Incentive delay tasks implicate the striatum and medial frontal cortex in reward processing. However, prior studies delivered more rewards than penalties, possibly leading to unwanted differences in signal-to-noise ratio. Also, whether particular brain regions are specifically involved in anticipation or consumption is unclear. We used a task featuring balanced incentive delivery and an analytic strategy designed to identify activity specific to anticipation or consumption. RT data in two independent samples (n=13 and n=8) confirmed motivated responding. FMRI revealed regions activated by anticipation (anterior cingulate) vs. consumption (orbital and medial frontal cortex). Ventral striatum was active during reward anticipation but not significantly more so than during consumption. While the study features several methodological improvements and helps clarify the neural basis of incentive processing, replications in larger samples are needed.
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