The Interplay Between Reward-Relevant Life Events and Trait Reward Sensitivity in Neural Responses to Reward Cues

The reward-hypersensitivity model posits that trait reward hypersensitivity should elicit hyper/hypo-approach motivation following exposure to recent life events that activate (goal striving and goal attainment) or deactivate (goal failure) the reward system, respectively. To test these hypotheses, we had 87 young adults with high trait reward (HRew) sensitivity or moderate trait reward (MRew) sensitivity report frequency of life events via the Life Event Interview. Brain activation was assessed during the functional MRI monetary-incentive-delay task. Greater exposure to goal-striving events was associated with higher nucleus accumbens (NAc) reward anticipation among HRew participants and lower orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reward anticipation among MRew participants. Greater exposure to goal-failure events was associated with higher NAc and OFC reward anticipation only among HRew participants. This study demonstrated different neural reward anticipation (but not outcome) following reward-relevant events for HRew individuals compared with MRew individuals. Trait reward sensitivity and reward-relevant life events may jointly modulate reward-related brain function, which has implications for understanding psychopathology.

Autism interest intensity in early childhood associates with executive functioning but not reward sensitivity or anxiety symptoms

Several theories have been proposed to explain the presentation of intense interests in autism, including theories based on altered executive functioning, imbalanced reward sensitivity, and mitigating anxiety. These theories have yet to be examined in early childhood, yet knowledge of how intense interests emerge could provide insight into how best to manage intensity and support the many benefits of personal interests. Parents of 33 autistic and 42 non-autistic comparison children aged 3–6 years completed questionnaires to assess attention shifting and inhibitory control, responsiveness to rewards, and anxiety symptoms. Each behavior domain was examined for associations with parent-reported interest intensity. In autistic and comparison children, attention shifting was associated with interest intensity, where children with more difficulties showed more intense interests. In autistic children only, inhibitory control of attention also associated with interest intensity, where children with greater difficulties showed more intense interests. Reward and anxiety symptoms did not associate with interest intensity in either group, or across the sample. These findings suggest that, in early childhood, the presentation of intense interests is related to executive functioning regardless of diagnostic group. Helping children develop executive functioning skills may therefore be useful to assist with managing interest intensity in early childhood. Lay abstract Personal interests in autism are a source of joy, pride, and assist with the formation of social relationships. However, highly intense engagement can also interfere with other activities including activities of daily living. Theories have suggested that intense interests relate to executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms; but none of these theories have been tested in early childhood. Understanding which behavioral traits relate to intense interests in early childhood could help understand how intense interests may emerge, while also providing clues for how to manage interest intensity and best promote the many benefits of personal interests. We recruited families with autistic and non-autistic children aged 3–6 years. Parents completed questionnaires to assess children’s interest diversity and intensity, executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms. We found that for autistic and non-autistic children, greater difficulty shifting attention between activities related to more intense interests. In autistic children only, difficulty with inhibitory control of attention also related to more intense interests. However, reward sensitivity and anxiety symptoms did not relate to interest intensity. Based on these observations, assisting young children with developing executive functioning skills could help with mediating the interference of interests in daily life to ultimately promote the many benefits of personal interests.

Individual differences in music reward sensitivity influence the perception of emotions represented by music

Although music is one of the most important sources of pleasure for many people, there are considerable individual differences in music reward sensitivity. Behavioral and neurobiological characterizations of music reward variability have been topics of increasing scientific interest over the last two decades. However, it is not clear how differences in music reward sensitivity might influence the perception of emotions represented by music and, specifically, how music reward sensitivity could influence subjective music evaluation when the affective valence of music is considered. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between music reward sensitivity and the perception of emotions in music, taking into account the emotional category of stimuli (pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant music clips). Music reward and emotion perception were also explored as a function of gender, musicianship, and music discrimination skills. We used the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire and the previously validated Film Music Stimulus Set (FMSS); participants rated FMSS excerpts for affective dimensions (valence, energy, and tension arousal) and discrete emotions (happiness, anger, fear, tenderness, and sadness). Our results showed that music reward was the main factor influencing FMSS evaluation, particularly for excerpts associated with positive affect. Gender had an important influence on evaluations linked to the negative pole of emotions, and music discrimination skills seemed to be associated with cognitive aspects of music analysis, rather than with the emotional architecture of pleasant music excerpts. Our findings highlight the need to consider music reward sensitivity and gender in studies of music and emotion, and open the possibility of using the FMSS in studies exploring the neurobiological and psychosocial bases of music emotion.

Reward sensitivity and internalizing symptoms during the transition to puberty: An examination of 9-and 10-year-olds in the ABCD Study

Early pubertal timing has been linked to increased risk for internalizing disorders. Work in older adolescents and adults suggests that heightened reward sensitivity may buffer risk for internalizing symptoms, but few studies have investigated these associations during the early transition to puberty, a window of vulnerability to mental health risk. In this preregistered study, we investigated the associations among pubertal timing, internalizing symptoms, and reward sensitivity in 11,243 9-10 year-olds from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®. Using split-half analysis, we tested hypothesized effects across two subsets of the sample (Sample 1 N=5,631 ; Sample 2 N=5,612). Across samples, early pubertal timing was associated with higher internalizing symptoms in females and males, with highest symptoms evident in mid-pubertal adolescents. Additionally, early pubertal timing was robustly associated with greater self-reported reward sensitivity in both females and males. We observed preliminary evidence of a moderating role of self-reported and neural reward sensitivity in the association between early pubertal timing and internalizing symptoms, but several of these effects differed by sex, and no moderation effects replicated across samples. Together, these findings provide novel insights into early indicators of risk for internalizing disorders during the transition to puberty.

Exploring the interplay of dopaminergic genotype and parental behavior in relation to executive function in early childhood

Child genotype is an important biologically based individual difference conferring differential sensitivity to the effect of parental behavior. This study explored dopaminergic polygenic composite × parental behavior interactions in relation to young children’s executive function. Participants were 135 36-month-old children and their mothers drawn from a prospective cohort followed longitudinally from pregnancy. A polygenic composite was created based on the number of COMT, DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4 alleles associated with increased reward sensitivity children carried. Maternal negative reactivity and responsiveness were coded during a series of structured mother–child interactions. Executive function was operationalized as self-control and working memory/inhibitory control. Path analysis supported a polygenic composite by negative reactivity interaction for self-control. The nature of the interaction was one of diathesis-stress, such that higher negative reactivity was associated with poorer self-control for children with higher polygenic composite scores. This result suggests that children with a higher number of alleles may be more vulnerable to the negative effect of negative reactivity. Negative reactivity may increase the risk for developing behavior problems in this population via an association with poorer self-control. Due to the small sample size, these initial findings should be treated with caution until they are replicated in a larger independent sample.

Objective measures of reward sensitivity and motivation in people with high vs low anhedonia

Background. Anhedonia, a diminished interest or pleasure in activities, is a core self-reported symptom of depression which is poorly understood and often resistant to conventional antidepressants. This symptom may occur due to dysfunction in one or more sub-components of reward processing: motivation, consummatory experience, and/or learning. However, the precise impairments remain elusive. Dissociating these components (ideally, using cross-species measures) and relating them to the subjective experience of anhedonia is critical as it may benefit fundamental biology research and novel drug development. Methods. Using a battery of behavioural tasks based on rodent assays, we examined reward motivation (Joystick-Operated Runway Task, JORT; and Effort-Expenditure for Rewards Task, EEfRT) and reward sensitivity (Sweet Taste Test) in a non-clinical population who scored high (N = 32) or low (N = 34) on an anhedonia questionnaire (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale). Results. Compared to the low anhedonia group, the high anhedonia group displayed marginal impairments in effort-based decision-making (EEfRT) and reduced reward sensitivity (Sweet Taste Test). However, we found no evidence of a difference between groups in physical effort exerted for reward (JORT). Interestingly, whilst the EEfRT and Sweet Taste Test correlated with anhedonia measures, they did not correlate with each other, lending support for the possibility of sub-groups within anhedonia. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that reward motivation and reward sensitivity are dissociable when tested in the same group of participants, and that anhedonia is a heterogenous symptom associated with impairments in reward sensitivity and effort-based decision-making.

Reward-Based Reinforcement Learning in Altered Among Individuals with a History of Major Depressive Disorder and Psychomotor Retardation Symptoms

Background: Reward-based reinforcement learning impairments are common in major depressive disorder, but it is unclear which reward-based reinforcement learning is disrupted in remitted major depression (rMDD). As the neurobiological substrates that implement reward-based RL are also strongly implicated in psychomotor retardation (PmR), the present study sought to test whether reward-based reinforcement learning is particularly altered in rMDD individuals with past PmR. Methods: Three groups of individuals (1) rMDD with past PmR (PmR+, N=34), rMDD without past PmR (PmR-, N=44) and healthy controls (N=90) completed a reward-based reinforcement learning task. Computational modeling was applied to test for group differences in model-derived parameters – specifically, learning rate, reward sensitivity, and value estimates. Results: Compared to controls, rMDD PmR + exhibited lower learning rates, but not reduced reward sensitivity. Relative to rMDD PmR-, rMDD PmR + exhibited reduced value estimation early, but not later, in the reinforcement learning task. Follow-up analyses indicated that the results were not due to current psychopathology symptoms.Conclusions: Results indicate that a history of PmR predicts altered reward-based reinforcement learning in rMDD. Abnormal reward-related reinforcement learning may reflect a scar of past depressive episodes that contained psychomotor symptoms, or a trait-like deficit that preceded these episodes.