Reward Signals Support Encoding of Reward-Item Associations During Motivated Learning
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Rewards crucially shape behavior and memory. Twenty years ago, Adcock et al. (2006) reported that anticipatory mesolimbic activation predicts later recollection of high-reward stimuli, outlining a VTA-hippocampus-NAcc circuit that gates selective motivated memory formation. Here, we report a preregistered direct replication of this seminal study using the small-telescope approach and a 2.5-fold larger sample. We found evidence for anticipatory reward-related activation preceding high-reward memory formation in the left VTA, but did not replicate corresponding effects in the medial temporal lobe or evidence for a VTA-hippocampus-NAcc network specifically supporting motivated memory formation. These findings suggest that anticipatory mesolimbic effects on high-reward memory formation are more spatially circumscribed, and likely smaller, than previously assumed. Exploratory analyses indicate that reward-cue activity can alternatively be explained by the encoding of reward-item associations, which later provide a value signal for goal-directed retrieval. Together with previous large-scale behavioural evidence from our group, we propose a shift of the mechanistic emphasis from reward-mediated gating of item memories to the formation and later use of reward-item associations, a perspective that provides a framework for further empirical evaluation.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208711646