Topic
Reward research, explained
8 open-access reward studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- Does the brain treat expecting something new like expecting a reward?
Cues that signalled an upcoming new picture activated the brain's dopamine reward midbrain and the hippocampus, and pictures whose novelty was anticipated were better remembered.
- How the brain prepares for gains and losses using EEG and fMRI
The brain's anticipation of winning or losing money relies on a shared motivational system rather than separate reward and loss networks.
- Brain waves track risk separately from reward value
Brain waves that track feedback are strongly influenced by the level of risk a person takes, even when the average expected payoff remains exactly the same.
- How does the striatum process reward and punishment during learning?
Different subregions of the striatum handle unexpected feedback differently, with the front-bottom area responding to both reward and punishment, while the back-top area reacts only to unexpected reward.
- Mapping the Substantia Nigra Using Brain Connectivity Patterns
Researchers successfully divided the substantia nigra into distinct zones based on their connections to the striatum, revealing unique cellular properties and direct links to reward sensitivity.
- How does the brain process surprise in pleasant music?
People who find a piece of music highly enjoyable show increased activity and stronger connectivity in their brain's reward centers during unexpected musical moments.
- Do everyday childhood adversities change how kids learn from rewards?
Children who had faced more ordinary adverse life events learned faster from rewards, chose more impulsively, and showed ventral striatal reward responses that partly accounted for their faster reward learning.
- Does being in pain change how the brain responds to winning money?
People in acute pain showed a stronger medial prefrontal response to winning money, while the nucleus accumbens response was unchanged.