Akina Umemoto1, Clay B Holroyd2. 1. University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada. Electronic address: akumemoto@gmail.com. 2. University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Although impaired reward processing in depression has been well-documented, the exact nature of that deficit remains poorly understood. To investigate the link between depression and the neural mechanisms of reward processing, we examined individual differences in personality. METHODS: We recorded the electroencephalogram from healthy college students engaged in a probabilistic reinforcement learning task. Participants also completed several personality questionnaires that assessed traits related to reward sensitivity, motivation, and depression. We examined whether behavioral measures of reward learning and event-related potential components related to outcome processing and reward anticipation-namely, the cue and feedback-related reward positivity (RewP) and the stimulus preceding negativity (SPN)-would link these personality traits to depression. RESULTS: Participants who scored high in reward sensitivity produced a relatively larger feedback-RewP. By contrast, participants who scored high in depression learned the contingencies for infrequently rewarded cue-response combinations relatively poorly, exhibited a larger SPN, and produced a smaller feedback-RewP, especially to outcomes following cue-response combinations that were frequently rewarded. CONCLUSION: These results point to a primary deficit in reward valuation in individuals who score high in depression, with secondary consequences that impact reward learning and anticipation. SIGNIFICANCE: Despite recent evidence arguing for an anticipatory deficit in depression, impaired reward valuation as a primary deficit should be further examined in clinical samples.
OBJECTIVE: Although impaired reward processing in depression has been well-documented, the exact nature of that deficit remains poorly understood. To investigate the link between depression and the neural mechanisms of reward processing, we examined individual differences in personality. METHODS: We recorded the electroencephalogram from healthy college students engaged in a probabilistic reinforcement learning task. Participants also completed several personality questionnaires that assessed traits related to reward sensitivity, motivation, and depression. We examined whether behavioral measures of reward learning and event-related potential components related to outcome processing and reward anticipation-namely, the cue and feedback-related reward positivity (RewP) and the stimulus preceding negativity (SPN)-would link these personality traits to depression. RESULTS:Participants who scored high in reward sensitivity produced a relatively larger feedback-RewP. By contrast, participants who scored high in depression learned the contingencies for infrequently rewarded cue-response combinations relatively poorly, exhibited a larger SPN, and produced a smaller feedback-RewP, especially to outcomes following cue-response combinations that were frequently rewarded. CONCLUSION: These results point to a primary deficit in reward valuation in individuals who score high in depression, with secondary consequences that impact reward learning and anticipation. SIGNIFICANCE: Despite recent evidence arguing for an anticipatory deficit in depression, impaired reward valuation as a primary deficit should be further examined in clinical samples.
Authors: Samantha V Abram; Brian J Roach; Clay B Holroyd; Martin P Paulus; Judith M Ford; Daniel H Mathalon; Susanna L Fryer Journal: Neuroimage Clin Date: 2020-11-05 Impact factor: 4.881