The Patient Brain: Ventral Striatal Connectivity Predicts Delay Discounting Behaviour
Poster No:
714
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yueting Su1, Xinyu Liang1, Liangyue Song1, Joern Alexander Quent1, Kaixiang Zhuang1, Deniz Vatansever1
Institutions:
1Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Delay discounting – the evaluation of trade-offs between costs and benefits occurring at different time points – constitutes a reliable measure of impulsivity that predicts real-world outcomes like obesity and academic performance [1, 2]. Converging evidence from task fMRI studies now suggests that individual differences in delay discounting behaviour depend on a cortico-striatal circuit centred on the ventral striatum [3]. However, it remains unclear how intrinsic connectivity between the ventral striatum and large-scale brain networks contributes to individual differences in delay discounting. Using resting state connectivity analysis in a large cohort, here we revealed robust associations between individual discount rates and connectivity patterns between the ventral striatum and two prominent transmodal brain networks.
Methods:
Following a high-quality HCP-style data acquisition protocol [4], a group of 124 healthy participants (mean age: 23.8 ± 2.4 years, Female/Male = 84/40) were scanned during a period of rest at 3T fMRI (TR = 0.8 s, TE = 37, 2 mm iso, 976 volumes, AP/PA). Subsequently, participants completed the self-report Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ-27) [5], a dichotomous choice task measuring preferences between smaller immediate rewards (e.g. 100 RMB today) and larger delayed rewards (e.g. 200 RMB in 5 days). Responses were used to calculate individual discount rates log(k) [6]. Imaging data underwent minimal preprocessing via HCP pipelines and registered to the MSMAll fsLR_32k cifti space [7]. Using NeuroSynth meta-analysis across 51 studies with "delayed, discounting" topics, we identified a key region of interest overlapping with the bilateral nucleus accumbens shell (NAcc-shell) in the Melbourne Subcortex Atlas [8]. This ROI parcel was then used as a seed ROI to quantify whole-brain functional connectivity via Pearson correlation. Discount rates and connectivity estimates were then used to assess brain-behaviour relationships in a standard GLM. Statistical significance was assessed using non-parametric permutation testing via PALM (cFDRp < .05), in which age and gender were included as covariates.
Results:
Behaviourally, participants showed a wide distribution of discount rates with significant skewness towards less impulsive, more patient decisions, which were not influenced by either age or gender (Fig. 1). Group-level resting state functional connectivity analysis revealed widespread positive interactions of the NAcc-shell to the rest of the brain, most pronounced within default mode brain regions (Fig. 2a). Importantly, brain-behavior correlation analysis showed that stronger connectivity between the NAcc-shell and regions within the default mode (DMN) and dorsal attention networks (DAN) was associated with lower discount rates (i.e. less impulsive, more patient decisions). A subsequent sub-group comparison confirmed these results, highlighting stronger connectivity of the NAcc-shell to DMN and DAN in more patient participants. As expected, the visualization of mean connectivity estimates within the full study cohort between NAcc-shell and the identified DMN and DAN regions showed strong negative correlations with discount rates (regions in DMN: r = - .325; regions in DAN: r = - .243) (Fig. 2b).
Conclusions:
Collectively, our results demonstrate that the ventral striatum – a key region within the delay discounting circuitry – is highly connected with the default mode network at rest. In a subsequent connectivity analysis, we provide evidence for brain-behaviour links between individual's discount rates and connectivity profiles between NAcc-shell and regions in two large-scale brain networks (DMN and DAN), suggesting that this intrinsic circuitry may influence patience during intertemporal monetary decisions. The results provide mechanistic insight into delay discounting behaviors, revealing a potential neural target for future interventions in treating impulsivity disorders.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Reward and Punishment
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Decision Making 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Connectivity (eg. functional, effective, structural)
Task-Independent and Resting-State Analysis 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Keywords:
Cognition
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - Delay Discounting
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Abstract Information
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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
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Provide references using APA citation style.
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