Habenula–ventral tegmental area functional coupling and risk aversion in humans.
Saved in:
| Title: | Habenula–ventral tegmental area functional coupling and risk aversion in humans. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Lin, Wanjun1,2 wanjun.lin@cfin.au.dk, Xu, Jiahua3, Zhang, Xiaoying4, Dolan, Raymond J.1,4,5 |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 11/4/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 44, p1-10. 34p. |
| Subjects: | Risk aversion, Functional connectivity, Mental illness, Mesencephalic tegmentum, Functional magnetic resonance imaging |
| Abstract: | Maladaptive responses to uncertainty, including excessive risk seeking or avoidance, are linked to a range of mental disorders. One expression of these is a provariance bias (PVB), i.e., risk-seeking manifests as a preference for choosing options with higher variances/ uncertainty. Using a magnitude learning task, we show that individual differences in PVB are explained by a model that includes asymmetric learning rates, allowing differential learning from positive prediction errors (PPEs) and negative prediction errors (NPEs). Using high-resolution 7T functional MRI (fMRI), we identify distinct neural responses to PPEs and NPEs in value-sensitive regions, including habenula (Hb), ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans. Notably, prediction error signals in NAcc and vmPFC were boosted for high variance options. NPEs responses in NAcc were associated with a negative bias in learning rates that was linked to the strength of Hb-VTA negative functional coupling during NPE encoding, with a mediation analysis revealing this coupling influenced NAcc responses to NPEs via an impact on learning rate bias. Our findings implicate Hb-VTA functional coupling in the emergence of risk preferences during learning, with implications for psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191505978 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Habenula–ventral tegmental area functional coupling and risk aversion in humans. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lin%2C+Wanjun%22">Lin, Wanjun</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> wanjun.lin@cfin.au.dk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xu%2C+Jiahua%22">Xu, Jiahua</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Xiaoying%22">Zhang, Xiaoying</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dolan%2C+Raymond+J%2E%22">Dolan, Raymond J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,4,5</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 11/4/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 44, p1-10. 34p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Risk+aversion%22">Risk aversion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Functional+connectivity%22">Functional connectivity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+illness%22">Mental illness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mesencephalic+tegmentum%22">Mesencephalic tegmentum</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Functional+magnetic+resonance+imaging%22">Functional magnetic resonance imaging</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Maladaptive responses to uncertainty, including excessive risk seeking or avoidance, are linked to a range of mental disorders. One expression of these is a provariance bias (PVB), i.e., risk-seeking manifests as a preference for choosing options with higher variances/ uncertainty. Using a magnitude learning task, we show that individual differences in PVB are explained by a model that includes asymmetric learning rates, allowing differential learning from positive prediction errors (PPEs) and negative prediction errors (NPEs). Using high-resolution 7T functional MRI (fMRI), we identify distinct neural responses to PPEs and NPEs in value-sensitive regions, including habenula (Hb), ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans. Notably, prediction error signals in NAcc and vmPFC were boosted for high variance options. NPEs responses in NAcc were associated with a negative bias in learning rates that was linked to the strength of Hb-VTA negative functional coupling during NPE encoding, with a mediation analysis revealing this coupling influenced NAcc responses to NPEs via an impact on learning rate bias. Our findings implicate Hb-VTA functional coupling in the emergence of risk preferences during learning, with implications for psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=191505978 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2500815122 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 34 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Risk aversion Type: general – SubjectFull: Functional connectivity Type: general – SubjectFull: Mental illness Type: general – SubjectFull: Mesencephalic tegmentum Type: general – SubjectFull: Functional magnetic resonance imaging Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Habenula–ventral tegmental area functional coupling and risk aversion in humans. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lin, Wanjun – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Xu, Jiahua – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zhang, Xiaoying – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dolan, Raymond J. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 04 M: 11 Text: 11/4/2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 122 – Type: issue Value: 44 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
