Frustration Induction Alters Reward Prediction Error Encoding in Pediatric Irritability

Irritability is a prevalent, impairing, transdiagnostic affective symptom domain in youth associated with elevated risk for adverse outcomes. Theoretical models of irritability implicate disruptions in reward learning and frustrative nonreward. This is the first study to investigate reward prediction error (RPE) signaling before and after frustration as a neural correlate of irritability.

We used reinforcement learning modeling to derive individualized trial-by-trial RPEs from behavior during a child-friendly, fMRI-based probabilistic reward learning task in 88 youth (M_age=14.43 years, 48.86% female). Irritability severity varied across participants and was characterized dimensionally. Neural encoding of RPEs was examined across prefrontal, ventral striatal/pallidal, and insular regions of interest (ROIs). To test the impact of frustration, RPE-modulated BOLD activity was assessed before and after an acute frustration induction.

Prior to frustration induction, higher irritability was associated with enhanced positive coupling between trial-by-trial RPEs and BOLD activity in the ventral striatal/pallidal ROI. Following frustration, this pattern reversed, such that higher irritability was associated with attenuated positive coupling between RPEs and BOLD activity in ventral striatal/pallidal and right insular areas, indicating decreased neural encoding of reward outcomes. Irritability was not associated with RPE-modulated orbitofrontal or left insular activity.

Findings provide computationally-grounded evidence linking youth irritability to altered neural RPE encoding during learning and a reversal following task-induced frustration. This emotional state-dependent change in RPE-BOLD coupling suggests that frustration disrupts the neural encoding of reward outcomes during reward learning in youth with elevated irritability and highlights a candidate target for interventions addressing frustration reactivity.