Groups & Lines of Research

Learning from Reward

Principal Researcher: Josep Marco-Pallarés

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Learning, Reward and Executive Functions

In our everyday live we adapt our behavior on the bases of the results of our actions. Therefore, we repeat those actions that have yielded to a positive outcome or a reward and avoid those actions that lead to negative consequences or punishments. In this research line we are interested in understanding the neural mechanisms underlying these processes. In concrete, we are interested in how the brain is computing the difference between real and expected outcomes (the prediction error) and how this computation is used to change the behavior.

We are especially interested in brain oscillatory activity, which seems to play a key role in all these processes. Oscillatory mechanisms are known to be crucial in brain function and, specifically, in the coordination of distant areas. Two main components have been described associated to the reward and punishment processing. First, a theta activity (4-8 Hz) appears after unsigned prediction errors, both in gain and loss conditions. Second, a high beta-low gamma activity (20-35 Hz) seems to be associated to the activity of unexpected or very relevant positive outcomes. Using different gambling and learning paradigms we aim to understand the role of these oscillatory components in those situations involving the learning from external feedback.

References

Mas-Herrero, E., Marco-Pallarés, J. (2014). Frontal Theta Oscillatory Activity Is a Common Mechanism for the Computation of Unexpected Outcomes and Learning Rate. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 26(3):447-458

Hajihosseini, A., Rodríguez-Fornells, A., Marco-Pallarés, J. (2012). The role of beta-gamma oscillations in unexpected rewards processing. Neuroimage. Apr 15;60(3):1678-85

Marco-Pallarés, J., Cucurell, D., Cunillera, T., Krämer, UM, Càmara, E., Nager, W., Bauer P., Schüle R., Schöls L., Münte TF, & Rodríguez-Fornells, A. (2009). Genetic Variability in the Dopamine System (DRD4, COMT) Modulates Neurophysiological Responses to Gains and Losses. Biological Psychiatry. 66(2):154–161

Marco-Pallarés, J., Cucurell, D., Cunillera, T., García, R., Andres-Pueyo, A., Münte, T.F., Rodríguez-Fornells., A. (2008). Human oscillatory activity associated to reward processing in a gambling task. Neuropsychologia. 46:241-248

 

Individual Differences in Music Reward

Music has been present in all human cultures since prehistory, although it is not associated with any apparent biological advantages (such as food, sex, etc.) or utility value (such as money). However the exact mechanisms explaining why we do like music are still unknown. In this line of research we are interested in the individual differences associated to music reward. To this end, we developed a questionnaire on music reward in order to know what were the key factors involved in this experience (Mas-Herrero et al., 2014a). In addition, we are interested in describing the differences in the neural mechanisms underlying music listening according to individual differences in music reward processing. In concrete, we are interested in a condition called “music specific anhedonia” (Mas-Herrero et al., 2014b) which describes people who do not find music pleasurable, but have interest in other forms of reward (food, sex, money, exercise). These results indicate that the different types of stimuli might access to the reward system using different routes. We propose that these different accesses are crucial in understanding certain pathologies that are specific from one type of stimuli (such some additions, and we aim to uncover them using different neuroimaging techniques (structural and functional MRI and EEG).

References

Mas-Herrero, E., Zatorre, R.J., Rodríguez-Fornells, A., Marco-Pallarés, J. (2014). Dissociation between musical and monetary reward responses in specific musical anhedonia. Current Biology. 24:699-704

Mas-Herrero, E., Marco-Pallares, J., Lorenzo-Seva, U., Zatorre, R., Rodriguez-Fornells, A. (2013). Individual differences in Music Reward experiences. Music Perception. 31(2):118-138

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