TY - JOUR
T1 - The value of being wrong
T2 - Intermittent feedback delivery alters the striatal response to negative feedback
AU - Lempert, Karolina M.
AU - Tricomi, Elizabeth
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R15DA029544) and the National Science Foundation (BCS1150708) awarded to E. T. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, or the National Science Foundation. Reprint requests should be sent to Elizabeth Tricomi, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 353 Smith Hall, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, or via e-mail: etricomi@scarletmail. rutgers.edu. Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - Whereas positive feedback is both rewarding and informative, negative feedback can be construed as either punishing (because it is indicative of poor performance) or informative (because it may lead to goal attainment). In this neuroimaging experiment, we highlighted the informational value of negative feedback by intermixing trials with and without feedback. When performance feedback is expected, positive feedback triggers an increase in striatal activity, whereas negative feedback elicits a decrease in striatal activity. We predicted that, in contrast, when feedback receipt is unpredictable, the striatal response to negative feedback would increase. Participants performed a paired-associate learning task during fMRI scanning. In one condition (“blocked feedback”), the receipt of feedback was predictable—participants knew whether or not they would receive feedback for their responses. In another condition (“mixed feedback”), the receipt of feedback was unpredictable—on a random 50% of trials, participants received feedback, and they otherwise received no feedback. Negative feedback in the mixed feedback condition elicited more striatal activity than negative feedback in the blocked feedback condition. In contrast, feedback omission evoked more striatal activity when feedback delivery was expected, compared to when it was unpredictable. This pattern emerged from an increase in caudate activity in response to negative feedback in the mixed feedback condition and a decrease in ventral striatal activity in response to no feedback in this condition. These results suggest that, by emphasizing the informational value of negative feedback, an unpredictable feedback context alters the striatal response to negative feedback and to the omission of feedback.
AB - Whereas positive feedback is both rewarding and informative, negative feedback can be construed as either punishing (because it is indicative of poor performance) or informative (because it may lead to goal attainment). In this neuroimaging experiment, we highlighted the informational value of negative feedback by intermixing trials with and without feedback. When performance feedback is expected, positive feedback triggers an increase in striatal activity, whereas negative feedback elicits a decrease in striatal activity. We predicted that, in contrast, when feedback receipt is unpredictable, the striatal response to negative feedback would increase. Participants performed a paired-associate learning task during fMRI scanning. In one condition (“blocked feedback”), the receipt of feedback was predictable—participants knew whether or not they would receive feedback for their responses. In another condition (“mixed feedback”), the receipt of feedback was unpredictable—on a random 50% of trials, participants received feedback, and they otherwise received no feedback. Negative feedback in the mixed feedback condition elicited more striatal activity than negative feedback in the blocked feedback condition. In contrast, feedback omission evoked more striatal activity when feedback delivery was expected, compared to when it was unpredictable. This pattern emerged from an increase in caudate activity in response to negative feedback in the mixed feedback condition and a decrease in ventral striatal activity in response to no feedback in this condition. These results suggest that, by emphasizing the informational value of negative feedback, an unpredictable feedback context alters the striatal response to negative feedback and to the omission of feedback.
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U2 - https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00892
DO - https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00892
M3 - Article
C2 - 26439265
VL - 28
SP - 261
EP - 274
JO - Journal of cognitive neuroscience
JF - Journal of cognitive neuroscience
SN - 0898-929X
IS - 2
ER -