Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Learning and memory are the foundation of individual survival and development. Improving learning and memory is the focus of psychology and neuroscience. Recently, many studies have revealed that rewards facilitate declarative memory, and the influence of reward on declarative memory has become a hot research topic. Rewards are related to the midbrain dopamine system, including areas such as the ventral tegmental area, the substantia nigra, and the ventral striatum, with dopamine as the relevant vital neurotransmitter. The hippocampus and adjacent cortices play an essential role in the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of declarative memory. The midbrain reward system and the memory system (i.e., the ventral tegmental area and hippocampus) are connected both structurally and functionally. Rewards can act on memory encoding and consolidation, thus promoting memory performance. During the encoding and consolidation stages, rewards promote memory via the interaction of various brain systems (i.e., the reward system, the attention control system, and the memory system). The impact of rewards during these two stages involves different cognitive processes and neural mechanisms. During the memory encoding stage, rewards affect both intentional and incidental memories. According to the intentional memory paradigm, participants are explicitly informed that a reward is contingent upon memory performance in a subsequent test when they encode the items. In this paradigm, this performance-dependent reward triggers the reward system and involves the attentional control system, and these two systems modulate the memory system, allocating more cognitive resources to reward-related items, thereby promoting memory with respect to these items. According to the incidental memory paradigm, rewards accompany some items during the encoding phase but are independent of memory performance regarding these items in the subsequent test. In this paradigm, participants are not aware of the subsequent memory test before they process the information; thus, the reward enhancement effect on memory can mainly be explained in terms of the interaction between the memory system and the reward system. However, even though participants do not intentionally allocate cognitive resources in this context, the rewarded items themselves automatically attract attention. Therefore, the influence of attention and the involvement of the attentional control system cannot be excluded entirely. During the memory consolidation stage, the addition of a reward also affects memory performance, and the influence of attention can be excluded entirely at this stage; thus, the enhancement effect on memory consolidation can be explained in terms of pure reward. During the consolidation stage, the hippocampal memory system reactivates the encoded content. The reward facilitates dopamine release, modulates the hippocampal processing of reward-related items, and enhances the reactivation of reward-related items, thus directly affecting memory performance without the involvement of the attentional control system. Future research should focus on the following three areas. First, rewards affect behavior not in terms of a simple and pure enhancement pattern but rather according to a complex pattern. The factors and mechanisms that impact the effect of rewards on memory must be clarified, and a more consummate model of the reward effect on memory should be developed to provide more accurate guidance for learning in real life (i.e., a model of when and how rewards should be applied in education). Second, only a few studies have investigated the effects of rewards during the memory consolidation and retrieval stages. More attention should be given to the effects of rewards during these two stages (i.e., the ways in which rewards affect consolidation during different states as well as memory retrieval and subsequent memory). Finally, most studies have investigated the effects of external rewards on memory, and future research should focus on the impacts of internal rewards on learning and memory. We should compare the behavioral patterns and neural mechanisms associated with the effects of internal and external rewards on memory and test the interaction effect of internal and external rewards on memory.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Under the influence of the novel coronavirus epidemic, some negative social events, such as separation of family or friends and home isolation have increased. These events can cause negative emotion experiences similar to physical pain, thus they are called social pain. Placebo effect refers to the positive response to the inert treatment with no specific therapeutic properties, which has been shown to be one of the effective ways to alleviate social pain. Studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a key role in placebo effect. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether activating DLPFC by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could improve the ability of placebo effects to regulate social pain. Besides, we also combined neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques to provide bidirectional evidence for the role of the DLPFC on placebo effects. We recruited a total of 100 participants to finish the task of negative emotional rating of the social exclusion images. Among them, 50 participants were stimulated by TMS at the right DLPFC (rDLPFC), while the others were assigned to the sham group. This study contained two independent variables. The between- subject variable was TMS group (rDLPFC-activated group or sham group) and the within-subject variable was placebo type (no-placebo and placebo). All participants received nasal spray in two blocks. In the no-placebo condition, participants were instructed that they would receive a saline nasal spray which helped to improve physiological readings; in placebo block, participants were told to administrate an intranasal fluoxetine spray (saline nasal spray in fact) that could reduce unpleasantness within 10 minutes. To strengthen the expectation of intranasal fluoxetine, participants viewed a professional introduction to fluoxetine’s clinical and academic usage including downregulating negative emotion, such as fear, anxiety, and disgust. Participants who received the placebo block first would be reminded that fluoxetine’s effect was over before the next block to reduce the carry-over for the following block. Self-reported negative emotional and electroencephalogram data were recorded. There was a significant two-way interaction of TMS group and placebo type. Results showed that compared with the sham group, participants in the rDLPFC-activated group reported less negative emotional feeling and had a lower amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) in placebo condition, a component that reflects the emotional intensity, suggesting that activating rDLPFC can improve the ability of placebo effect to regulate social pain. The above finding suggested that activating DLPFC can improve the placebo effect of regulating negative emotion. Moreover, this study is the first attempt to investigate the enhancement of placebo effects by using TMS on emotion regulation. The findings not only support the critical role of DLPFC on placebo effect using neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques, but also provide a potential brain target for treating emotional regulation deficits in patients with psychiatric disorders.
submitted time 2023-03-16 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Under the influence of the novel coronavirus epidemic, some negative social events, such as separation of family or friends and home isolation have increased. These events can cause negative emotion experiences similar to physical pain, thus they are called social pain. Placebo effect refers to the positive response to the inert treatment with no specific therapeutic properties, which has been shown to be one of the effective ways to alleviate social pain. Studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a key role in placebo effect. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether activating DLPFC by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could improve the ability of placebo effects to regulate social pain. Besides, we also combined neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques to provide bidirectional evidence for the role of the DLPFC on placebo effects. We recruited a total of 100 participants to finish the task of negative emotional rating of the social exclusion images. Among them, 50 participants were stimulated by TMS at the right DLPFC (rDLPFC), while the others were assigned to the sham group. This study contained two independent variables. The between- subject variable was TMS group (rDLPFC-activated group or sham group) and the within-subject variable was placebo type (no-placebo and placebo). All participants received nasal spray in two blocks. In the no-placebo condition, participants were instructed that they would receive a saline nasal spray which helped to improve physiological readings; in placebo block, participants were told to administrate an intranasal fluoxetine spray (saline nasal spray in fact) that could reduce unpleasantness within 10 minutes. To strengthen the expectation of intranasal fluoxetine, participants viewed a professional introduction to fluoxetine’s clinical and academic usage including downregulating negative emotion, such as fear, anxiety, and disgust. Participants who received the placebo block first would be reminded that fluoxetine’s effect was over before the next block to reduce the carry-over for the following block. Self-reported negative emotional and electroencephalogram data were recorded. There was a significant two-way interaction of TMS group and placebo type. Results showed that compared with the sham group, participants in the rDLPFC-activated group reported less negative emotional feeling and had a lower amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) in placebo condition, a component that reflects the emotional intensity, suggesting that activating rDLPFC can improve the ability of placebo effect to regulate social pain. The above finding suggested that activating DLPFC can improve the placebo effect of regulating negative emotion. Moreover, this study is the first attempt to investigate the enhancement of placebo effects by using TMS on emotion regulation. The findings not only support the critical role of DLPFC on placebo effect using neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques, but also provide a potential brain target for treating emotional regulation deficits in patients with psychiatric disorders.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2023-02-14
Abstract：
Under the influence of the novel coronavirus epidemic, some negative social events, such as separation of family or friends and home isolation have increased. These events can cause negative emotion experiences similar to physical pain, thus they are called social pain. Placebo effect refers to the positive response to the inert treatment with no specific therapeutic properties, which has been shown to be one of the effective ways to alleviate social pain. Studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a key role in placebo effect. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether activating DLPFC by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could improve the ability of placebo effects to regulate social pain. Besides, we also combined neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques to provide bidirectional evidence for the role of the DLPFC on placebo effects. We recruited a total of 100 participants to finish the task of negative emotional rating of the social exclusion images. Among them, 50 participants were stimulated by TMS at the right DLPFC (rDLPFC), while the others were assigned to the sham group. This study contained two independent variables. The between-subject variable was TMS group (rDLPFC-activated group or sham group) and the within-subject variable was placebo type (no-placebo and placebo). All participants received nasal spray in two blocks. In the no-placebo condition, participants were instructed that they would receive a saline nasal spray which helped to improve physiological readings; in placebo block, participants were told to administrate an intranasal fluoxetine spray (saline nasal spray in fact) that could reduce unpleasantness within 10 minutes. To strengthen the expectation of intranasal fluoxetine, participants viewed a professional introduction to fluoxetine’s clinical and academic usage including downregulating negative emotion, such as fear, anxiety, and disgust. Participants who received the placebo block first would be reminded that fluoxetine’s effect was over before the next block to reduce the carry-over for the following block. Self-reported negative emotional and electroencephalogram data were recorded. There was a significant two-way interaction of TMS group and placebo type. Results showed that compared with the sham group, participants in the rDLPFC-activated group reported less negative emotional feeling and had a lower amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) in placebo condition, a component that reflects the emotional intensity, suggesting that activating rDLPFC can improve the ability of placebo effect to regulate social pain. The above finding suggested that activating DLPFC can improve the placebo effect of regulating negative emotion. Moreover, this study is the first attempt to investigate the enhancement of placebo effects by using TMS on emotion regulation. The findings not only support the critical role of DLPFC on placebo effect using neuroimaging and neuromodulation techniques, but also provide a potential brain target for treating emotional regulation deficits in patients with psychiatric disorders.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2022-07-15
Abstract：
Learning and memory constitute the basis of individual survival and development. Improving learning and memory is the focus of psychology and neuroscience. Many recent studies have revealed that the reward and memory systems are structurally and functionally connected and that rewards can promote memory. The midbrain dopamine system and the hippocampal system are related in terms of structure and function. Rewards affect memory via encoding and consolidation by reference to different mechanisms. During the memory encoding stage, a reward can activate the reward system and the attentional control system and can cause more cognitive resources to be allocated to reward-related information, thus promoting memory with respect to reward information. During the memory consolidation stage, a reward can increase the release of dopamine that acts on the processing of reward-related information in the hippocampus, thus producing better memory in the context of reward information. Future research can focus on the complex patterns exhibited by the influence of rewards on behavior and that of intrinsic rewards on learning and memory.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
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