RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Differential Encoding of Losses and Gains in the Human Striatum
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4826
OP 4831
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0400-07.2007
VO 27
IS 18
A1 Ben Seymour
A1 Nathaniel Daw
A1 Peter Dayan
A1 Tania Singer
A1 Ray Dolan
YR 2007
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/18/4826.abstract
AB Studies on human monetary prediction and decision making emphasize the role of the striatum in encoding prediction errors for financial reward. However, less is known about how the brain encodes financial loss. Using Pavlovian conditioning of visual cues to outcomes that simultaneously incorporate the chance of financial reward and loss, we show that striatal activation reflects positively signed prediction errors for both. Furthermore, we show functional segregation within the striatum, with more anterior regions showing relative selectivity for rewards and more posterior regions for losses. These findings mirror the anteroposterior valence-specific gradient reported in rodents and endorse the role of the striatum in aversive motivational learning about financial losses, illustrating functional and anatomical consistencies with primary aversive outcomes such as pain.