Clarifying the neural basis of social reward processing

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H04262
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: National Institute for Physiological Sciences (2016-2017); Kansai Medical University (2015)
• Principal Investigator: ISODA MASAKI 生理学研究所, システム脳科学研究領域, 教授 (90466029)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 自己 / 他者 / サル / 単一神経細胞活動 / 前頭葉内側皮質細胞 / ドーパミン細胞 / 報酬 / 社会

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Human behaviors are influenced by not only rewards for oneself, but also rewards for others. To investigate neuronal mechanisms underlying reward processing in social contexts, we devised a social Pavlovian conditioning procedure for two monkeys facing each other and monitored single-unit activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and dopaminergic midbrain nuclei. We found that single MPFC neurons selectively encode self-reward information or partner’s reward information, whereas single dopamine neurons encode a subjective value. These findings suggest that cortico-subcortical networks play an important role in reward processing in social contexts.

Free Research Field

神経科学，生理学