Aberrant Striatal Value Representation in Huntington's Disease Gene Carriers 25 Years Before Onset.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In this study, we asked whether differences in striatal activity during a reinforcement learning (RL) task with gain and loss domains could be one of the earliest functional imaging features associated with carrying the Huntington's disease (HD) gene. Based on previous work, we hypothesized that HD gene carriers would show either neural or behavioral asymmetry between gain and loss learning.

Methods

We recruited 35 HD gene carriers, expected to demonstrate onset of motor symptoms in an average of 26 years, and 35 well-matched gene-negative control subjects. Participants were placed in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner, where they completed an RL task in which they were required to learn to choose between abstract stimuli with the aim of gaining rewar

SUBMITTER: Nair A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8423628 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature