The reward-hypersensitivity model posits that trait reward hypersensitivity should elicit hyper/hypo-approach motivation following exposure to recent life events that activate (goal striving and goal attainment) or deactivate (goal failure) the reward system, respectively. To test these hypotheses, we had 87 young adults with high trait reward (HRew) sensitivity or moderate trait reward (MRew) sensitivity report frequency of life events via the Life Event Interview. Brain activation was assessed during the functional MRI monetary-incentive-delay task. Greater exposure to goal-striving events was associated with higher nucleus accumbens (NAc) reward anticipation among HRew participants and lower orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) reward anticipation among MRew participants. Greater exposure to goal-failure events was associated with higher NAc and OFC reward anticipation only among HRew participants. This study demonstrated different neural reward anticipation (but not outcome) following reward-relevant events for HRew individuals compared with MRew individuals. Trait reward sensitivity and reward-relevant life events may jointly modulate reward-related brain function, which has implications for understanding psychopathology.
AguinisH. (1995). Statistical power problems with moderated multiple regression in management research. Journal of Management, 21(6), 1141–1158. https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-2063(95)90026-8
2.
AlloyL. B.AbramsonL. Y. (2010). The role of the behavioral approach system (BAS) in bipolar spectrum disorders. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(3), 189–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410370292
3.
AlloyL. B.AbramsonL. Y.WalshawP. D.CogswellA.SmithJ. M.NeerenA. M.HughesM. E.IacovielloB. M.GersteinR. K.KeyserJ.UrosevicS.NusslockR. (2006). Behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity and bipolar spectrum disorders: A retrospective and concurrent behavioral high-risk design. Motivation and Emotion, 30(2), 143–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-006-9003-3
4.
AlloyL. B.BenderR. E.WagnerC. A.WhitehouseW. G.AbramsonL. Y.HoganM. E.SylviaL. G.Harmon-JonesE. (2009). Bipolar spectrum–substance use co-occurrence: Behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity and impulsiveness as shared personality vulnerabilities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 549–565. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016061
5.
AlloyL. B.BenderR. E.WhitehouseW. G.WagnerC. A.LiuR. T.GrantD. A.Jager-HymanS.MolzA.ChoiJ. Y.Harmon-JonesE.AbramsonL. Y. (2012). High behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity, reward responsiveness, and goal-striving predict first onset of bipolar spectrum disorders: A prospective behavioral high-risk design. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(2), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025877
6.
AlloyL. B.NusslockR. (2019). Future directions for understanding adolescent bipolar spectrum disorders: A reward hypersensitivity perspective. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 48(4), 669–683. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1567347
7.
AlloyL. B.OlinoT.FreedR. D.NusslockR. (2016). Role of reward sensitivity and processing in major depressive and bipolar spectrum disorders. Behavior Therapy, 47(5), 600–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2016.02.014
8.
BerghorstL. H.KumarP.GreveD. N.DeckersbachT.OngurD.DutraS. J.PizzagalliD. A. (2016). Stress and reward processing in bipolar disorder: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Bipolar Disorders, 18(7), 602–611. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.12444
9.
BolandE. M.StangeJ. P.LaBelleD. R.ShaperoB. G.WeissR. B.AbramsonL. Y.AlloyL. B. (2016). Affective disruption from social rhythm and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivities. Clinical Psychological Science, 4(3), 418–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702615603368
10.
BradyA. M.O’DonnellP. (2004). Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortical input to nucleus accumbens neurons in vivo. The Journal of Neuroscience, 24(5), 1040–1049. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4178-03.2004
11.
CarverC. S.WhiteT. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.319
12.
ChaseH. W.NusslockR.AlmeidaJ. R.ForbesE. E.LaBarbaraE. J.PhillipsM. L. (2013). Dissociable patterns of abnormal frontal cortical activation during anticipation of an uncertain reward or loss in bipolar versus major depression. Bipolar Disorders, 15(8), 839–854. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.12132
13.
CohenJ.CohenP.WestS. G.AikenL. S. (2013). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Routledge.
ForbesE. E.RodriguezE. E.MusselmanS.NarendranR. (2014). Prefrontal response and frontostriatal functional connectivity to monetary reward in abstinent alcohol-dependent young adults. PLOS ONE, 9(5), Article e94640. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094640
16.
Francis-RaniereE. L.AlloyL. B.AbramsonL. Y. (2006). Depressive personality styles and bipolar spectrum disorders: Prospective tests of the event congruency hypothesis. Bipolar Disorders, 8(4), 382–399. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2006.00337.x
17.
FulfordD.JohnsonS. L.LlabreM. M.CarverC. S. (2010). Pushing and coasting in dynamic goal pursuit: Coasting is attenuated in bipolar disorder. Psychological Science, 21(7), 1021–1027. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610373372
18.
HaberS. N.BehrensT. E. J. (2014). The neural network underlying incentive-based learning: Implications for interpreting circuit disruptions in psychiatric disorders. Neuron, 83(5), 1019–1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.031
19.
HaberS. N.KnutsonB. (2010). The reward circuit: Linking primate anatomy and human imaging. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(1), 4–26. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2009.129
20.
HaradaM.HoakiN.TeraoT.HatanoK.KohnoK.ArakiY.MizokamiY.KodamaK.ToyokawaK.IzumiT.ArasakiM.ShimomuraT.FujikiM.KochiyamaT. (2013). Hyperthymic temperament and brightness judgment in healthy subjects: Involvement of left inferior orbitofrontal cortex. Journal of Affective Disorders, 151(1), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.05.066
21.
HughesJ. (2021). reghelper: Helper functions for regression analysis (Version 1.0.2) [Computer software]. Comprehensive R Archive Network. https://cran.r-project.org/package=reghelper
22.
JacksonM. E.FrostA. S.MoghaddamB. (2001). Stimulation of prefrontal cortex at physiologically relevant frequencies inhibits dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Journal of Neurochemistry, 78(4), 920–923. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.2001.00499.x
JohnsonS. L.MehtaH.KetterT. A.GotlibI. H.KnutsonB. (2019). Neural responses to monetary incentives in bipolar disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical, 24, Article 102018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102018
25.
KelleyN. J.KramerA. M.YoungK. S.Echiverri-CohenA. M.ChatI. K.-Y.BookheimerS. Y.NusslockR.CraskeM. G.ZinbargR. E. (2019). Evidence for a general factor of behavioral activation system sensitivity. Journal of Research in Personality, 79, 30–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.01.002
26.
KnutsonB.WestdorpA.KaiserE.HommerD. (2000). FMRI visualization of brain activity during a monetary incentive delay task. NeuroImage, 12(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2000.0593
27.
KumarP.BerghorstL. H.NickersonL. D.DutraS. J.GoerF. K.GreveD. N.PizzagalliD. A. (2014). Differential effects of acute stress on anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing. Neuroscience, 266, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.01.058
28.
KumarP.SlavichG. M.BerghorstL. H.TreadwayM. T.BrooksN. H.DutraS. J.GreveD. N.O’DonovanA.BleilM. E.ManingerN.PizzagalliD. A. (2015). Perceived life stress exposure modulates reward-related medial prefrontal cortex responses to acute stress in depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 180, 104–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.03.035
29.
LiuR. T.BurkeT. A.AbramsonL. Y.AlloyL. B. (2018). The Behavioral Approach System (BAS) model of vulnerability to bipolar disorder: Evidence of a continuum of BAS sensitivity across adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46, 1333–1349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0363-9
30.
MeyerB.JohnsonS. L.WintersR. (2001). Responsiveness to threat and incentive in bipolar disorder: Relations of the BIS/BAS scales with symptoms. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23(3), 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010929402770
MonroeS. M.SimonsA. D. (1991). Diathesis-stress theories in the context of life stress research: Implications for the depressive disorders. Psychological Bulletin, 110(3), 406–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.3.406
33.
MurrayL.WallerR.HydeL. W. (2018). A systematic review examining the link between psychopathic personality traits, antisocial behavior, and neural reactivity during reward and loss processing. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 9(6), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000308
34.
NgT. H.AlloyL. B.SmithD. V. (2019). Meta-analysis of reward processing in major depressive disorder reveals distinct abnormalities within the reward circuit. Translational Psychiatry, 9(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0644-x
35.
NusslockR.AbramsonL. Y.Harmon-JonesE.AlloyL. B.HoganM. E. (2007). A goal-striving life event and the onset of hypomanic and depressive episodes and symptoms: Perspective from the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) dysregulation theory. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(1), 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.116.1.105
36.
NusslockR.AlloyL. B. (2017). Reward processing and mood-related symptoms: An RDoC and translational neuroscience perspective. Journal of Affective Disorders, 216, 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.001
37.
NusslockR.AlmeidaJ. R.ForbesE. E.VersaceA.FrankE.LaBarbaraE. J.KleinC. R.PhillipsM. L. (2012). Waiting to win: Elevated striatal and orbitofrontal cortical activity during reward anticipation in euthymic bipolar disorder adults. Bipolar Disorders, 14(3), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2012.01012.x
38.
OssewaardeL.QinS.MarleV.WingenG. A.FernándezG.HermansE. J. (2011). Stress-induced reduction in reward-related prefrontal cortex function. NeuroImage, 55(1), 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.068
39.
PhillipsM. L.LadouceurC. D.DrevetsW. C. (2008). A neural model of voluntary and automatic emotion regulation: Implications for understanding the pathophysiology and neurodevelopment of bipolar disorder. Molecular Psychiatry, 13, 833–857. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2008.65
40.
R Core Team. (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 4.0.4) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. http://www.R-project.org
41.
RevelleW. (2020). psych: Procedures for personality and psychological research (Version 2.0.12) [Computer software]. Comprehensive R Archive Network. https://cran.r-project.org/package=psych
42.
Samanez-LarkinG. R.GibbsS. E. B.KhannaK.NielsenL.CarstensenL. L.KnutsonB. (2007). Anticipation of monetary gain but not loss in healthy older adults. Nature Neuroscience, 10(6), 787–791. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1894
43.
SatterthwaiteT. D.KableJ. W.VandekarL.KatchmarN.BassettD. S.BaldassanoC. F.RuparelK.ElliottM. A.ShelineY. I.GurR. C.GurR. E.DavatzikosC.LeibenluftE.ThaseM. E.WolfD. H. (2015). Common and dissociable dysfunction of the reward system in bipolar and unipolar depression. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(9), 2258–2268. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.75
44.
SchreiterS.SpenglerS.WillertA.MohnkeS.HeroldD.ErkS.Romanczuk-SeiferthN.QuinlivanE.Hindi-AttarC.BanzhafC.WackerhagenC.RomundL.GarbusowM.StammT.HeinzA.WalterH.BermpohlF. (2016). Neural alterations of fronto-striatal circuitry during reward anticipation in euthymic bipolar disorder. Psychological Medicine, 46(15), 3187–3198. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716001963
45.
TorrubiaR.ÁvilaC.MoltóJ.CaserasX. (2001). The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray’s anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(6), 837–862. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00183-5
46.
TottenhamN.Gabard-DurnamL. J. (2017). The developing amygdala: A student of the world and a teacher of the cortex. Current Opinion in Psychology, 17, 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.012
47.
TreadwayM. T.BuckholtzJ. W.ZaldD. (2013). Perceived stress predicts altered reward and loss feedback processing in medial prefrontal cortex. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, Article 180. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00180
48.
TrostS.DiekhofE. K.ZvonikK.LewandowskiM.UsherJ.KeilM.ZillesD.FalkaiP.DechentP.GruberO. (2014). Disturbed anterior prefrontal control of the mesolimbic reward system and increased impulsivity in bipolar disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39(8), 1914–1923. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.39
49.
UrosevićS.AbramsonL. Y.AlloyL. B.NusslockR.Harmon-JonesE.BenderR.HoganM. E. (2010). Increased rates of events that activate or deactivate the behavioral approach system, but not events related to goal attainment, in bipolar spectrum disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(3), 610–615. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019533
50.
WhittonA. E.TreadwayM. T.PizzagalliD. A. (2015). Reward processing dysfunction in major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 28(1), 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000122
51.
WickhamH. (2016). ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer-Verlag.
52.
WickhamH.FrançoisR.HenryL.MüllerK. (2021). dplyr: A grammar of data manipulation (Version 1.0.4) [Computer software]. Comprehensive R Archive Network. https://cran.r-project.org/package=dplyr
53.
WickhamH.MillerE. (2019). haven: Import and export ‘SPSS’, ‘Stata’ and ‘SAS’ files (Version 2.2.0) [Computer software]. Comprehensive R Archive Network. https://cran.r-project.org/package=haven
54.
YipS. W.WorhunskyP. D.RogersR. D.GoodwinG. M. (2015). Hypoactivation of the ventral and dorsal striatum during reward and loss anticipation in antipsychotic and mood stabilizer-naive bipolar disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(3), 658–666. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2014.215
55.
YoungC. B.ChenT.NusslockR.KellerJ.ScatzbergA. F.MenonV. (2016). Anhedonia and general distress associated with dissociable connectivity of ventromedial prefrontal cortex in major depressive disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 6, Article e810. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.80
56.
YoungC. B.NusslockR. (2016). Positive mood enhances reward-related neural activity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(6), 934–944. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw012
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
