Self-report and behavioral measures of reward sensitivity predict the feedback negativity.

Rewards are integral to learning associations that aid in survival. The feedback negativity (FN), an event-related potential that differentiates outcomes indicating monetary losses versus gains, has recently emerged as a possible neural measure of reward processing. If this view is correct, then the FN should correlate with measures of reward sensitivity in other domains, although few studies have investigated this question. In the current study, 46 participants completed a self-report measure of reward responsiveness, a signal detection task that generated a behavioral measure of reward sensitivity, and a gambling task that elicited an FN. Consistent with the view that the FN reflects reward-related neural activity, a larger FN correlated with increased behavioral and self-report measures of sensitivity to reward.

Bress JN ，Hajcak G 《-》

The influence of anhedonia on feedback negativity in major depressive disorder.

Anhedonia is associated with reward-processing deficits of the dopamine system, which may increase the risk of depression. Nevertheless, few previous studies have examined the influence of hedonic tone on event-related potential (ERP) measures of reward processing in major depressive disorder. A simple gambling task was used to elicit feedback negativity (FN), an ERP component elicited by feedback indicating gain versus loss, in 27 patients with major depression and 27 healthy participants. We found that participants with depression were characterized by reduced FN responses, especially towards monetary gains, but not losses, compared with healthy individuals. In addition, the amplitude of FN to gain feedback in participants with depression was related to anhedonia severity and depressive symptoms. These findings indicate an association between low hedonic capacity and reduction in FN. As a neural measure of reward sensitivity, FN may be generated in part by reward-related activity.

Liu WH ，Wang LZ ，Shang HR ，Shen Y ，Li Z ，Cheung EF ，Chan RC ... -  《-》

Feedback-related negativity reflects omission of monetary gains: Evidence from ERP gambling study.

Feedback processing is an important aspect of learning. In the human brain, feedback processing is often examined by measuring an event-related potential, the feedback-related negativity component. Typically, the feedback-related negativity component is investigated by directly comparing gain with loss feedback randomized across trials; however, this method does not control for confounds associated with unexpected feedback. For this study we used a blocked design gambling task to investigate the sensitivity of feedback-related negativity to positive and negative feedback separately for gains and losses. While there appeared to be no significant feedback-related negativity in the loss domain, results revealed an enlarged feedback-related negativity during the omission of gains compared to the reception of gains. These findings further support the reward positivity hypothesis which declares that the feedback-related negativity is associated with the processing of outcomes in the context of gains as opposed to losses, irrespective of unexpectedness.

Yaple Z ，Shestakova A ，Klucharev V 《-》

Show me the Money: the impact of actual rewards and losses on the feedback negativity.

The feedback negativity (FN) is an event-related potential component which is typically conceptualized as a negativity in response to losses that is absent in response to gains. However, there is also evidence that variation in the FN reflects the neural response to gains. The present study sought to explore these possibilities by manipulating the context in which loss and gain feedback was presented in a straightforward gambling task. In half the blocks, participants could win or lose money (Value condition), and in half the blocks, participants could not win or lose any money (No Value condition). The degree to which losses and gains were differentiated from one another (i.e., the ΔFN) was greater in the Value condition than in the No Value condition. Furthermore, though the responses to loss feedback and gain feedback were each enhanced in the Value condition relative to the No-Value condition, the effect of the monetary manipulation was substantially larger for the positivity to gains than the negativity to losses. This is consistent with the notion that the FN might reflect two independent processes, but that variation in the FN depends more upon the response to rewards than losses.

Weinberg A ，Riesel A ，Proudfit GH 《-》

Depression and reduced sensitivity to non-rewards versus rewards: Evidence from event-related potentials.

Foti D ，Hajcak G 《-》