Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.12.04.626789

Lesions of anterior cingulate cortex disrupt an electrophysiological signature of reward processing in humans

Oerlemans, J.·Alejandro, R. J.·Hemelsoet, D.·Genbrugge, E.·Bouche, K.·Defreyne, L.·De Herdt, V.·Holroyd, C. B.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The reward positivity (RewP) is an event-related brain potential (ERP) component associated with feedback and reward processing. Although the component is said to be generated in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), this inference is disputed because of the inverse problem. Recently, by conducting a current source density analysis of intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) data recorded from a large cohort of epilepsy patients, we provided direct evidence that the RewP is produced by a circumscribed region in caudal ACC corresponding to Brodmann areas 24c and 32. In the present study we confirm that this brain area is the source of the RewP by examining the effects of damage to frontal cortex on RewP amplitude. We recorded scalp EEG from 68 stroke patients with damage to frontal cortex while they engaged in a trial-and-error guessing task used to elicit a canonical RewP. Application of non-parametric voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping to the lesion data revealed that damage to Brodmann areas 24c and 32 attenuated RewP amplitude, whereas damage to other parts of frontal cortex did not affect it. These results provide causal evidence that the caudal ACC generates the RewP and underscore the contribution of this brain region toward motivating extended behaviours. Significance statementThe reward positivity (RewP) is an event-related brain potential component that reflects reward processing in the brain. Although multiple studies have suggested that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the neural generator of the RewP, this assertion is disputed mainly because of the inverse problem. In this study, we present direct evidence that the RewP is generated in caudal ACC by performing voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) in a cohort of 68 stroke patients with lesions in the frontal lobe. We found that a circumscribed region in right caudal ACC was significantly associated with a reduced RewP, providing the first causal evidence that this region generates the RewP in humans. These fundings elucidate the central role ACC plays in motivating extended behaviours.

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Oerlemans, J., Alejandro, R. J., Hemelsoet, D., Genbrugge, E., Bouche, K., Defreyne, L., De Herdt, V., Holroyd, C. B.. 2024-12-07. Lesions of anterior cingulate cortex disrupt an electrophysiological signature of reward processing in humans. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.04.626789

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Attention Across Scales: From Individual Variation to Social Hierarchies and Brain Networks in Semi-Free-Ranging Macaques

Attention is a fundamental brain function supporting perception, decision-making, and social behavior, and its dysfunction profoundly impairs daily life. It is both dynamic and stable, varying across observations and individuals, changing across the lifespan, and being shaped by social and environmental experience. Yet capturing this complexity remains a central challenge in neuroscience. Here, we integrated longitudinal behavioral assessments of semi-free-ranging macaques living in naturalistic social groups with resting-state fMRI. We quantified performance across days, ages, and social hierarchies and related it to intrinsic brain organization. Distinct attentional phenotypes emerged, including individuals with reduced attentional control. Performance followed an inverted-U lifespan trajectory, improving from childhood to adulthood before declining. Social status modulated attentional performance. Critically, nonlinear lifespan trajectories and associations with individual attentional differences were most clearly expressed in frontoparietal connectivity. Together, these findings reveal how sustained attention is organized across scales, providing a biological framework for its individual diversity, social modulation, and neural basis.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Decoding natural scenes from patterned optogenetic responses in mouse visual cortex

A central challenge in developing visual cortical prostheses is to determine how visual stimuli should be transformed into effective patterns of cortical stimulation. Although advances in stimulation technologies, including optogenetics, provide increasingly precise control over cortical activity, it remains unclear whether artificially evoked activity can reproduce the information content of naturally evoked visual representations. Here we establish a quantitative framework for evaluating visual encoding strategies by decoding cortical responses evoked by natural vision and patterned optogenetic stimulation. We developed a novel dual-modal paradigm in awake mice to bridge the gap between endogenous photostimulation and artificial network driving. By co-expressing the high-performance calcium indicator GCaMP6s and the red-shifted, ultra-sensitive opsin rsChRmine-oScarlet in the primary visual cortex (V1), we successfully translated dynamic natural movie frames into patterned, spatiotemporal optogenetic stimulation. Quantitative comparisons of macro-scale dynamics demonstrated that this patterned optogenetic injection evokes cortical states highly comparable and representationally aligned with those driven by actual visual photostimulation. To systematically evaluate the fidelity of these responses, we developed STAR, a deep learning model featuring spatial and temporal attention mechanisms, and successfully reconstructed the frames of natural movies from V1 signals under both experimental modalities. Collectively, our results demonstrate that complex sensory information can be both naturally encoded and synthetically injected into V1 circuits with high decoding fidelity. This work provides an empirical and computational proof-of-concept for intelligent, closed-loop biomimetic encoders, establishing a robust framework for next-generation cortical visual neuroprostheses and bidirectional brain-machine interfaces.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Why Is Spontaneous Blink Timing Informative? An Adaptive Scheduling Perspective

Spontaneous eye blinks have long been linked to cognitive processing, yet how task demands shape blink timing and its relationship to behavioral performance remains unclear. We examined spontaneous blink behavior in 576 adults performing two variants of the Continuous Performance Task (CPT). Blink occurrence and timing were most strongly modulated by the experimental condition in the more demanding CPT-AX task, whereas their association with response time was stronger in the CPT-X task, where more consistent blink timing predicted faster responses. This dissociation suggests that task structure changes not only blink behavior but also the behavioral relevance of blink timing. These findings are consistent with an adaptive scheduling account of spontaneous blinking and provide a conceptual framework for understanding when and why blink timing contains chronometric information about ongoing cognition.

neuroscience↗