Work

Behavioral specifications of reward-associated long-term memory enhancement in humans

Year: 2011

Type: preprint

Abstract: Recent functional imaging studies link reward-related activation of the midbrain substantia nigra-ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), the site of origin of ascending dopaminergic projections, with improved long-term episodic memory. Here, we investigated in two behavioral experiments how (1) the contingency between item properties and reward, (2) the magnitude of reward, (3) the uncertainty of outcomes, and (4) the contextual availability of reward affect long-term memory. We show that episodic memory is enhanced only when rewards are specifically predicted by the semantic identity of the stimuli and changes nonlinearly with increasing reward magnitude. These effects are specific to reward and do not occur in relation to outcome uncertainty alone. These behavioral specifications are relevant for the functional interpretation of how reward-related activation of the SN/VTA, and more generally dopaminergic neuromodulation, contribute to long-term memory.

Source: Learning & Memory

DOI: 10.1101/lm.1996811

Authors: Bianca C. Wittmann, Raymond J. Dolan, Emrah Düzel

Institutions: Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg

Language: English

Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Wellcome Trust

Award: The role of emotion in decision making