Outcome valence and stimulus frequency affect neural responses to rewards and punishments.

ABSTRACT: The Reward-Positivity (RewP) is a frontocentral event-related potential elicited following reward and punishment feedback. Reinforcement learning theories propose the RewP reflects a reward prediction error that increases following more favorable (vs. unfavorable) outcomes. An alternative perspective, however, proposes this component indexes a salience-prediction error that increases following more salient outcomes. Evidence from prior studies that included both reward and punishment conditions is mixed, supporting both accounts. However, these studies often varied how feedback stimuli were repeated across reward and punishment conditions. Differences in the frequency of feedback stimuli may drive inconsistencies by introducing salience effects for infrequent stimuli regardless of whether

SUBMITTER: Glazer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10168119 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature