Perceived stress predicts altered reward and loss feedback processing in medial prefrontal cortex

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Stress is a major risk factor for psychopathology, especially concerning reward processing.
• Individual differences in stress perception and coping influence psychiatric symptom development.
• Neural mechanisms underlying stress perception variability remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how perceived stress levels affect neural activity during reward anticipation and feedback.
• To explore the neural basis of individual differences in stressor perception.
• To link stress-related neural alterations to reward processing in healthy individuals.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in healthy subjects.
• A Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task assessed neural responses to reward anticipation and feedback.
• Self-reported perceived stress levels were correlated with brain activity.

Main Results:

• Individuals reporting higher levels of uncontrollable and overwhelming stressors showed blunted neural responses in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).
• This blunted response occurred after both monetary gains and losses.
• Findings align with preclinical models implicating the mPFC in stressor vulnerability.

Conclusions:

• The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a crucial role in the neural impact of uncontrollable stressors.
• This study translates preclinical findings to humans, elucidating stress-linked mechanisms in reward processing.
• Understanding these neural pathways may help identify risks for stress-related psychiatric symptoms.