Handbook of Reward and Decision Making

Jean-Claude Dreher, Léon Tremblay

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780080923482
• Topic: Psychologie
• Subtopic: Kognitive Psychologie & Kognition

This book addresses a fundamental question about the nature of behavior: how does the brain process reward and makes decisions when facing multiple options? The book presents the most recent and compelling lesion, neuroimaging, electrophysiological and computational studies, in combination with hormonal and genetic studies, which have led to a clearer understanding of neural mechanisms behind reward and decision making. The neural bases of reward and decision making processes are of great interest to scientists because of the fundamental role of reward in a number of behavioral processes (such as motivation, learning and cognition) and because of their theoretical and clinical implications for understanding dysfunctions of the dopaminergic system in several neurological and psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, drug addiction, pathological gambling, ...)

• Comprehensive coverage of approaches to studying reward and decision making, including primate neurophysiology and brain imaging studies in healthy humans and in various disorders, genetic and hormonal influences on the reward system and computational models.
• Covers clinical implications of process dysfunction (e.g., schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, eating disorders, drug addiction, pathological gambling)
• Uses multiple levels of analysis, from molecular mechanisms to neural systems dynamics and computational models.

" This is a very interesting and authoritative handbook by some of the most outstanding investigators in the field of reward and decision making ", Professor Edmund T. Rolls, Oxford Center for Computational Neuroscience, UK

Chapter 1. Anatomy and connectivity of the reward circuit

Suzanne N. Haber

Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14642

Abstract

While cells in many brain regions cells are responsive to reward, the cortical-basal ganglia circuit is at the heart of the reward system. The key structures in this network are: the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbital prefrontal cortex, the ventral striatum, the ventral pallidum, and the midbrain dopamine neurons. In addition, other structures including the dorsal prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, lateral habenular n., and specific brainstem structures, such as the pedunculopontine n. and the raphe n., are key components in regulating the reward circuit. Connectivity between these areas forms a complex neural network that is topographically organized, thus maintaining functional continuity through the cortico-basal ganglia pathway. However, the reward circuit does not work in isolation. The network also contains specific regions in which convergent pathways provide an anatomical substrate for integration across functional domains.

Key Points

1. The cortico-basal ganglia network is at the center of the reward circuit that underlies the ability to make complex choices and accurately evaluate reward value, predictability, and risk.

2. The key structures are the anterior cingulate cortex, the ventral striatum, the ventral pallidum, and the dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra, pars compacta. The amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, lateral habenular n., and specific brainstem structures, such as the pedunculopontine n., and the raphe n., are key components in regulating the reward circuit.

3. While pathways from the cortex through the striatum, pallidum, thalamus, and back to the cortex are generally topographically organized, there are key areas of convergence of between different functional regions, which provides an important substrate for integration between functional domains.

4. Through these integrative networks, the reward circuit impacts on cognition and motor control, allowing information about reward to be channeled through cognitive and motor control circuits to mediate the development of appropriate action plans.

1.1. Introduction

The reward circuit is a complex neural network that underlies the ability to effectively assess the likely outcomes from different choices. A key component to good decision-making and appropriate goal-directed behaviors is the ability to accurately evaluate reward value, predictability, and risk. While the hypothalamus is central for processing information about basic or primary rewards, higher cortical and subcortical forebrain structures are engaged when complex choices about these fundamental needs are required. Moreover, choices often involve secondary rewards, such as money, power, challenge, and so on that are more abstract (compared to primary needs), and not as dependent on direct sensory stimulation. Although cells that respond to different aspects of reward, such as anticipation or value, are found throughout the brain, at the center of this neural network is the ventral cortico-basal ganglia ((BG) circuit). The BG are traditionally considered to process information in parallel and segregated functional streams consisting of reward processing, cognition, and motor control areas [1]. Moreover, within the ventral BG, there are microcircuits thought to be associated with different aspects of reward processing. However, a key component for learning and adaptation of goal-directed behaviors is the ability not only to evaluate different aspects of reward but also to develop appropriate action plans and inhibit maladaptive choices on the basis of previous experience. This requires integration between different aspects of reward processing as well as interaction between reward circuits and brain regions involved in cognition. Thus, while parallel processing provides throughput channels by which specific actions can be expressed while others are inhibited, the BG also plays a key role in learning new procedures and associations, implying the necessity for integrative processing across circuits. Indeed, an emerging literature demonstrates the complexity of the cortico-BG network showing a dual organizational system, permitting both parallel and integrative processing [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6]. Therefore, while the ventral BG network is at the heart of reward processing, it does not work in isolation. This chapter addresses not only the connectivities within this circuit, but also how this circuit anatomically interfaces with other BG circuits.

The frontal-BG network, in general, mediates all aspects of action planning, including reward and motivation, cognition, and motor control. However, specific regions within this network play a unique role in different aspects of reward processing and evaluation of outcomes, including reward value, anticipation, predictability, and risk. The key structures are: prefrontal areas (anterior cingulate cortex – ACC and orbital prefrontal cortex – OFC), the ventral striatum (VS), the ventral pallidum (VP), and the midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons. The ACC and OFC prefrontal areas mediate different aspects of reward-based behaviors, error prediction, value, and the choice between short- and long-term gains. Cells in the VS and VP respond to anticipation of reward and reward detection. Reward prediction and error detection signals are generated, in part from the midbrain DA cells. While the VS and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons are the BG areas most commonly associated with reward, reward-responsive activation is not restricted to these, but found throughout the striatum and substantia nigra, pars compacta (SNc). In addition, other structures, including the dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC), amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, lateral habenular n., and specific brainstem structures, such as the pedunculopontine n. and the raphe n., are key components in regulating the reward circuit (Fig. 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Schematic illustrating key structures and pathways of the reward circuit. Shaded areas and gray arrows represent the basic ventral cortico-BG structures and connections. Amy, amygdala; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; DPFC, dorsal prefrontal cortex; DS, dorsal striatum; Hipp, hippocampus; hypo, hypothalamus; LHb, lateral habenula; OFC, orbital frontal cortex; PPT, pedunculopontine nucleus; SNc, substantia nigra, pars compacta; STN, subthalamic n.; Thal, thalamus; VP, ventral pallidum; VS, ventral striatum; VTA, ventral tegmental area; vmPFC, ventral medial prefrontal cortex.

1.2. Prefrontal Cortex

Although cells throughout the cortex fire in response to various aspects of reward processing, the main components of evaluating reward value and outcome are the anterior cingulate and orbital prefrontal cortices. Each of these regions is comprised of several specific cortical areas: The ACC is divided into areas 24, 25, and 32; the orbital cortex is divided into areas 11, 12, 13, 14, and caudal regions referred to as ei...

Table of contents

• Cover Image
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• List of contributors
• Chapter 1. Anatomy and connectivity of the reward circuit
• Chapter 2. Electrophysiological correlates of reward processing in dopamine neurons
• Chapter 3. The ventral striatum
• Chapter 4. Role of the primate lateral prefrontal cortex in integrating decision-making and motivational information
• Chapter 5. From reward value to decision-making
• Chapter 6. Decomposing brain signals involved in value-based decision making
• Chapter 7. Reward processing in the human brain
• Chapter 8. Spatiotemporal characteristics of perceptual decision making in the human brain
• Chapter 9. Feedback valuation processing within the prefrontal cortex
• Chapter 10. Computational neuroimaging
• Chapter 11. Can models of reinforcement learning help us to understand symptoms of schizophrenia?
• Chapter 12. Effects of dopamine depletion on reward-seeking behavior
• Chapter 13. A neuropsychological perspective on the role of the prefrontal cortex in reward processing and decision-making
• Chapter 14. Gonadal steroid hormones’ influence on reward and decision-making processes
• Chapter 15. Hormone effects on specific motivational states and underlying CNS arousal
• Chapter 16. The genetic basis of individual differences in reward processing and the link to addictive behavior
• Chapter 17. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype effects on brain activation elicited by affective stimuli and cognitive tasks
• Chapter 18. Optimal decision-making theories
• Chapter 19. The basal ganglia in reward and decision making
• Chapter 20. Reward-based emotions
• Chapter 21. Bayesian decision making in two-alternative forced choices
• Chapter 22. Predicting risk in a multiple stimulus-reward environment
• Index