title: Anticipatory pleasure predicts effective connectivity in the mesolimbic system.
abstract: Convergent evidence suggests the important role of the mesolimbic pathway in anticipating monetary rewards. However, the underlying mechanism of how the sub-regions interact with each other is still not clearly understood. Using dynamic causal modeling, we constructed a reward-related network for anticipating monetary reward using the Monetary Incentive Delay Task. Twenty-six healthy adolescents (Female/Male = 11/15; age = 18.69 ± 1.35 years; education = 12 ± 1.58 years) participated in the present study. The best-fit network involved the right substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the right thalamus, which were all activated during anticipation of monetary gain and loss. The SN/VTA directly activates the NAcc and the thalamus. More importantly, monetary gain modulated the connectivity from the SN/VTA to the NAcc and this was significantly correlated with subjective anticipatory pleasure (r = 0.649, p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that activity in the mesolimbic pathway during the anticipation of monetary reward could to some extent be predicted by subjective anticipatory pleasure.
authors: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China ; The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China.
authors: Zhi
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE and STCSM), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University Shanghai, China.
authors: Chao
authors: C
authors: Yan
authors: Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA.
authors: Wei-Zhen
authors: WZ
authors: Xie
authors: MRI Center, Hospital 306 of PLA Beijing, China.
authors: Ke
authors: K
authors: Li
authors: MRI Center, Hospital 306 of PLA Beijing, China.
authors: Ya-Wei
authors: YW
authors: Zeng
authors: MRI Center, Hospital 306 of PLA Beijing, China.
authors: Zhen
authors: Z
authors: Jin
authors: Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Tuen Mun, China.
authors: Eric F C
authors: EF
authors: Cheung
authors: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China.
authors: Raymond C K
authors: RC
authors: Chan
keywords: anticipatory pleasure; dynamic causal modeling; hedonic capacity; monetary reward