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. 2008 Jan 1;39(1):538-47.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.08.009. Epub 2007 Aug 23.

Valence and salience contribute to nucleus accumbens activation

Jeffrey C Cooper  1 , Brian Knutson
Affiliations

Valence and salience contribute to nucleus accumbens activation

Jeffrey C Cooper et al. Neuroimage. .

Abstract

Different accounts of nucleus accumbens (NAcc) function have emphasized its role in representing either valence or salience during incentive anticipation. In an event-related FMRI experiment, we independently manipulated valence and salience by cuing participants to anticipate certain and uncertain monetary gains and losses. NAcc activation correlated with both valence and salience. On trials with certain outcomes, NAcc activation increased for anticipated gains and decreased for anticipated losses. On trials with uncertain outcomes, NAcc activation increased for both anticipated gains and losses but did not differ between them. These findings suggest that NAcc activation separately represents both valence and salience, consistent with its hypothesized role in appetitive motivation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial structures. Anticipation-probe and outcome-probe trials were used in separate runs for each participant. The two trial structures differed only in placement of the affect probe phase. Trial conditions within a run were distinguished by different cue shapes. Outcome amounts were given both for the current trial and the current total earned.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Anticipatory affect. Bars represent mean self-reported arousal (upper panel) and positivity (lower panel) during anticipation. Error bars represent standard errors across participants. Participants responded on each trial to 5-point Likert scales for both arousal and positivity. †p < 0.1. *p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average cue response modulation. The activated cluster indicates regions in which activation to the cue was modulated by an interaction of expected value and salience (x / y / z = -6 / 6 / -4 mm). The map was thresholded voxelwise at p < 0.001 and with a cluster threshold > 10 voxels (corresponding to a whole-brain threshold of p < 0.001). R indicates right. Voxel color indicates t-statistic according to the legend.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percent signal change in nucleus accumbens. Bars represent mean percent signal change in bilateral nucleus accumbens (NAcc) at 4 s following cue onset. Error bars represent standard errors across participants. *p < 0.05.
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