Value network engagement and effects of memory-related processing during encoding and retrieval of value

Decision makers rely on episodic memory to calculate choice values in everyday life, yet it is unclear how neural mechanisms of valuation differ when value-related information is encoded versus retrieved from episodic memory. The current fMRI study compared neural correlates of value while information was encoded versus retrieved from memory. Scanned tasks were followed by a behavioral episodic memory test for item-attribute associations. Our analyses sought to (i) identify neural correlates of value that were distinct and common across encoding and retrieval, and (ii) determine whether neural mechanisms of valuation and episodic memory interact. The study yielded three primary findings. First, value-related activation in the fronto-striatal reward circuit and posterior parietal cortex was comparable across valuation phases. Second, value-related activation in select fronto-parietal and salience regions was significantly greater at value retrieval than encoding. Third, there was no interaction between neural correlates of valuation and episodic memory. Taken with prior research, the present study indicates that fronto-parietal and salience regions play a key role in retrieval-dependent valuation and context-specific effects likely determine whether neural correlates of value interact with episodic memory.