Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (Aug 2015)
Anticipatory pleasure predicts effective connectivity in the mesolimbic system
Abstract
Convergent evidence suggests the important role of the mesolimbic pathway in anticipating monetary rewards. However, the underlying mechanism of how the sub-regions interact with each other is still not clearly understood. Using dynamic causal modeling, we constructed a reward-related network for anticipating monetary reward using the Monetary Incentive Delay Task. Twenty-six healthy adolescents (Female/Male = 11/15; age = 18.69±1.35 years; education = 12±1.58 years) participated in the present study. The best-fit network involved the right substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area, the right nucleus accumbens and the right thalamus, which were all activated during anticipation of monetary gain and loss. The substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area directly activates the nucleus accumbens and the thalamus. More importantly, monetary gain modulated the connectivity from the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens and this was significantly correlated with subjective anticipatory pleasure (r = 0.649, p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that activity in the mesolimbic pathway during the anticipation of monetary reward could to some extent be predicted by subjective anticipatory pleasure.
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