QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, December 20, 2006, 26(51):13213-13217; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3446-06.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (14) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hariri, A. R. Articles by Manuck, S. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hariri, A. R. Articles by Manuck, S. B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Brief Communications
Preference for Immediate over Delayed Rewards Is Associated with Magnitude of Ventral Striatal Activity

Ahmad R. Hariri,¹ Sarah M. Brown,¹ Douglas E. Williamson,^1,3 Janine D. Flory,⁴ Harriet de Wit,⁵ and Stephen B. Manuck²

Departments of ¹Psychiatry, ²Psychology, and ³Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, ⁴Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, and ⁵Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Ahmad R. Hariri, Director, Developmental Imaging Genetics Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, E-729, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Email: haririar{at}upmc.edu

Discounting future outcomes as a function of their deferred availability underlies much of human decision making. Discounting, or preference for immediate over delayed rewards of larger value, is often associated with impulsivity and is a risk factor for addictive disorders such as pathological gambling, cigarette smoking, and drug and alcohol abuse. The ventral striatum (VS) is involved in mediating behavioral responses and physiological states associated with reward, and dysregulation of the VS contributes to addiction, perhaps by affecting impulsive decision-making. Behavioral tests of delay discounting (DD), which index preference for smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards, covary with impulsive tendencies in humans. In the current study, we examined the relationship between individual differences in DD, measured in a behavioral assessment, and VS activity measured with blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging, in 45 adult volunteers. VS activity was determined using a task involving positive and negative feedback with monetary reward. Analyses revealed that individual differences in DD correlate positively with magnitude of VS activation in response to both positive and negative feedback, compared with a no-feedback control condition. Variability in DD was also associated with differential VS activation in response to positive, compared with negative, feedback. Collectively, our results suggest that increased preference for smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards reflects both a relatively indiscriminate and hyper-reactive VS circuitry. They also highlight a specific neurocognitive mechanism that may contribute to increased risk for addiction.

Key words: ventral striatum; delay discounting; reward sensitivity; impulsivity; individual differences

---

Received Aug. 9, 2006; revised Oct. 18, 2006; accepted Nov. 15, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Ahmad R. Hariri, Director, Developmental Imaging Genetics Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, E-729, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Email: haririar{at}upmc.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. A. Hare, J. O'Doherty, C. F. Camerer, W. Schultz, and A. Rangel Dissociating the Role of the Orbitofrontal Cortex and the Striatum in the Computation of Goal Values and Prediction Errors J. Neurosci., May 28, 2008; 28(22): 5623 - 5630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Boettiger, J. M. Mitchell, V. C. Tavares, M. Robertson, G. Joslyn, M. D'Esposito, and H. L. Fields Immediate Reward Bias in Humans: Fronto-Parietal Networks and a Role for the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase 158Val/Val Genotype J. Neurosci., December 26, 2007; 27(52): 14383 - 14391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Wang, M. Faith, F. Patterson, K. Tang, K. Kerrin, E. P. Wileyto, J. A. Detre, and C. Lerman Neural Substrates of Abstinence-Induced Cigarette Cravings in Chronic Smokers J. Neurosci., December 19, 2007; 27(51): 14035 - 14040. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-W. Sohn and D. Lee Order-Dependent Modulation of Directional Signals in the Supplementary and Presupplementary Motor Areas J. Neurosci., December 12, 2007; 27(50): 13655 - 13666. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Ikeda and O. Hikosaka Positive and Negative Modulation of Motor Response in Primate Superior Colliculus by Reward Expectation J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2007; 98(6): 3163 - 3170. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. McClure, K. M. Ericson, D. I. Laibson, G. Loewenstein, and J. D. Cohen Time Discounting for Primary Rewards J. Neurosci., May 23, 2007; 27(21): 5796 - 5804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Yacubian, T. Sommer, K. Schroeder, J. Glascher, R. Kalisch, B. Leuenberger, D. F. Braus, and C. Buchel Gene gene interaction associated with neural reward sensitivity PNAS, May 8, 2007; 104(19): 8125 - 8130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help