG, GSA), Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY
| | - Jo Anne Sirey
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry (NS, JNB, JAS, FMG, GSA), Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY
| | - Faith M Gunning
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry (NS, JNB, JAS, FMG, GSA), Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY
| | | | - Patrick J Raue
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (PJR, PAA), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle
| | - Patricia A Areán
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (PJR, PAA), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle
| | - George S Alexopoulos
- Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry (NS, JNB, JAS, FMG, GSA), Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY
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Gu R, Huang W, Camilleri J, Xu P, Wei P, Eickhoff SB, Feng C. Love is analogous to money in human brain: Coordinate-based and functional connectivity meta-analyses of social and monetary reward anticipation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 100:108-128. [PMID: 30807783 PMCID: PMC7250476 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Both social and material rewards play a crucial role in daily life and function as strong incentives for various goal-directed behaviors. However, it remains unclear whether the incentive effects of social and material reward are supported by common or distinct neural circuits. Here, we have addressed this issue by quantitatively synthesizing and comparing neural signatures underlying social (21 contrasts, 207 foci, 696 subjects) and monetary (94 contrasts, 1083 foci, 2060 subjects) reward anticipation. We demonstrated that social and monetary reward anticipation engaged a common neural circuit consisting of the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, anterior insula, and supplementary motor area, which are intensively connected during both task and resting states. Functional decoding findings indicate that this generic neural pathway mediates positive value, motivational relevance, and action preparation during reward anticipation, which together motivate individuals to prepare well for the response to the upcoming target. Our findings support the common neural currency hypothesis by providing the first meta-analytic evidence to quantitatively show the common involvement of brain regions in both social and material reward anticipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenhao Huang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Julia Camilleri
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China; Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Ping Wei
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Chunliang Feng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
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Transient and sustained incentive effects on electrophysiological indices of cognitive control in younger and older adults. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 18:313-330. [PMID: 29392645 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0571-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Preparing for upcoming events, separating task-relevant from task-irrelevant information and efficiently responding to stimuli all require cognitive control. The adaptive recruitment of cognitive control depends on activity in the dopaminergic reward system as well as the frontoparietal control network. In healthy aging, dopaminergic neuromodulation is reduced, resulting in altered incentive-based recruitment of control mechanisms. In the present study, younger adults (18-28 years) and healthy older adults (66-89 years) completed an incentivized flanker task that included gain, loss, and neutral trials. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded at the time of incentive cue and target presentation. We examined the contingent negative variation (CNV), implicated in stimulus anticipation and response preparation, as well as the P3, which is involved in the evaluation of visual stimuli. Both younger and older adults showed transient incentive-based modulation of CNV. Critically, cue-locked and target-locked P3s were influenced by transient and sustained effects of incentives in younger adults, while such modulation was limited to a sustained effect of gain incentives on cue-P3 in older adults. Overall, these findings are in line with an age-related reduction in the flexible recruitment of preparatory and target-related cognitive control processes in the presence of motivational incentives.
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46
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Rosenthal-von der Pütten AM, Hastall MR, Köcher S, Meske C, Heinrich T, Labrenz F, Ocklenburg S. “Likes” as social rewards: Their role in online social comparison and decisions to like other People's selfies. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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47
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Petrican R, Grady CL. The intrinsic neural architecture of inhibitory control: The role of development and emotional experience. Neuropsychologia 2019; 127:93-105. [PMID: 30822448 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Inhibitory control is a key determinant of goal-directed behavior. Its susceptibility to reward implies that its variations may not only reflect cognitive ability, but also sensitivity to goal-relevant information. Since cognitive ability and motivational sensitivity vary as a function of age and mood, we hypothesized that their relevance for predicting individual differences in inhibition would similarly vary. Here, we tested this prediction with respect to the brain's intrinsic functional architecture. Specifically, we reasoned that age and affective functioning would both moderate the relationship between inhibition and resting state expression of the dynamic neural organization patterns linked to engaging in cognitive effort versus those involved in manipulating motivationally salient information. First, we used task fMRI data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 359 participants) to identify the brain organization patterns unique to effortful cognitive processing versus manipulation of motivationally relevant information. We then assessed the association between inhibitory control and relative expression of these two neural patterns in an independent resting state dataset from the Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland lifespan sample (N = 247). As hypothesized, the relation between inhibition and intrinsic functional brain architecture varied as a function of age and affective functioning. Among those with superior affective functioning, better inhibitory control in adolescence and early adulthood was associated with stronger resting state expression of the brain pattern that typified processing of motivationally salient information. The opposite effect emerged beyond the age of 49. Among individuals with poorer affective functioning, a significant link between inhibition and brain architecture emerged only before the age of 28. In this group, superior inhibition was associated with stronger resting state expression of the neural pattern that typified effortful cognitive processing. Our results thus imply that motivational relevance makes a unique contribution to superior cognitive functioning during earlier life stages. However, its relevance to higher-order mentation decreases with aging and increased prevalence of mood-related problems, which raises the possibility that patterns of neurobehavioral responsiveness to motivational salience may constitute sensitive markers of successful lifespan development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raluca Petrican
- Rotman Research Institute, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada.
| | - Cheryl L Grady
- Rotman Research Institute and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, M6A 2E1, Canada
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48
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Working definitions, subjective and objective assessments and experimental paradigms in a study exploring social withdrawal in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 97:38-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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49
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Zhu J, Zhan Y. Distraction Modulates Self-Referential Effects in the Processing of Monetary and Social Rewards. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2723. [PMID: 30687178 PMCID: PMC6333711 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02723] [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: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A reward that is personally relevant tends to induce stronger pursuit motivation than a reward that is linked to other people. However, the role of attention in eliciting this “self-referential reward effect” remains unclear. In our two studies, we evaluated the significance of attention in self-referential reward processing utilizing an ownership paradigm, which required participants to complete a visual search task to win either monetary rewards (in Study 1) or social rewards (in Study 2) for themselves or for an acquaintance. Access to attentional resources was manipulated by sometimes including a distracting stimulus among the presented stimuli. The results of Study 1 revealed that a significant self-referential reward effect emerged under undistracted attentional conditions and was associated with improved task performance when self-owned monetary rewards were available. However, distracted attention impaired this self-referential reward effect. Moreover, distracted attention was also observed in the self-referential social reward processing in Study 2. These results suggested that distracted attention can impair the pursuit advantage for self-relevant rewards; self-referential processing is strongly dependent on attentional resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zhu
- Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
- Department of Psychology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
- *Correspondence: Jia Zhu,
| | - Youlong Zhan
- Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
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Ferdinand NK, Czernochowski D. Motivational Influences on Performance Monitoring and Cognitive Control Across the Adult Lifespan. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1018. [PMID: 29997541 PMCID: PMC6028708 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive control refers to the ability to regulate cognitive processing according to the tasks at hand, especially when these are demanding. It includes maintaining and updating relevant information in working memory, inhibiting irrelevant information, and flexibly switching between tasks. Performance monitoring denotes the processing of feedback from the environment and the detection of errors or other unexpected events and signals when cognitive control needs to be exerted. These two aspects of behavioral adaptation critically rely on the integrity of the frontal lobes, which are known to show pronounced age-related performance decrements. By contrast, there is evidence that processing of rewards remains relatively intact across the adult lifespan. Hence, motivation may play an important role in modulating or even counteracting age-related changes in cognitive control functions. To answer this question, neuroscientific data can be particularly useful to uncover potential underlying mechanisms beyond behavioral outcome. The aims of this article are twofold: First, to review and systematize the extant literature on how motivational incentives can modulate performance monitoring and cognitive control in young and older adults. Second, to demonstrate that important pieces of empirical data are currently missing for the evaluation of this central question, specifically in old age. Hence, we would like to stimulate further research uncovering potential mechanisms underlying motivation-cognition interactions in young and in particular in older adults and investigating whether or not those can help to ameliorate age-related impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniela Czernochowski
- Center for Cognitive Science, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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