The pharmacology of effort-related choice behavior: Dopamine, depression, and individual differences

Salamone, John D.; Correa, Mercè; Yohn, Samantha E.; Cruz, Laura López de la; Miguel, Noemí San; Alatorre, Luisa F.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2016.02.008

Cited by 107 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 231 publications

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“…VS is suggested to encode net benefit or integrated utility of a choice option (1,30), in simple terms the value of a choice integrated over benefits (rewards) and costs (effort). The interaction between effort and reward expectations we observe in VS during anticipation is consistent with encoding of an integrated net benefit signal, but in our case this occurs exclusively during anticipation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, express effortrelated deficits (e.g., [28][29][30]. A long-standing hypothesis assumes an imbalance between striatal and cortical dopamine (26,60,61), involving excess dopamine release in striatal (62, 63) but deficient dopamine release in cortical areas (64).…”

Section: Simultaneous Representations Of Effort and Reward Pes In Dopmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, selective lesioning of this region engenders a preference for loweffort choices (15,(20)(21)(22)(23), while receiving effort feedback elicits responses in this same region (24,25). The importance of dopamine to effort learning is also hinted at in disorders with putative aberrant dopamine function, such as schizophrenia (26), where a symptom profile ("negative symptoms") often includes a lack of effort expenditure and apathy (27-30).A dopaminergic involvement in effort arbitration (14,15,17,19,30) suggests that effort learning might proceed by exploiting similar mesolimbic mechanisms as in reward learning, and this would predict effort PE signals in SN/VTA and VS. Alternatively, based on a possible role for dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, effort and reward learning signals might be encoded in two segregated (dopaminergic) systems, with reward learning relying on PEs within mesolimbic SN/VTA and VS and effort learning relying on PEs in mesocortical SN/VTA projecting to dmPFC. A final possibility is that during simultaneous learning, the brain might express a unified net benefit signal, integrated over reward and effort, and update this signal via a "utility" PE alone.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…A dopaminergic involvement in effort arbitration (14,15,17,19,30) suggests that effort learning might proceed by exploiting similar mesolimbic mechanisms as in reward learning, and this would predict effort PE signals in SN/VTA and VS. Alternatively, based on a possible role for dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, effort and reward learning signals might be encoded in two segregated (dopaminergic) systems, with reward learning relying on PEs within mesolimbic SN/VTA and VS and effort learning relying on PEs in mesocortical SN/VTA projecting to dmPFC. A final possibility is that during simultaneous learning, the brain might express a unified net benefit signal, integrated over reward and effort, and update this signal via a "utility" PE alone.…”

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Separate mesocortical and mesolimbic pathways encode effort and reward learning signals

Hauser

Eldar

Dolan

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

127

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Optimal decision making mandates organisms learn the relevant features of choice options. Likewise, knowing how much effort we should expend can assume paramount importance. A mesolimbic network supports reward learning, but it is unclear whether other choice features, such as effort learning, rely on this same network. Using computational fMRI, we show parallel encoding of effort and reward prediction errors (PEs) within distinct brain regions, with effort PEs expressed in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and reward PEs in ventral striatum. We show a common mesencephalic origin for these signals evident in overlapping, but spatially dissociable, dopaminergic midbrain regions expressing both types of PE. During action anticipation, reward and effort expectations were integrated in ventral striatum, consistent with a computation of an overall net benefit of a stimulus. Thus, we show that motivationally relevant stimulus features are learned in parallel dopaminergic pathways, with formation of an integrated utility signal at choice. effort prediction errors | reward prediction errors | apathy | substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area | dorsomedial prefrontal cortex O rganisms need to make energy-efficient decisions to maximize benefits and minimize costs, a tradeoff exemplified in effort expenditure (1-3). A key example occurs during foraging, where an overestimation of effort can lead to inaction and starvation (4), whereas underestimation of effort can result in persistent failure, as exemplified in the myth of Sisyphus (5).In a naturalistic environment, we often simultaneously learn about success in expending sufficient effort into an action as well as the reward we obtain from this same action. The reward outcomes that signal success and failure of an action are usually clear, although the effort necessary to attain success is often less transparent. Only by repeatedly experiencing success and failure is it possible to acquire an estimate of an optimal level of effort needed to succeed, without unnecessary waste of energy. This type of learning is important in contexts as diverse as foraging, hunting, and harvesting (6-8). Hull in his "law of less work" proposed that organisms "gradually learn" how to minimize effort expenditure (9). Surprisingly, we know little regarding the neurocognitive mechanisms that guide this form of simultaneous learning about reward and effort.A mesolimbic dopamine system encodes a teaching signal tethered to prediction of reward outcomes (10, 11). These reward prediction errors (PEs) arise from dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA) and are broadcast to ventral striatum (VS) to mediate reward-related adaptation and learning (12, 13). Dopamine is also thought to provide a motivational signal (14-18), while dopaminergic deficits in rodents impair how effort and reward are arbitrated (1, 4, 19). The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC; spanning presupplementary motor area [pre-SMA] and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex [dACC]) is a candidate substrate...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simultaneous Representations Of Effort and Reward Pes In Dopmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Separate mesocortical and mesolimbic pathways encode effort and reward learning signals

Hauser

Eldar

Dolan

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

127

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Hippocampal neurogenesis promotes effortful responding but does not regulate effort‐based choice

et al. 2022

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A fundamental trait of depression is low motivation. Hippocampal neurogenesis has been associated with motivational deficits but detailed evidence on how it regulates human‐relevant behavioral traits is still missing. We used the hGFAP‐TK rat model to deplete actively dividing neural stem cells in the rat hippocampus. Use of the effort‐discounting operant task allowed us to identify specific and detailed deficits in motivation behavior. In this task, rats are given a choice between small and large food rewards, where 2–20 lever presses are required to obtain the large reward (four sugar pellets) versus one press to receive the smaller reward (two sugar pellets). We found that depleting adult neurogenesis did not affect effort‐based choice or general motivation to complete the task. However, lack of adult neurogenesis reduced the pressing rate and thus increased time to complete the required presses to obtain a reward. In summary, the present study finds that adult hippocampal neurogenesis specifically reduces response vigor to obtain rewards and thus deepens our understanding in how neurogenesis shapes depression.

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Examining effects of training duration on humans' resurgence and variability using a novel touchscreen procedure

Ritchey

Mizutani

Kuroda

et al. 2021

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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Resurgence occurs when a previously reinforced and then extinguished target response increases due to reducing/eliminating an alternative source of reinforcement or punishing an alternative response. We evaluated whether duration of reinforcement history for a target response (1) affects the degree to which resurgence is observed in humans and (2) produces different gradients of response generalization around target responding during extinction testing. We arranged a novel touchscreen interface in which university students could swipe a 3D soccer ball to spin any direction. In Phase 1, the first direction swiped became the target and produced points exchangeable for money for 3 or 1 min across 2 groups. The first swipe was recorded but had no programmed consequence in a third group. In Phase 2, swipes 180‐degrees from the target resulted in points for 3 min in all groups. Point deliveries ceased for 2 min to test for resurgence in Phase 3. Target responses resurged during testing to a relatively greater extent with longer Phase‐1 training but gradients of response generalization did not differ among groups. These findings extend prior research on the role of training duration on resurgence. We discuss methodological and conceptual issues surrounding the assessment of response generalization in resurgence.

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The pharmacology of effort-related choice behavior: Dopamine, depression, and individual differences

Cited by 107 publications

References 231 publications

Separate mesocortical and mesolimbic pathways encode effort and reward learning signals

Separate mesocortical and mesolimbic pathways encode effort and reward learning signals

Hippocampal neurogenesis promotes effortful responding but does not regulate effort‐based choice

Examining effects of training duration on humans' resurgence and variability using a novel touchscreen procedure

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