scholarly journals Electrophysiological indices of anterior cingulate cortex function reveal changing levels of cognitive effort and reward valuation that sustain task performance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akina Umemoto ◽  
Michael Inzlicht ◽  
Clay B. Holroyd
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Frontal Midline Theta ◽  
High Control ◽  
Reward Valuation

AbstractSuccessful execution of goal-directed behaviors often requires the deployment of cognitive control, which is thought to require cognitive effort. Recent theories have proposed that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regulates control levels by weighing the reward-related benefits of control against its effort-related costs. However, given that the sensations of cognitive effort and reward valuation are available only to introspection, this hypothesis is difficult to investigate empirically. We have proposed that two electrophysiological indices of ACC function, frontal midline theta and the reward positivity (RewP), provide objective measures of these functions. To investigate this issue, we recorded the electroencephalogram (EEG) from participants engaged in an extended, cognitively-demanding task. Participants performed a time estimation task for 2 hours in which they received reward and error feedback according to their task performance. We observed that the amplitude of the RewP, a feedback-locked component of the event related brain potential associated with reward processing, decreased with time-on-task. Conversely, frontal midline theta power, which consists of 4-8 Hz EEG oscillations associated with cognitive effort, increased with time-on-task. We also examined how these phenomena changed over time by conducting within-participant multi-level modeling analyses. Our results suggest that extended execution of a cognitively-demanding task is characterized by an early phase in which high control levels combine with strong reward valuation to foster rapid improvements in task performance, and a later phase in which high control levels counteract waning reward valuation to maintain stable task performance.

scholarly journals Modulation of anterior cingulate cortex reward and penalty signalling in medication-naive young-adult subjects with depressive symptoms following acute dose lurasidone

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (08) ◽  
pp. 1365-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selina A. Wolke ◽  
Mitul A. Mehta ◽  
Owen O'Daly ◽  
Fernando Zelaya ◽  
Nada Zahreddine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Depression Severity ◽  
Placebo Condition ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Monetary Incentive Delay ◽  
Reward Functions

AbstractBackgroundAberrations in reward and penalty processing are implicated in depression and putatively reflect altered dopamine signalling. This study exploits the advantages of a placebo-controlled design to examine how a novel D2antagonist with adjunctive antidepressant properties modifies activity in the brain's reward network in depression.MethodsWe recruited 43 medication-naïve subjects across the range of depression severity (Beck's Depression Inventory-II score range: 0–43), including healthy volunteers, as well as people meeting full-criteria for major depressive disorder. In a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, all subjects received either placebo or lurasidone (20 mg) across two visits separated by 1 week. Functional magnetic resonance imaging with the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task assessed reward functions via neural responses during anticipation and receipt of gains and losses. Arterial spin labelling measured cerebral blood flow (CBF) at rest.ResultsLurasidone altered fronto-striatal activity during anticipation and outcome phases of the MID task. A significant three-way Medication-by-Depression severity-by-Outcome interaction emerged in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) after correction for multiple comparisons. Follow-up analyses revealed significantly higher ACC activation to losses in high-v.low depression participants in the placebo condition, with a normalisation by lurasidone. This effect could not be accounted for by shifts in resting CBF.ConclusionsLurasidone acutely normalises reward processing signals in individuals with depressive symptoms. Lurasidone's antidepressant effects may arise from reducing responses to penalty outcomes in individuals with depressive symptoms.

scholarly journals Fractionating Blunted Reward Processing Characteristic of Anhedonia by Over-Activating Primate Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Neuron ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-320.e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laith Alexander ◽  
Philip L.R. Gaskin ◽  
Stephen J. Sawiak ◽  
Tim D. Fryer ◽  
Young T. Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Processing Characteristic ◽  
Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Frontal midline theta rhythms reflect alternative activation of prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in humans

1999 ◽  
Vol 274 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Asada ◽  
Yutaka Fukuda ◽  
Shigeru Tsunoda ◽  
Masahiko Yamaguchi ◽  
Mitsuo Tonoike
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Alternative Activation ◽  
Frontal Midline Theta

scholarly journals Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Encodes the Integrated Incentive Motivational Value of Cognitive Task Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie M. Yee ◽  
Jennifer L. Crawford ◽  
Bidhan Lamichhane ◽  
Todd S. Braver
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Monetary Incentives ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance ◽  
The Brain

AbstractHumans can seamlessly combine value signals from diverse motivational incentives, yet it is not well-understood how these signals are “bundled” in the brain to modulate cognitive control. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is theorized to integrate motivational value dimensions in the service of goal-directed action, though this hypothesis has yet to receive rigorous confirmation. In the present study, we examined the role of human dACC in motivational incentive integration. Healthy young adult men and women were scanned with fMRI while engaged in an experimental paradigm that quantifies the combined effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on cognitive task performance. Monetary incentives modulated trial-by-trial dACC activation, whereas block-related effects of liquid incentives on dACC activity were observed. When bundled together, incentive-related dACC modulation predicted fluctuations in both cognitive performance and self-report motivation ratings. Statistical mediation analyses suggest that dACC encoded the incentives in terms of their integrated subjective motivational value, and that this value signal was most proximally associated with task performance. Finally, we confirmed that these incentive integration effects were selectively present in dACC. Together, the results support an account in which dACC integrates motivational signals to compute the expected value of goal-directed cognitive control.Significance StatementHow are primary and secondary incentives integrated in the brain to influence goal-directed behavior? Using an innovative experimental fMRI paradigm that combines motivational incentives that have historically been studied independently between species (e.g., monetary rewards for humans, food rewards for animals), we examine the relationship between incentive motivational value and cognitive control allocation. We find evidence that the integrated incentive motivational value of combined incentives is encoded in human dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Further, self-reported motivational shifts mediated the effects of incentive-modulated dACC activity on task performance, revealing convergence in how self-reported and experimentally-induced motivation are encoded in the human brain. Our findings may inform future translational studies examining affective/motivational and cognitive impairments in psychopathology (e.g., anxiety, depression, addiction).

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