Article
Behavioral Sciences
Tong Zhang, Naoya Nishitani, Kazuhei Niitani, Ryoma Nishida, Yusaku Futami, Satoshi Deyama, Katsuyuki Kaneda
Summary: This study investigated changes in neuronal activity in brain regions associated with motivation in mice during different intensities of rotation on running wheels. The results suggest that subareas of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) may play a critical role in the motivational effects of running wheel rotations.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Nienke C. Jonker, Marieke E. Timmerman, Peter J. De Jong
Summary: Reward and punishment sensitivity are important for understanding behavior and psychopathology. However, existing measures do not differentiate between responsivity and motivation. This study developed a new questionnaire that assesses both responsivity and motivation, and showed promising psychometric qualities.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Wilder T. Doucette, Elizabeth B. Smedley, Metztli Ruiz-Jaquez, Jibran Y. Khokhar, Kyle S. Smith
Summary: Current treatments for obesity have limited effects on long-term weight reduction. Chronic neuromodulation, a new interventional strategy, shows promise based on preclinical animal studies. This study focused on the ventral pallidum (VP) and found that both inhibitory and excitatory chemogenetic manipulations of VP-targeted neurons caused weight gain over time, not clearly related to consumption levels. The complex reciprocal feedback between ventral striatal structures and metabolic centers may underlie these unexpected findings.
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Chloe Slaney, Adam M. Perkins, Robert Davis, Ian Penton-Voak, Marcus R. Munafo, Conor J. Houghton, Emma S. J. Robinson
Summary: Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, is poorly understood. This study examined reward motivation and sensitivity in individuals with high and low anhedonia. The results suggest that anhedonia is associated with impairments in decision-making and reward sensitivity.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Wayne E. Pratt, Rafaella Vaca-Tricerri, Alexa C. Blanchard, Thomas R. Hopkins, Adeolu O. Ilesanmi, Zachary Pierce-Messick, Ian A. Rosner, Rose Ying
Summary: Activation of serotonin receptors in the ventral tegmentum, particularly 5-HT1A and 5-HT3 receptors, significantly affects appetitive motivation, leading to a decrease in break point in a progressive ratio task. Stimulation of 5-HT2C receptors also reduces total lever presses, demonstrating an impact on appetitive food seeking behavior.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Amira Abozaid, Robert Gerlai
Summary: This study investigates associative learning in zebrafish by manipulating feeding frequency and using conditioned stimuli. The results show that zebrafish fed five times a day perform better in training and consume less food compared to those fed once a day. Chronic elevated feeding improves food consumption and enhances learning and memory performance in adult zebrafish without affecting activity levels.
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2024)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Roselinde H. Kaiser, Amelia D. Moser, Chiara Neilson, Elena C. Peterson, Jenna Jones, Christina M. Hough, Benjamin M. Rosenberg, Christina F. Sandman, Christopher D. Schneck, David J. Miklowitz, Naomi P. Friedman
Summary: Adolescence is a crucial period for both neurocognitive development and the increased prevalence of mood disorders. This cross-sectional study replicated the developmental patterns of neurocognition and examined whether mood symptoms influenced these developmental effects. The findings suggest that neurocognitive development is altered in adolescents with mood pathology and provide directions for future longitudinal studies.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Sandrine Chometton, A-Hyun Jung, Lilly Mai, Taylor Dal Bon, Alexa Osorio Ramirez, David W. Pittman, Lindsey A. Schier
Summary: Glucose is a strong elicitor of central reward responses and ingestion, but the key peripheral sensors triggering these orexigenic mechanisms are not fully understood. This study found that the phosphorylating enzyme glucokinase (GCK), known for its glucosensory roles, is expressed in taste bud cells and contributes to the immediate hedonic appeal of glucose-containing substances.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Rajpreet Chahal, Kristen Delevich, Jaclyn S. Kirshenbaum, Lauren R. Borchers, Tiffany C. Ho, Ian H. Gotlib
Summary: Researchers have found sex differences in white matter maturation during puberty, with males showing a positive association between pubertal stage and fronto-accumbal fiber density, while females did not exhibit this relationship. Additionally, males reported higher reward sensitivity than females, and only males showed a negative association between fronto-accumbal tract FDC and sensitivity to punishment. These findings suggest that there are sex differences in the maturation of the fronto-accumbal tract during puberty, and this may relate to lower punishment sensitivity in adolescent males compared to females.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jessica Moretti, Eugenia Z. Poh, Samuel J. Bolland, Alan R. Harvey, Matthew A. Albrecht, Jennifer Rodger
Summary: Changes in the dopaminergic system induced by rTMS may contribute to its therapeutic effects, with ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice showing abnormal behavior in visual tasks, partially rescued by LI-rTMS stimulation. However, LI-rTMS did not influence task performance in progressive ratio tasks for ephrin-A2A5(-/-) and wildtype mice. Neuronal activity examination revealed lower c-Fos expression in specific brain regions in sham ephrin-A2A5(-/-) mice, suggesting LI-rTMS could attenuate the abnormal shift to habitual responding seen in these mice.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Huw Jarvis, Isabelle Stevenson, Amy Q. Huynh, Emily Babbage, James Coxon, Trevor T. -J. Chong
Summary: Recent research suggests that the act of investing effort may influence learning. This study tested whether effort modulates teaching signals in a reinforcement learning paradigm. The results showed that effort resulted in more efficient learning from positive outcomes and less efficient learning from negative outcomes. Interestingly, this effect varied across individuals and was more pronounced in those who were more averse to investing effort in the first place. These findings highlight the importance of motivational factors in a common framework of reward-based learning, integrating the computational principles of reinforcement learning with those of value-based decision-making.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Rosa Hendijani, Piers Steel
Summary: This study examines the effect of reward salience and choice on overall motivation and performance in a controlling context, and finds that salient reward improves overall motivation and performance compared to non-salient and no-reward conditions.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Sami Schiff, Giulia Testa, Maria Luisa Rusconi, Paolo Angeli, Daniela Mapelli
Summary: The study suggests that the expectancy to eat can modulate attention and cognitive control mechanisms in healthy fasting individuals. Shorter expectancy to eat results in delayed reaction times and a more pronounced effect on the reaction times when food and non-food distracters are presented, while longer expectancy has less impact on reaction times and the correspondence effect is smaller.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Paul J. Fletcher, Arya Rahbarnia, Zhaoxia Li, Xiaodong Ji, Guy A. Higgins, Douglas Funk, A. D. Lie
Summary: This study found that the 5-HT2C receptor agonist lorcaserin has an impact on behaviors related to feeding, reward, and waiting impulsivity. It also affects neuronal activation in key brain areas. Furthermore, the study revealed that the effects on impulsive behavior can be observed at a lower dose range compared to feeding behavior. These findings support the potential use of 5-HT2C receptor agonists for behavioral problems associated with impulsivity.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Anna Maria Rawlings, Anna Tapola, Markku Niemivirta
Summary: The research explores the connections between temperament, students' motivational appraisals, and performance, showing that intraindividual reward sensitivity is related to interest and effort, while punishment sensitivity and interindividual reward sensitivity are linked to psychological strain. Subject interest consistently predicts higher course interest and lower strain, while strain is associated with lower performance across both studies. Individual characteristics may predispose students to certain motivational experiences, impacting educational outcomes.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)