Reward During Arm Training Improves Impairment and Activity After Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Learning and learning-related neuroplasticity in motor cortex are potential mechanisms mediating recovery of movement abilities after stroke. These mechanisms depend on dopaminergic projections from midbrain that may encode reward information. Likewise, therapist experience confirms the role of feedback/reward for training efficacy after stroke. Objective To test the hypothesis that rehabilitative training can be enhanced by adding performance feedback and monetary rewards. Methods This multicentric, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial used the ArmeoSenso virtual reality rehabilitation system to train 37 first-ever subacute stroke patients in arm-reaching to moving targets. The rewarded group (n = 19) trained with performance feedback (gameplay) and contingent monetary reward. The control group (n = 18) used the same system without monetary reward and with graphically minimized performance feedback. Primary outcome was the change in the two-dimensional reaching space until the end of the intervention period. Secondary clinical assessments were performed at baseline, after 3 weeks of training (15 1-hour sessions), and at 3 month follow-up. Duration and intensity of the interventions as well as concomitant therapy were comparable between groups. Results The two-dimensional reaching space showed an overall improvement but no difference between groups. The rewarded group, however, showed significantly greater improvements from baseline in secondary outcomes assessing arm activity (Box and Block Test at post-training: 6.03±2.95, P = .046 and 3 months: 9.66±3.11, P = .003; Wolf Motor Function Test [Score] at 3 months: .63±.22, P = .007) and arm impairment (Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity at 3 months: 8.22±3.11, P = .011). Conclusions Although neutral in its primary outcome, the trial signals a potential facilitating effect of reward on training-mediated improvement of arm paresis. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT02257125).

Stakes and expertise modulate conformity in economic choice

The influences of expertise and group size on an individual’s tendency to align with a majority opinion have been attributed to informational and normative conformity, respectively: Whereas the former refers to the treatment of others’ decisions as proxies for outcomes, the latter involves positive affect elicited by group membership. In this study, using a social gambling task, we pitted alignment with a high- vs. low-expertise majority against a hypothetical monetary reward, thus relating conformity to a broader literature on valuation and choice, and probed the countering influence of a high-expertise minority opinion. We found that the expertise of a countering minority group significantly modulated alignment with a low-expertise majority, but only if such alignment did not come at a cost. Conversely, participants’ knowledge of payoff probabilities predicted the degree of majority alignment only when a high-expertise majority endorsed a more costly option. Implications for the relative influences of expertise and stakes on conformity are discussed.

Sharing Personal Information is Discounted as a Function of Social Distance

Social discounting researchers have repeatedly shown that individuals discount sharing the amount of a monetary reward as a function of social distance, and that increasing the available monetary reward decreases sharing. However, no previous study has tested whether sharing nonmonetary commodities are discounted as a function of social distance. The current study tested whether sharing personal information would be discounted similarly to monetary rewards, as well as whether a magnitude effect occurred at a relatively small magnitude difference with 96 university students. A within-participant procedure showed that sharing personal information was discounted as a function of social distance, albeit with a steeper discounting rate relative to both monetary reward magnitudes. However, there was no significant association between personal information discounting rates and monetary discounting rates at either magnitude, suggesting that participants treated each commodity differently (i.e., commodity effect). Replicating previous non-U.S. samples, discounting rates for both monetary reward magnitudes were significantly positively associated with each other and showed a significant magnitude effect, with participants showing significantly steeper discounting rates for the relatively larger monetary rewards. The results for sharing personal information are important because many scams now target personal information in addition to money. Future research should examine what type of personal information is most likely to be shared as a function of social distance, and whether those participants who choose to share more personal information also are at greater risk for scams targeting personal information.

The Satisfaction Is Mine: Extrinsic Reward Reduces Desire for Revenge

Revenge is often driven by desire to feel gratified. Consequently, extrinsic reward should diminish revengeful cravings. One hundred fourteen participants received either insulting or praising feedback from another individual, were led to believe that they or the other individual won an unexpected monetary reward, and then indicated how much they desired revenge. Participants who received insulting feedback desired revenge more than praised counterparts, yet insulted participants who won the reward desired revenge less than those who did not win. This evidence emphasizes the need for personal satisfaction as fuel for revenge as well as highlights the importance of balancing the scales in retribution seeking.

Relationship of ventral striatum activation during effort discounting to clinical amotivation severity in schizophrenia

Motivational deficits play a central role in disability due to negative symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ), but limited pathophysiological understanding impedes critically needed therapeutic development. We applied an fMRI Effort Discounting Task (EDT) that quantifies motivation using a neuroeconomic decision-making approach, capturing the degree to which effort requirements produce reductions in the subjective value (SV) of monetary reward. An analyzed sample of 21 individuals with SZ and 23 group-matched controls performed the EDT during fMRI. We hypothesized that ventral striatum (VS) as well as extended brain motivation circuitry would encode SV, integrating reward and effort costs. We also hypothesized that VS hypoactivation during EDT decisions would demonstrate a dimensional relationship with clinical amotivation severity, reflecting greater suppression by effort costs. As hypothesized, VS as well as a broader cortico-limbic network were activated during the EDT and this activation correlated positively with SV. In SZ, activation to task decisions was reduced selectively in VS. Greater VS reductions correlated with more severe clinical amotivation in SZ and across all participants. However, these diagnosis and amotivation effects could not be explained by the response to parametric variation in reward, effort, or model-based SV. Our findings demonstrate that VS hypofunction in schizophrenia is manifested during effort-based decisions and reflects dimensional motivation impairment. Dysfunction of VS impacting effort-based decision-making can provide a target for biomarker development to guide novel efforts to assess and treat disabling amotivation.

PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION TO THE ARBITRATION MANAGER IN BANKRUPTCY: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS

The arbitral trustee faces many problems in his work, but the most important is question about pay for his services. The purpose of the article is to study the legal regulation of remuneration to the trustee in bankruptcy, identify problems that arise in practice in the application of the relevant provisions of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedure and highlight on this basis the author’s vision of the remuneration of the trustee in bankruptcy. The authors argued the introduction of a provision on the appointment of an arbitral trustee to perform the powers of the administrator of property in the event of bankruptcy proceedings on the application of the initiating creditor as a permanent one, which will work after the launch of the Unified Judicial Information and Telecommunication System. This will allow to adhere to the principle of dispositiveness, as one of the principles of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedure, according to which the bankruptcy procedure is carried out. Based on the results of the study, the authors conclude that the arbitral trustee should be able to choose in which bankruptcy case to participate, and which to refuse, what amount of remuneration he should receive and so on. In reorganization and liquidation proceedings, only creditors (through the creditors’ committee) should elect an arbitration trustee to perform the powers of the reorganization trustee and liquidator. Creditors must pay a fee to the trustee if they are interested in settling their claims. The arbitral trustee shall exercise his / her powers for a fee, which shall consist of a principal and an additional fee. The arbitration trustee may also receive funds from creditors from the fund to advance the monetary reward. It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “the emergence of the right to monetary remuneration” and “payment of monetary remuneration”. The emergence of the right to monetary remuneration means that only the first condition has come — the payment deadline. However, the payment of monetary remuneration is not automatic, as only creditors can assess the effectiveness of the arbitral trustee in the procedure of disposition of property.

Moderating Effects of Individual Differences in Causality Orientation on Relationships between Reward, Choice, and Intrinsic Motivation

This study examines the effects of external environmental factors, specifically monetary reward and choice, on intrinsic motivation, and tests whether they are moderated by individual differences in causality orientation. We randomly assigned 103 undergraduates to one of four conditions: reward (reward vs. no reward) × choice (choice vs. no choice). Participants were given puzzles to solve in the experimenters' presence, which they were free to continue tackling when the experimenters left the room. We measured the time spent solving puzzles when free to choose other activities, task enjoyment, and perceived competence as dependent variables. Interest in puzzles was unaffected by receiving a reward in participants with high autonomy orientation but dropped significantly in participants with low autonomy orientation. Choice over the task increased competence in participants with high autonomy orientation but lowered competence in low autonomy orientation. Finally, we found no significant effects on time spent on puzzles. The present study contributes to current literature regarding the causes of differences in performance in various achievement settings.

Brain activations associated with anticipation and delivery of monetary reward: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Background While multiple studies have examined the brain functional correlates of reward, meta-analyses have either focused on studies using the monetary incentive delay (MID) task, or have adopted a broad strategy, combining data from studies using both monetary and non-monetary reward, as probed using a wide range of tasks. Objective To meta-analyze fMRI studies that used monetary reward and in which there was a definable cue-reward contingency. Studies were limited to those using monetary reward in order to avoid potential heterogeneity from use of other rewards, especially social rewards. Studies using gambling or delay discounting tasks were excluded on the grounds that reward anticipation is not easily quantifiable. Study eligibility English-language fMRI studies (i) that reported fMRI findings on healthy adults; (ii) that used monetary reward; and (iii) in which a cue that was predictive of reward was compared to a no win (or lesser win) condition. Only voxel-based studies were included; those where brain coverage was incomplete were excluded. Data sources Ovid, Medline and PsycInfo, from 2000 to 2020, plus checking of review articles and meta-analyses. Data synthesis Data were pooled using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images (SDM-PSI). Heterogeneity among studies was examined using the I2 statistic. Publication bias was examined using funnel plots and statistical examination of asymmetries. Moderator variables including whether the task was pre-learnt, sex distribution, amount of money won and width of smoothing kernel were examined. Results Pooled data from 45 studies of reward anticipation revealed activations in the ventral striatum, the middle cingulate cortex/supplementary motor area and the insula. Pooled data from 28 studies of reward delivery again revealed ventral striatal activation, plus cortical activations in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. There was relatively little evidence of publication bias. Among moderating variables, only whether the task was pre-learnt exerted an influence. Conclusions According to this meta-analysis monetary reward anticipation and delivery both activate the ventral but not the dorsal striatum, and are associated with different patterns of cortical activation.

Effect of non-instructed instrumental contingency of monetary reward and positive affect in a cognitive control task

In recent years, we observed a strong interest in the influence of motivation and emotion on cognitive control. Prior studies suggest that the instrumental contingency between a response and a rewarding or affective stimulus is particularly important in that context—which is resonating with observations in the associative learning literature. However, despite this overlap, and the relevance of non-instructed learning in real life, the vast majority of studies investigating motivation–cognition interactions use direct instructions to inform participants about the contingencies between responses and stimuli. Thus, there is little experimental insight regarding how humans detect non-instructed contingencies between their actions and motivational or affective outcomes, and how these learned contingencies come to influence cognitive control processes. In an attempt to close this gap, the goal of the present study was to test the effect of non-instructed contingent and non-contingent outcomes (i.e. monetary reward and positive affective stimuli) on cognitive control using the AX-continuous performance task (AX-CPT) paradigm. We found that entirely non-instructed contingencies between responses and positive outcomes (both monetary and affective ones) led to significant performance improvement. The present results open new perspectives for studying the influence of motivation and emotion on cognitive control at the insertion with associative learning.

Effectiveness of Monetary Reward System on the Employee’s Performance Level

Monetary rewards can be defined as money or hard cash rewards given to the employees for their extraordinary work or for the attainment of goals of the organisation. The main purpose of the study is to see how monetary rewards have an effect on the performance level of the employees and how it motivates them. The aim of the study is to find out whether the employees will increase their work or not. This study will help the employers understand which combination of rewards can boost the commitment level of the employees towards the company and it will help the employees find out whether rewards are given fairly them and whether all the employees are treated in the same way. From the results collected from the employees it can be said that monetary rewards have positive impact in the organisation and it makes an employee more loyal towards the organisation.