Functional connectivity of reward processing in the brain

Abstract

Controversial results have been reported concerning the neural mechanisms involved in the processing of rewards and punishments. On the one hand, there is evidence suggesting that monetary gains and losses activate a similar fronto-subcortical network. On the other hand, results of recent studies imply that reward and punishment may engage distinct neural mechanisms. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we investigated both regional and interregional functional connectivity patterns while participants performed a gambling task featuring unexpectedly high monetary gains and losses. Classical univariate statistical analysis showed that monetary gains and losses activated a similar fronto-striatallimbic network, in which main activation peaks were observed bilaterally in the ventral striatum. Functional connectivity analysis showed similar responses for gain and loss conditions in the insular cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus that correlated with the activity observed in the seed region ventral striatum, with the connectivity to the amygdala appearing more pronounced after losses. Larger functional connectivity was found to the medial orbitofrontal cortex for negative outcomes. The fact that different functional patterns were obtained with both analyses suggests that the brain activations observed in the classical univariate approach identifi es the involvement of different functional networks in the current task. These results stress the importance of studying functional connectivity in addition to standard fMRI analysis in reward-related studies.

Age differences in default and reward networks during processing of personally relevant information

“…The pattern of functional connectivity seen with the ventral striatum seed (p < 0.001, 33% covariance; Figure 2b) was consistent with previous papers on the RN (Camara, et al, 2009;Cauda, et al, 2011;Krebs, et al, 2011;Ye, et al, 2011), and included bilateral ventral striatum, vmPFC and anterior cingulate, dorsomedial PFC, thalamus, and the ventral tegmental area (Figure 2b and Table 5). Additional connectivity was seen in regions of temporal and parietal cortex and the left insula.…”

“…The regions involved in these patterns of connectivity were quite similar to other reports of connectivity in these networks (e.g., Cauda, et al, 2011;Toro, et al, 2008), indicating that our seed-PLS analyses demonstrate reasonable instantiations of these two networks that are robust under conditions in which they would be expected to be relevant. Indeed, the regions that we identified in our task analysis and chose for our seeds are very similar to regions identified with quite different tasks and/or used as seeds by other researchers (e.g., Andrews-Hanna, et al, 2010;Camara, et al, 2009;Krebs, et al, 2011;Toro, et al, 2008), suggesting that the same regions of PCC and ventral striatum are critically involved in a variety of cognitive states that would modulate activity in the DN and RN.…”

“…There is ample neuroimaging evidence of the involvement of these areas in tasks that tap the use of rewards to make decisions, especially the ventral striatum (Abler, Walter, Erk, Kammerer, & Spitzer, 2006;Knutson, Taylor, Kaufman, Peterson, & Glover, 2005;Liu, et al, 2011;O'Doherty, Deichmann, Critchley, & Dolan, 2002;Pagnoni, Zink, Montague, & Berns, 2002;Rolls, McCabe, & Redoute, 2008;Schott et al, 2008). In addition, there is recent support for the idea that these areas are functionally connected during reward tasks (Camara, Rodriguez-Fornells, & Munte, 2009;Krebs, Heipertz, Schuetze, & Duzel, 2011;Ye, Hammer, Camara, & Munte, 2011), and rest (Cauda et al, 2011). Our previous finding of activation in ventral striatum during judgments of self and a close other (Grigg & Grady, 2010a) is consistent with the idea that there is an intimate link between self and reward (Northoff & Hayes, 2011).…”

Music as Medicine: The Therapeutic Potential of Music for Acute Stroke Patients

“…9 The analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data of patients who listened to music for 6 months after stroke revealed an increase in the gray matter volume and reorganization in the frontal areas of the brain (left and right superior frontal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus) that enhanced the recovery of verbal memory, focused attention, and language skills. 9 Emotional effects induced by music learning, performing, and listening could engage reward-learning networks and corresponding neurotransmitter systems 57,58 that help to consolidate new information and increase the likelihood of voluntary practicing of new movements.…”

From Animal Model to Human Brain Networking: Dynamic Causal Modeling of Motivational Systems

“…For example, Camara et al (2008) investigated functional connectivity during gains and losses in a gambling task, using the NAcc as a seed region for correlation detection. They found similar networks for both states, including the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, insular cortex, and the hippocampus.…”