Neural correlates of reward-related response tendencies in an equiprobable Go/NoGo task

Differential effects of social versus monetary incentives on inhibitory control under acute inflammation

While the impact of chronic, low-grade inflammation on cognitive functioning is documented in the context of neurodegenerative disease, less is known about the association between acute increases in inflammation and cognitive functioning in daily life. This study investigated how changes in interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were associated with performance on an inhibitory control task, the go/no-go task. We further examined whether the opportunity to earn different incentive types (social or monetary) and magnitudes (high or low) was associated with differential performance on the task, depending on IL-6 levels. Using a within-participant design, individuals completed an incentivized go/no-go task before and after receiving the annual influenza vaccine. Multilevel logistic regressions were performed on the trial-level data (Nobs = 30,528). For no-go trials, we did not find significant associations between IL and 6 reactivity between the sessions and changes in trial accuracy. For go trials, we found significant differences in the associations between IL and 6 reactivity and changes in accuracy from session 1 to session 2 as a function of the incentive condition. Notably, greater IL-6 reactivity was consistently associated with fewer omission errors (i.e., greater accuracy on go trials) on high-magnitude social incentives (i.e., viewing a picture of a close-other picture) when compared to both low-magnitude social and high-magnitude monetary incentives. Together, these results suggest that mild fluctuations in inflammation might alter the valuation of an incentive, and possibly a shift toward devoting greater attentional resources when a large social incentive is on the line. Overall, this study sheds light on how everyday, low-grade fluctuations in inflammation may influence cognitive abilities essential for daily life and effective inhibitory control.

Emotional cues reduce Pavlovian interference in feedback-based go and nogo learning

It is easier to execute a response in the promise of a reward and withhold a response in the promise of a punishment than vice versa, due to a conflict between cue-related Pavlovian and outcome-related instrumental action tendencies in the reverse conditions. This robust learning asymmetry in go and nogo learning is referred to as the Pavlovian bias. Interestingly, it is similar to motivational tendencies reported for affective facial expressions, i.e., facilitation of approach to a smile and withdrawal from a frown. The present study investigated whether and how learning from emotional faces instead of abstract stimuli modulates the Pavlovian bias in reinforcement learning. To this end, 137 healthy adult participants performed an orthogonalized Go/Nogo task that fully decoupled action (go/nogo) and outcome valence (win points/avoid losing points). Three groups of participants were tested with either emotional facial cues whose affective valence was either congruent (CON) or incongruent (INC) to the required instrumental response, or with neutral facial cues (NEU). Relative to NEU, the Pavlovian bias was reduced in both CON and INC, though still present under all learning conditions. Importantly, only for CON, the reduction of the Pavlovian bias effect was adaptive by improving learning performance in one of the conflict conditions. In contrast, the reduction of the Pavlovian bias in INC was completely driven by decreased learning performance in non-conflict conditions. These results suggest a potential role of arousal/salience in Pavlovian-instrumental regulation and cue-action congruency in the adaptability of goal-directed behavior. Implications for clinical application are discussed.

Motivation and emotional distraction interact and affect executive functions

Previous research on cool-hot executive function (EF) interactions has examined the effects of motivation and emotional distraction on cool EF separately, focusing on one EF component at a time. Although both incentives and emotional distractors have been shown to modulate attention, how they interact and affect cool EF processes is still unclear. Here, we used an experimental paradigm that manipulated updating, inhibition, and shifting demands to determine the interactions of motivation and emotional distraction in the context of cool EF. Forty-five young adults (16 males, 29 females) completed the go/no-go (inhibition), two-back (updating), and task-switching (shifting) tasks. Monetary incentives were implemented to manipulate motivation, and task-irrelevant threatening or neutral faces were presented before the target stimulus to manipulate emotional distraction. We found that incentives significantly improved no-go accuracy, two-back accuracy, and reaction time (RT) switch cost. While emotional distractors had no significant effects on overall task performance, they abolished the incentive effects on no-go accuracy and RT switch cost. Altogether, these findings suggest that motivation and emotional distraction interact in the context of cool EF. Specifically, transient emotional distraction disrupts the upregulation of control activated by incentives. The present investigation has advanced knowledge about the relationship between cool and hot EF and highlights the importance of considering motivation-emotion interactions for a fuller understanding of control.

The Role of the Interaction between the Inferior Parietal Lobule and Superior Temporal Gyrus in the Multisensory Go/No-go Task

Information from multiple sensory modalities interacts. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to identify the neural structures correlated with how cooccurring sound modulates the visual motor response execution. The reaction time (RT) to audiovisual stimuli was significantly faster than the RT to visual stimuli. Signal detection analyses showed no significant difference in the perceptual sensitivity (d') between audiovisual and visual stimuli, while the response criteria (β or c) of the audiovisual stimuli was decreased compared to the visual stimuli. The functional connectivity between the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) was enhanced in Go processing compared with No-go processing of audiovisual stimuli. Furthermore, the left precentral gyrus (PreCG) showed enhanced functional connectivity with the bilateral STG and other areas of the ventral stream in Go processing compared with No-go processing of audiovisual stimuli. These results revealed that the neuronal network correlated with modulations of the motor response execution after the presentation of both visual stimuli along with cooccurring sound in a multisensory Go/Nogo task, including the left IPL, left PreCG, bilateral STG and some areas of the ventral stream. The role of the interaction between the IPL and STG in transforming audiovisual information into motor behavior is discussed. The current study provides a new perspective for exploring potential brain mechanisms underlying how humans execute appropriate behaviors on the basis of multisensory information.

Effective connectivity underlying reward-based executive control

Motivational influences on cognitive control play an important role in shaping human behavior. Cognitive facilitation through motivators such as prospective reward or punishment is thought to depend on regions from the dopaminergic mesocortical network, primarily the ventral tegmental area (VTA), inferior frontal junction (IFJ), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, how interactions between these regions relate to motivated control remains elusive. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to investigate effective connectivity between left IFJ, ACC, and VTA in a task-switching paradigm comprising three distinct motivational conditions (prospective monetary reward or punishment and a control condition). We found that while prospective punishment significantly facilitated switching between tasks on a behavioral level, interactions between IFJ, ACC, and VTA were characterized by modulations through prospective reward but not punishment. Our DCM results show that IFJ and VTA modulate ACC activity in parallel rather than by interaction to serve task demands in reward-based cognitive control. Our findings further demonstrate that prospective reward and punishment differentially affect neural control mechanisms to initiate decision-making.

Cortical and subcortical contributions to interference resolution and inhibition - An fMRI ALE meta-analysis

Interacting with our environment requires the selection of appropriate responses and the inhibition of others. Such effortful inhibition is achieved by a number of interference resolution and global inhibition processes. This meta-analysis including 57 studies and 73 contrasts revisits the overlap and differences in brain areas supporting interference resolution and global inhibition in cortical and subcortical brain areas. Activation likelihood estimation was used to discern the brain regions subserving each type of cognitive control. Individual contrast analysis revealed a common activation of the bilateral insula and supplementary motor areas. Subtraction analyses demonstrated the voxel-wise differences in recruitment in a number of areas including the precuneus in the interference tasks and the frontal pole and dorsal striatum in the inhibition tasks. Our results display a surprising lack of subcortical involvement within these types of cognitive control, a finding that is likely to reflect a systematic gap in the field of functional neuroimaging.

Neural underpinnings of valence-action interactions triggered by cues and targets in a rewarded approach/avoidance task

Incentive-valence signals have a large impact on our actions in everyday life. While it is intuitive (and most often beneficial) to approach positive and avoid negative stimuli, these prepotent response tendencies can also be maladaptive, as exemplified by clinical conditions such as overeating or pathological gambling. We have recently shown that targets associated with monetary incentives can trigger such valence-action biases (target condition), and that these are absent when valence and action information are provided by advance cues (cue condition). Here, we explored the neural correlates underlying the absence of the behavioral bias in this condition using fMRI. Specifically, we tested in how far valence and action information are integrated at all in the cue condition (where no behavioral biases are observed), assessing activity at the moment of the cue (mainly preparation) and the target (mainly implementation). The cue-locked data was dominated by main effects of valence with increased activity for incentive versus no-incentive cues in a network including anterior insula, premotor cortex, (mostly ventral) striatum (voxel-wise analysis), and across five predefined regions of interest (ROI analysis). Only one region, the anterior cingulate cortex, featured a valence-action interaction, with increased activity for win-approach compared to no-incentive-approach cues. The target-locked data revealed a different interaction pattern with increased activity in loss-approach as compared to win-approach targets in the cerebellum (voxel-wise) and across all ROIs. For comparison, the uncued target condition (target-locked data only) featured valence and action main effects (incentive > no-incentive targets; approach > avoid targets), but no interactions. The results resonate with the common observations that performance benefits after incentive-valence cues are promoted by increased preparatory control. Moreover, the data provide support for the idea that valence and action information are integrated according to an evolutionary benefit (cue-locked), requiring additional neural resources to implement non-intuitive valence-action mappings (target-locked).

A meta-analytic investigation of the role of reward on inhibitory control

Contemporary theories predict that inhibitory control (IC) can be improved when rewards are available for successfully inhibiting. In non-clinical samples empirical research has demonstrated some support; however, "null" findings have also been published. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify the magnitude of the effect of reward on IC and identify potential moderators. A total of 73 articles (contributing k = 80 studies) were identified from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus, published between 1997 and 2020, using a systematic search strategy. A random effects meta-analysis was performed on effect sizes generated from IC tasks, which included rewarded and non-rewarded inhibition trials. Moderator analyses were conducted on clinical samples (vs "healthy controls"), task type (go/no-go vs stop signal vs Flanker vs Simon vs Stroop vs Anti-saccade), reward type (monetary vs points vs other), and age (adults vs children). The prospect of reward for successful inhibition significantly improved IC (SMD = 0.429, 95% CI = 0.288, 0.570, I² = 96.7%) compared with no reward conditions/groups. This finding was robust against influential cases and outliers. The significant effect was present across all IC tasks. There was no evidence of the effect moderated by type of reward, age, or clinical samples. Moderator analyses did not resolve the considerable heterogeneity. The findings suggest that IC is a transient state that fluctuates in response to motivations driven by reward. Future research might examine the potential of improving IC through rewards as a behavioural intervention.

The interactive effects of reward expectation and emotional interference on cognitive conflict control: An ERP study

The effects of reward expectation and task-irrelevant emotional content on performance and event-related potential (ERP) recordings in a cognitive conflict control task were investigated using the face-word Stroop paradigm. A precue indicating additional monetary rewards for fast and accurate responses during the upcoming trial (incentive condition; relative to a cue indicating no additional reward, i.e., nonincentive condition) was followed by the presentation of target Chinese words (male vs. female) superimposed on background emotional faces (happy vs. fearful). The face's gender was congruent or incongruent with the target Chinese words. ERP results revealed that incentive cues elicited larger P1, P3, and CNV responses compared to nonincentive cues. There was a significant three-way interaction of reward expectation, emotional content, and congruency during the target processing stage such that emotionality and congruency interacted to affect the N170 and N2 component responses during the nonincentive condition but not during the incentive condition. These results indicate that reward-induced motivation reduces the interference effect of task-irrelevant emotional information, leading to better conflict resolution.

Deep slow nasal respiration with tight lip closure for immediate attenuation of severe tics

BACKGROUND

Severe intractable tics, which are associated with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder (TS/CTD), severely affect the quality of life. Common less-invasive treatments are often unable to attenuate tics with deep brain stimulation currently being the only effective treatment. We aimed to assess the anti-tic effect of deep slow nasal respiration with tight lip closure using patients with TS/CTD.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 10 consecutive patients (9 men, 1 woman; 23-41 years old). We instructed the patients to perform the procedure for 120 s and to obtain a video recording of before and during the procedure. The videos were used to count tics and determine lip competency or incompetency. The counted tics were rated using the modified Rush Video Rating Scale.

RESULTS

Compared with before the procedure, there were significantly lower frequencies of motor and phonic tics, as well as video scored, during the procedure. Eight patients presented with lip incompetency before the procedure and none after the procedure (P = 0.041). There were no side effects associated with the procedure.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that deep slow nasal respiration with tight lip closure ameliorates tics in patients with TS/CTD. In accordance with our results, lip opening and oral breathing could be causes of tics, in addition to heritability. Therefore, this novel procedure could improve tics. Furthermore, our findings could contribute toward the development of tic treatments and elucidate their pathophysiology regarding the reward system, hypersensitivity, autonomic nerves, and nasal airway.

Expecting the good: Symbolic valence signals provoke action biases and undermine goal-directed behavior

Positive and negative events are known to trigger opposing action tendencies (approach vs. avoidance). Recently, we found that advance monetary incentive cues can override such valence-action biases. In the present study we tested whether symbolic emotional valence cues can lead to similar adjustments and facilitate performance regardless of the required action. To this end, we performed three closely related experiments in which valence prospect (positive vs. neutral; indicated by stimulus color) and action requirements (approach vs. avoid; indicated by stimulus shape) were manipulated in a trial-to-trial fashion. Orthogonal to this, valence prospect was either embedded in the cue or target stimulus in discrete blocks (cue-valence vs. target-valence blocks). Actual valence was presented in the form of emotional face stimuli after response execution, which mirrors monetary incentive manipulations. In two of the experiments, we observed a positive-approach bias in form of performance benefit for positive versus neutral valence trials, which was exclusive for approach actions. Although numerically more pronounced in target-valence blocks, the bias was not significantly diminished in cue- versus target-valence blocks. This opposes our prediction that emotional valence cues can diminish such biases and instead highlights the robustness of inherent mappings between emotional valence and action tendencies - even if this goes against the task goal.

An Adaptation of Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) Methodology to Examine the Energizing Effects of Reward-Predicting Cues on Behavior in Young Adults

There is growing recognition that much of human behavior is governed by the presence of classically conditioned cues. The Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm offers a way to measure the effects of classically conditioned stimuli on behavior. In the current study, a novel behavioral task, an adaptation of the PIT framework, was developed for use in conjunction with an fMRI classical conditioning task. Twenty-four healthy young adults completed (1) instrumental training, (2) Pavlovian conditioning, and (3) a Transfer test. During instrumental training, participants learned to apply force to a handgrip to win money from slot machines pictured on a computer screen. During Pavlovian conditioning, slot machines appeared with one of two abstract symbols (cues), one symbol was predictive of monetary reward. During the Transfer test, participants again applied force to a handgrip to win money. This time, the slot machines were presented with the Pavlovian cues, but with the outcomes hidden. The results indicated increased effort on the instrumental task, i.e. higher response frequency and greater force, in the presence of the reward-predicting cue. Our findings add to the growing number of studies demonstrating PIT effects in humans. This new paradigm is effective in measuring the effects of a conditioned stimulus on behavioral activation.

Tuning the Corticospinal System: How Distributed Brain Circuits Shape Human Actions

Interactive behaviors rely on the operation of several processes allowing the control of actions, including their selection, withholding, and cancellation. The corticospinal system provides a unique route through which multiple brain circuits can exert control over bodily motor acts. In humans, the influence of these modulatory circuits on the corticospinal system can be probed using various transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocols. Here, we review neural data from TMS studies at the basis of our current understanding of how diverse pathways—including intra-cortical, trans-cortical, and subcortico-cortical circuits—contribute to action control by tuning the activity of the corticospinal system. Critically, when doing so, we point out important caveats in the field that arise from the fact that these circuits, and their impact on the corticospinal system, have not been considered equivalently for action selection, withholding, and cancellation. This has led to the misleading view that some circuits or regions are specialized in specific control processes and that they produce particular modulatory changes in corticospinal excitability (e.g., generic vs. specific modulation of corticospinal excitability). Hence, we point to the need for more transversal research approaches in the field of action control.

Neural correlates of reward-directed action and inhibition of action

Human and non-human primate studies have examined neural responses to action and inhibition of action. However, it remains unclear whether the cerebral processes supporting these two distinct responses are differentially modulated by reward. In a sample of 35 healthy human adults, we examined brain activations to action and inhibition of action in a reward go/no-go task, with approximately ⅔ go and ⅓ no-go trials. Correct go and no-go trials were rewarded with $1 or ¢5 in reward sessions. Behaviorally, reward facilitated go and impeded no-go. A conjunction analysis showed shared activation to rewarded go and no-go responses in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and inferior parietal cortex. A whole-brain two-way ANOVA of response (go vs no-go) and reward (dollar vs nickel) revealed a significant main effect of response, with greater activity for no-go vs go success in the middle frontal cortex and the reversed pattern in the dorsal ACC, insula, thalamus, and caudate. The thalamus and caudate also responded preferentially to dollar relative to nickel reward during go trials. The main effect of reward (dollar > nickel) involved not only regions associated with reward valuation (e.g., medial orbitofrontal cortex - mOFC) but also those implicated in motor control, saliency, and visual attention including the rACC, ventral striatum, insula, and occipital cortex. Finally, the mOFC distinguished go and no-go responses in the dollar but not nickel trials, suggesting a functional bias toward response execution that leads to larger rewards. Together, these findings identified both shared and non-overlapping neural processes underlying goal-directed action and inhibition of action as well as delineated the effects of reward magnitude on such processes.