title: Neural structures involved in visual search guidance by reward-enhanced contextual cueing of the target location.
abstract: Spatial contextual cueing reflects an incidental form of learning that occurs when spatial distractor configurations are repeated in visual search displays. Recently, it was reported that the efficiency of contextual cueing can be modulated by reward. We replicated this behavioral finding and investigated its neural basis with fMRI. Reward value was associated with repeated displays in a learning session. The effect of reward value on context-guided visual search was assessed in a subsequent fMRI session without reward. Structures known to support explicit reward valuation, such as ventral frontomedial cortex and posterior cingulate cortex, were modulated by incidental reward learning. Contextual cueing, leading to more efficient search, went along with decreased activation in the visual search network. Retrosplenial cortex played a special role in that it showed both a main effect of reward and a reward×configuration interaction and may thereby be a central structure for the reward modulation of context-guided visual search.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, 39016 Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: stefan.pollmann@ovgu.de.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pollmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eštočinová
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chelazzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
authors.forename: Wolf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zinke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Contextual cueing; Frontomedial cortex; Memory-guided search; Retrosplenial cortex; Reward modulation