title: Functional imaging with reinforcement, eyetracking, and physiological monitoring.
abstract: We use functional brain imaging (fMRI) to study neural circuits that underlie decision-making. To understand how outcomes affect decision processes, simple perceptual tasks are combined with appetitive and aversive reinforcement. However, the use of reinforcers such as juice and airpuffs can create challenges for fMRI. Reinforcer delivery can cause head movement, which creates artifacts in the fMRI signal. Reinforcement can also lead to changes in heart rate and respiration that are mediated by autonomic pathways. Changes in heart rate and respiration can directly affect the fMRI (BOLD) signal in the brain and can be confounded with signal changes that are due to neural activity. In this presentation, we demonstrate methods for administering reinforcers in a controlled manner, for stabilizing the head, and for measuring pulse and respiration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, USA.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ferrera
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grinband
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teichert
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pestilli
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dashnaw
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology