Recent work in decision neuroscience suggests that visual saliency can interact with reward-based choice, and the lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) is implicated in this process. In this study, we recorded from LIP neurons while monkeys performed a two alternative choice task in which the reward and luminance associated with each offer were varied independently. We discovered that the animal's choice was dictated by the reward amount while the luminance had a marginal effect. In the LIP, neuronal activity corresponded well with the animal's choice pattern, in that a majority of reward-modulated neurons encoded the reward amount in the neuron's preferred hemifield with a positive slope. In contrast, compared to their responses to low luminance, an approximately equal proportion of luminance-sensitive neurons responded to high luminance with increased or decreased activity, leading to a much weaker population-level response. Meanwhile, in the non-preferred hemifield, the strength of encoding for reward amount and luminance was positively correlated, suggesting the integration of these two factors in the LIP. Moreover, neurons encoding reward and luminance were homogeneously distributed along the anterior-posterior axis of the LIP. Overall, our study provides further evidence supporting the neural instantiation of a priority map in the LIP in reward-based decisions.
Animals ; Macaca mulatta/physiology* ; Parietal Lobe ; Neurons/physiology* ; Saccades ; Reward ; Photic Stimulation

Interval timing is involved in a variety of cognitive behaviors such as associative learning and decision-making. While it has been shown that time estimation is adaptive to the temporal context, it remains unclear how interval timing behavior is influenced by recent trial history. Here we found that, in mice trained to perform a licking-based interval timing task, a decrease of inter-reinforcement interval in the previous trial rapidly shifted the time of anticipatory licking earlier. Optogenetic inactivation of the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM), but not the medial prefrontal cortex, for a short time before reward delivery caused a decrease in the peak time of anticipatory licking in the next trial. Electrophysiological recordings from the ALM showed that the response profiles preceded by short and long inter-reinforcement intervals exhibited task-engagement-dependent temporal scaling. Thus, interval timing is adaptive to recent experience of the temporal interval, and ALM activity during time estimation reflects recent experience of interval.
Animals ; Mice ; Reward ; Time Factors ; Cognition ; Learning ; Decision Making ; Reinforcement, Psychology

Objective: To investigate the occupational stress status of air traffic controllers (ATC) and analyze its influencing factors. Methods: By using cluster sampling method, 457 ATCs in an air traffic management bureau were selected as the investigation objects. The job content questionnaire (JCQ) and the effort reward imbalance questionnaire (ERI) were used to measure work requirements independent imbalance type and ERI type occupational stress separately and analyze the influencing factors. Results: Of the 457 ATCs, 81.84% (374/457) ATGs had work requirements independent imbalance type of occupational stress and 84.46% (386/457) ATGs had ERI type occupational stress. Univariate analysis showed that the factors of marital status, degree of education, age, length of service, title, job post, family monthly income, views on regular training, occurrence of emergency or unsafe events in last month and monthly night shift frequency had various degrees of influence on the different factor scores of JCQ and ERI (P<0.01) . Logistic regression analysis showed that the level of JCQ type occupational stress of ATCs with junior titles and probationers was higher than those of intermediate/senior titles (P=0.000, 0.000) ; The ERI type occupational stress of probationers and junior titles ATCs was lower than those with intermediate/senior titles (P=0.000) . The ERI and JCQ type occupational stress level of tower post ATCs was higher than that of other two job post ATCs (P=0.001, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000) . The ATCs considering regular training had more disadvantages than advantages showed lower ERI type occupational stress level than those considering more advantages than disadvantages (P=0.000) . The ERI type occupational stress level of ATCs who experienced emergency or unsafe events in last month was higher than those who didn't (P=0.007) . Conclusion: A large proportion of ATCs had occupational stress. Management should adjust its policies and pay were attention to occupational stress of ATLs.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Employment ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Occupational Stress/epidemiology* ; Reward ; Stress, Psychological/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Protein O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification that links environmental stimuli with changes in intracellular signal pathways, and its disturbance has been found in neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic disorders. However, its role in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, especially in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), needs to be elucidated. Here, we found that injection of Thiamet G, an O-GlcNAcase (OGA) inhibitor, in the VTA and nucleus accumbens (NAc) of mice, facilitated neuronal O-GlcNAcylation and decreased the operant response to sucrose as well as the latency to fall in rotarod test. Mice with DAergic neuron-specific knockout of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) displayed severe metabolic abnormalities and died within 4-8 weeks after birth. Furthermore, mice specifically overexpressing OGT in DAergic neurons in the VTA had learning defects in the operant response to sucrose, and impaired motor learning in the rotarod test. Instead, overexpression of OGT in GABAergic neurons in the VTA had no effect on these behaviors. These results suggest that protein O-GlcNAcylation of DAergic neurons in the VTA plays an important role in regulating the response to natural reward and motor learning in mice.
Animals ; Dopaminergic Neurons/physiology* ; GABAergic Neurons/physiology* ; Mice ; Nucleus Accumbens/metabolism* ; Reward ; Ventral Tegmental Area/metabolism*

It has been reported that single-unit activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum represented visual stimulus and reward information. But how to encode these pieces of information is quite complex from the view of single-neuron activity. Different neurons represented stimulus or reward information in different task epochs with increasing or decreasing their activities relative to their baseline firing rates. The present paper was aimed to study whether population neurons in the two brain areas could stably encode task-relevant parameters in a whole trial period. We recorded single-unit activities in the lateral PFC (LPFC) and striatum while the monkey was performing a stimulus- reward prediction task, and analyzed the neuronal activities by the method of a multi-variable regression model and the linear support vector machine. The results showed that, although proportions of task-related neurons in the two areas varied largely in the whole trial period, LPFC population neurons encoded reward and stimulus information stably and reliably. Population neurons in the striatum encoded only reward information, not stimulus information. A group of neurons in the two areas represented combined information of stimulus and reward. Further analysis showed that LPFC neurons encoded reward information for a group of relevant stimuli, while striatal neurons encoded reward information for a specific stimulus. These results suggest that both LPFC and striatal population neurons are able to stably represent task-relevant information, but from different aspects of the task. The different strategies to encode information in the LPFC and striatum suggest their different contributions in reward-based decision making.
Animals ; Corpus Striatum ; Neurons ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Primates ; Reward

Preclinical studies suggest that the GABA receptor is a potential target for treatment of substance use disorders. Baclofen (BLF), a prototypical GABA receptor agonist, is the only specific GABA receptor agonist available for application in clinical addiction treatment. The nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) is a key node in the circuit that controls reward-directed behavior. However, the relationship between GABA receptors in the AcbSh and memory reconsolidation was unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intra-AcbSh injection of BLF on the reconsolidation of morphine reward memory. Male C57BL/6J mice were used to establish morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) model and carry out morphine reward memory retrieval and activation experiment. The effects of intra-AcbSh injection of BLF on morphine-induced CPP, reinstatement of CPP and locomotor activity were observed after environmental cues activating morphine reward memory. The results showed that intra-AcbSh injection of BLF (0.06 nmol/0.2 μL/side or 0.12 nmol/0.2 μL/side), rather than vehicle or BLF (0.01 nmol/0.2 μL/side), following morphine reward memory retrieval abolished morphine-induced CPP by disrupting its reconsolidation in mice. Moreover, this effect persisted for more than 14 days, which was not reversed by a morphine priming injection. Furthermore, intra-AcbSh injection of BLF without morphine reward memory retrieval had no effect on morphine-associated reward memory. Interestingly, administration of BLF into the AcbSh had no effect on the locomotor activity of mice during testing phase. Based on these results, we concluded that intra-AcbSh injection of BLF following morphine reward memory could erase morphine-induced CPP by disrupting its reconsolidation. Activating GABA receptor in AcbSh during drug memory reconsolidation may be a potential approach to prevent drug relapse.
Animals ; Baclofen ; administration & dosage ; Conditioning, Classical ; GABA-B Receptor Agonists ; administration & dosage ; Locomotion ; Male ; Memory ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Morphine ; Nucleus Accumbens ; drug effects ; Opioid-Related Disorders ; Reward

Adult ; Appetite ; Data Collection ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Reward ; Risk Factors

The ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins are a family of membrane-associated proteins known to play roles in cell-shape determination as well as in signaling pathways. We have previously shown that amphetamine decreases phosphorylation levels of these proteins in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), an important neuronal substrate mediating rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. In the present study, we further examined what molecular pathways may be involved in this process. By direct microinjection of LY294002, a PI3 kinase inhibitor, or of S9 peptide, a proposed GSK3β activator, into the NAcc core, we found that phosphorylation levels of ERM as well as of GSK3β in this site are simultaneously decreased. These results indicate that ERM proteins are under the regulation of Akt-GSK3β signaling pathway in the NAcc core. The present findings have a significant implication to a novel signal pathway possibly leading to structural plasticity in relation with drug addiction.
Amphetamine ; Animals ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; Microinjections ; Negotiating ; Neurons ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Plastics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; Rats ; Reward ; Signal Transduction ; Street Drugs ; Substance-Related Disorders

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Excessive sugar intake is one of the causes associated with obesity and several chronic diseases prevalent in the modern society. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of parenting variables based on the theory of planned behavior, on the sweetness preferences and sweets intake of children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Parents and their children (n = 103, aged 5–7 years) were enrolled to participate in a survey for this study, after providing the required informed consent. Parents were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire at their residence. The sweetness preference test for children was conducted at a kindergarten (or daycare center) by applying the one-on-one interview method. RESULTS: The children were divided into two clusters categorized by the K-mean cluster analysis: Cluster 1 had higher sweetness preference (0.42 M sugar, 35%; 0.61 M sugar, 65%); Cluster 2 exhibited lower sweetness preference (0.14 M sugar, 9.5%; 0.20 M sugar, 9.5%; 0.29 M sugar, 81%). Cluster 1 had a higher frequency of sweets intake (P < 0.01), and lower sweets restriction (P < 0.05) and nutrition quotient score (P < 0.05). Sweets intake was negatively correlated with the nutritional quotient (r = −0.204, P < 0.05). The behavioral intention of parents was higher in cluster 2 (P < 0.05), while affective attitude, feeding practice, and reward were higher in cluster 1 (P < 0.001, P < 0.05, and P < 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, behavioral intention of parents showed a negative correlation with affective attitude (r = −0.282, P < 0.01) and feeding practice (r = −0.380, P < 0.01), and a positive correlation with subjective norm (r = 0.203, P < 0.05) and parenting attitude (r = 0.433, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the sweetness preferences and sweets intake of children is related to the parent's affective attitude, feeding practice and reward. We suggest that to reduce the sugar consumption of children, guidelines for access to sweets and pertinent parenting practices are required.
Child ; Chronic Disease ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Intention ; Methods ; Obesity ; Parenting ; Parents ; Reward

The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved three anti-obesity drugs for long-term management in the past decade. In addition, since 2019, bariatric surgery has been financially supported by National Health Insurance Service in Korea. In this review, the mechanisms of action and the clinical implications of the recently approved anti-obesity drugs, lorcaserin, naltrexone/bupropion, and liraglutide are explained. Lorcaserin stimulates proopiomelanocortin (POMC)/cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) neurons and inhibits neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons, which results in the activation of melanocortin 3/4 receptors. Naltrexone/bupropion stimulates POMC neurons through bupropion; this stimulation is augmented by blocking the autoinhibitory mechanism of POMC with naltrexone. The hypophagic effect of liraglutide is mediated through the direct activation of POMC/CART neurons and the indirect suppression of NPY/AgRP neurons through γ-aminobutyric acid-dependent signaling, with adjunctive suppression of the mesolimbic dopamine reward system. In addition to liraglutide, another glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, semaglutide, is expected to be added to the list of anti-obesity drugs in the near future. In patients with obesity and high cardiovascular risk, lorcaserin was considered neutral and liraglutide was considered favorable, whereas inconclusive results were obtained for naltrexone/bupropion.
Anti-Obesity Agents ; Bariatric Surgery ; Bupropion ; Dopamine ; Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor ; Humans ; Korea ; Liraglutide ; Naltrexone ; National Health Programs ; Neurons ; Neuropeptide Y ; Obesity ; Pro-Opiomelanocortin ; Reward