Reactivation of Reward-Related Patterns from Single Past Episodes Supports Memory-Based Decision Making

TY - JOUR

T1 - Reactivation of Reward-Related Patterns from Single Past Episodes Supports Memory-Based Decision Making

AU - Wimmer, George Elliot

AU - Büchel, Christian

N1 - Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/362868-13$15.00/0.

PY - 2016/3/9

Y1 - 2016/3/9

N2 - Rewarding experiences exert a strong influence on later decision making. While decades of neuroscience research have shown how reinforcement gradually shapes preferences, decisions are often influenced by single past experiences. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the influence of single learning episodes. Although recent work has proposed a role for episodes in decision making, it is largely unknown whether and how episodic experiences contribute to value-based decision making and how the values of single episodes are represented in the brain. In multiple behavioral experiments and an fMRI experiment, we tested whether and how rewarding episodes could support later decision making. Participants experienced episodes of high reward or low reward in conjunction with incidental, trial-unique neutral pictures. In a surprise test phase, we found that participants could indeed remember the associated level of reward, as evidenced by accurate source memory for value and preferences to re-engage with rewarded objects. Further, in a separate experiment, we found that high-reward objects shown as primes before a gambling task increased financial risk taking. Neurally, re-exposure to objects in the test phase led to significant reactivation of reward-related patterns. Importantly, individual variability in the strength of reactivation predicted value memory performance. Our results provide a novel demonstration that affect-related neural patterns are reactivated during later experience. Reactivation of value information represents a mechanism by which memory can guide decision making.

AB - Rewarding experiences exert a strong influence on later decision making. While decades of neuroscience research have shown how reinforcement gradually shapes preferences, decisions are often influenced by single past experiences. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the influence of single learning episodes. Although recent work has proposed a role for episodes in decision making, it is largely unknown whether and how episodic experiences contribute to value-based decision making and how the values of single episodes are represented in the brain. In multiple behavioral experiments and an fMRI experiment, we tested whether and how rewarding episodes could support later decision making. Participants experienced episodes of high reward or low reward in conjunction with incidental, trial-unique neutral pictures. In a surprise test phase, we found that participants could indeed remember the associated level of reward, as evidenced by accurate source memory for value and preferences to re-engage with rewarded objects. Further, in a separate experiment, we found that high-reward objects shown as primes before a gambling task increased financial risk taking. Neurally, re-exposure to objects in the test phase led to significant reactivation of reward-related patterns. Importantly, individual variability in the strength of reactivation predicted value memory performance. Our results provide a novel demonstration that affect-related neural patterns are reactivated during later experience. Reactivation of value information represents a mechanism by which memory can guide decision making.

KW - Adult

KW - Brain

KW - Cues

KW - Decision Making

KW - Feedback, Psychological

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging

KW - Male

KW - Memory

KW - Oxygen

KW - Pain

KW - Reaction Time

KW - Reinforcement (Psychology)

KW - Reward

KW - Risk-Taking

KW - Statistics, Nonparametric

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3433-15.2016

DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3433-15.2016

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 26961943

VL - 36

SP - 2868

EP - 2880

JO - J NEUROSCI

JF - J NEUROSCI

SN - 0270-6474

IS - 10

ER -