Beta activity in human anterior cingulate cortex mediates reward biases

Jiayang Xiao, Joshua A. Adkinson, John Myers, Anusha B. Allawala, Raissa K. Mathura, Victoria Pirtle, Ricardo Najera, Nicole R. Provenza, Eleonora Bartoli, Andrew J. Watrous, Denise Oswalt, Ron Gadot, Adrish Anand, Ben Shofty, Sanjay J. Mathew, Wayne K. Goodman, Nader Pouratian, Xaq Pitkow, Kelly R. Bijanki, Benjamin Hayden and Sameer A. Sheth ()
Additional contact information
Jiayang Xiao: Baylor College of Medicine
Joshua A. Adkinson: Baylor College of Medicine
John Myers: Baylor College of Medicine
Anusha B. Allawala: Brown University
Raissa K. Mathura: Baylor College of Medicine
Victoria Pirtle: Baylor College of Medicine
Ricardo Najera: Baylor College of Medicine
Nicole R. Provenza: Baylor College of Medicine
Eleonora Bartoli: Baylor College of Medicine
Andrew J. Watrous: Baylor College of Medicine
Denise Oswalt: Baylor College of Medicine
Ron Gadot: Baylor College of Medicine
Adrish Anand: Baylor College of Medicine
Ben Shofty: University of Utah
Sanjay J. Mathew: Baylor College of Medicine
Wayne K. Goodman: Baylor College of Medicine
Nader Pouratian: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Xaq Pitkow: Baylor College of Medicine
Kelly R. Bijanki: Baylor College of Medicine
Benjamin Hayden: Baylor College of Medicine
Sameer A. Sheth: Baylor College of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The rewards that we get from our choices and actions can have a major influence on our future behavior. Understanding how reward biasing of behavior is implemented in the brain is important for many reasons, including the fact that diminution in reward biasing is a hallmark of clinical depression. We hypothesized that reward biasing is mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a cortical hub region associated with the integration of reward and executive control and with the etiology of depression. To test this hypothesis, we recorded neural activity during a biased judgment task in patients undergoing intracranial monitoring for either epilepsy or major depressive disorder. We found that beta (12–30 Hz) oscillations in the ACC predicted both associated reward and the size of the choice bias, and also tracked reward receipt, thereby predicting bias on future trials. We found reduced magnitude of bias in depressed patients, in whom the beta-specific effects were correspondingly reduced. Our findings suggest that ACC beta oscillations may orchestrate the learning of reward information to guide adaptive choice, and, more broadly, suggest a potential biomarker for anhedonia and point to future development of interventions to enhance reward impact for therapeutic benefit.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49600-7

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