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The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making

Valuable stimuli are invariably localized in space. While our knowledge regarding the neural networks supporting value assignment and comparisons is considerable, we lack a basic understanding of how the human brain integrates motivational and spatial information. The amygdala is a key structure for...

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Autores principales: Ousdal, Olga Therese, Specht, Karsten, Server, Andres, Andreassen, Ole A., Dolan, Ray J., Jensen, Jimmy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Academic Press 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176653/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25094017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.055
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author Ousdal, Olga Therese
Specht, Karsten
Server, Andres
Andreassen, Ole A.
Dolan, Ray J.
Jensen, Jimmy
author_facet Ousdal, Olga Therese
Specht, Karsten
Server, Andres
Andreassen, Ole A.
Dolan, Ray J.
Jensen, Jimmy
author_sort Ousdal, Olga Therese
collection PubMed
description Valuable stimuli are invariably localized in space. While our knowledge regarding the neural networks supporting value assignment and comparisons is considerable, we lack a basic understanding of how the human brain integrates motivational and spatial information. The amygdala is a key structure for learning and maintaining the value of sensory stimuli and a recent non-human primate study provided initial evidence that it also acts to integrate value with spatial location, a question we address here in a human setting. We measured haemodynamic responses (fMRI) in amygdala while manipulating the value and spatial configuration of stimuli in a simple stimulus–reward task. Subjects responded significantly faster and showed greater amygdala activation when a reward was dependent on a spatial specific response, compared to when a reward required less spatial specificity. Supplemental analysis supported this spatial specificity by demonstrating that the pattern of amygdala activity varied based on whether subjects responded to a motivational target presented in the ipsilateral or contralateral visual space. Our data show that the human amygdala integrates information about space and value, an integration of likely importance for assigning cognitive resources towards highly valuable stimuli in our environment.
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spelling pubmed-41766532014-11-01 The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making Ousdal, Olga Therese Specht, Karsten Server, Andres Andreassen, Ole A. Dolan, Ray J. Jensen, Jimmy Neuroimage Article Valuable stimuli are invariably localized in space. While our knowledge regarding the neural networks supporting value assignment and comparisons is considerable, we lack a basic understanding of how the human brain integrates motivational and spatial information. The amygdala is a key structure for learning and maintaining the value of sensory stimuli and a recent non-human primate study provided initial evidence that it also acts to integrate value with spatial location, a question we address here in a human setting. We measured haemodynamic responses (fMRI) in amygdala while manipulating the value and spatial configuration of stimuli in a simple stimulus–reward task. Subjects responded significantly faster and showed greater amygdala activation when a reward was dependent on a spatial specific response, compared to when a reward required less spatial specificity. Supplemental analysis supported this spatial specificity by demonstrating that the pattern of amygdala activity varied based on whether subjects responded to a motivational target presented in the ipsilateral or contralateral visual space. Our data show that the human amygdala integrates information about space and value, an integration of likely importance for assigning cognitive resources towards highly valuable stimuli in our environment. Academic Press 2014-11-01 /pmc/articles/PMC4176653/ /pubmed/25094017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.055 Text en © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Ousdal, Olga Therese
Specht, Karsten
Server, Andres
Andreassen, Ole A.
Dolan, Ray J.
Jensen, Jimmy
The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title_full The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title_fullStr The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title_full_unstemmed The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title_short The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
title_sort human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176653/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25094017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.055
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