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Differentiating associations between tasks and outcomes in the human brain

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dc.contributor.authorNelson, Lauren, author
dc.contributor.authorSeger, Carol, advisor
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Michael, committee member
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, Chuck, committee member
dc.contributor.authorTompkins, Sara Anne, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-29T10:15:45Z
dc.date.available2022-08-29T10:15:45Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractIn order to successfully achieve their goals in a noisy and changing environment, organisms must continually learn both Pavlovian (stimulus-outcome or S-O) and instrumental (action-outcome or A-O) associations. A wide range of brain regions are implicated in reinforcement learning and decision-making, including the basal ganglia, medial prefrontal cortex, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). One possible explanation of disparate findings is that activation depends on the nature of the action or response under consideration. To investigate representations of task-reward associations, subjects switched between an emotional judgement task and a spatial judgement task, combined with either a high or low level of reward. A general linear model (GLM) compared activation for different combinations of task and reward. A cluster in the mid-prefrontal cortex was more active for right versus left response, whereas a cluster in the midbrain near the brainstem was more active for left responses. Performance of the spatial task was associated with activation in the ventral occipital cortex and ventral prefrontal cortex. Clusters in the posterior parietal cortex and lateral prefrontal cortex were more active during the emotion task. Receiving a large reward was accompanied by activation in primary somatosensory cortex and auditory cortex, while receiving a low reward appeared to recruit the anterior cingulate cortex. Comparing trials which yielded a reward versus trials with no reward revealed activation in the dorsal prefrontal cortex. A 2-way ANOVA examining independent contributions of response and reward found an effect of response in cuneus and pre-cuneus, an effect of reward in anterior insula and sensorimotor cortex, and an interaction in the post-central gyrus. A 2-way ANOVA of task and reward found a main effect of task in several clusters in the medial occipital cortex, a main effect of reward in somatosensory cortex and anterior insula, and an interaction in the ventral occipital and anterior prefrontal cortex.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierNelson_colostate_0053N_17230.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/235559
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.titleDifferentiating associations between tasks and outcomes in the human brain
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychology
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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