Hedonic Hotspots Regulate Cingulate-driven Adaptation to Cognitive Demands.
Positive hedonic states are known to attenuate the impact of demanding events on our body and brain, supporting adaptive behavior in response to changes in the environment. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural mechanism of this hedonic regulation. The effect of hedonic state (as induced by funny vs. neutral cartoons) on flexible behavioral and neural adaptation to cognitive demands was assessed in a flanker task in female volunteers. Behavioral results showed that humor reduced the compensatory adjustments to cognitive demands, as observed in sequential adaptations. This modulation was also reflected in midcingulate cortex (MCC; also known as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, ACC) activation. Furthermore, hedonic context increased activation in ventral striatum (VS) and ventral pallidum (VP). These hedonic hotspots attenuated the medial prefrontal cortex response to the cognitive demands in the ACC (also known as the rostral ACC). Activity in the ACC proved predictive of subsequent behavioral adaptation. Moreover, psychophysiological interaction analyses revealed that the MCC and the ACC were functionally connected with VS and VP, respectively. These observations reveal how MCC-VS and VP-ACC interactions are involved in the detection and hedonic modulation of behavioral adaptations to cognitive demands, which supports behavioral flexibility.
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
Henk
H
van Steenbergen
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
Guido P H
GP
Band
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
Bernhard
B
Hommel
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands.
Serge A R B
SA
Rombouts
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
Sander
S
Nieuwenhuis
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
anterior cingulate cortex; basal ganglia; cognitive control; conflict adaptation; humor