Guest Lecture of Dr. Maarten Boksem

Guest Lecture of Dr. Maarten Boksem

from Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands and Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Date: 17.11.2010

Topic: How Motivational Orientation and Social Context impact on Performance Monitoring

Abstract:
The fundamental biological importance of rewards has spurred an increasing interest in the (neural) processing of reward information. Research, mainly with primates, has revealed that neurons in a limited number of brain structures, the ‘dopamine system’, carry specific information about past, present, and future rewards. This system has been shown to be present in all mammals, including humans. Using neuro-imaging techniques, activity in this neural system can be recorded from human subjects. I will talk about how this neural signal (reflected in Error Negativity (ERN) and Feedback Negativity (FRN) ERP components) is associated with individual differences in what people find rewarding or motivating and also how activity in this system may be influenced by others (i.e. how rewards obtained by other people impact on how we value our own rewards). I will suggest a general framework in which these findings can be understood. Finally, I will present data indicating that activity in this neural system is associated with behavioural change: strong activation in this system towards preferred rewards is predictive of learning how to obtain these rewards.