Rapid feedback processing in human nucleus accumbens and motor thalamus

Thomas Schüller; Theo O J Gruendler; Gerhard Jocham; Tilmann A Klein; Lars Timmermann; Veerle Visser-Vandewalle; Jens Kuhn; Markus Ullsperger

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.032

Rapid feedback processing in human nucleus accumbens and motor thalamus

Neuropsychologia. 2015 Apr:70:246-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.032. Epub 2015 Feb 26.

Authors

Thomas Schüller¹, Theo O J Gruendler², Gerhard Jocham³, Tilmann A Klein⁴, Lars Timmermann⁵, Veerle Visser-Vandewalle⁶, Jens Kuhn⁷, Markus Ullsperger⁸

Affiliations

¹ University Hospital of Cologne, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.schueller@uk-koeln.de.
² University Hospital of Cologne, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany; Otto von Guericke University, Faculty of Economics and Management, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany.
³ Otto von Guericke University, Faculty of Economics and Management, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany.
⁴ Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neurology, Leipzig, Germany; Day Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Clinic Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
⁵ University Hospital of Cologne, Department of Neurology, Cologne, Germany.
⁶ University Hospital of Cologne, Department of Stereotaxy and Functional Neurosurgery, Cologne, Germany.
⁷ University Hospital of Cologne, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kerpener Straße 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany.
⁸ Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany; Otto von Guericke University, Institute of Psychology II, Magdeburg, Germany; Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 25726897
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.032

Abstract

The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and thalamus are integral parts in models of feedback processing. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been successfully employed to alleviate symptoms of psychiatric conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette's syndrome (TS). Common target structures are the NAcc and the ventral anterior and ventro-lateral nuclei (VA/VL) of the thalamus, for OCD and TS, respectively. The feedback related negativity (FRN) is an event-related potential associated with feedback processing reflecting posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) activity. Here we report on three cases where we recorded scalp EEG and local field potentials (LFP) from externalized electrodes located in the NAcc or thalamus (VA/VL) while patients engaged in a modified time estimation task, known to engage feedback processing and elicit the FRN. Additionally, scalp EEG were recorded from 29 healthy participants (HP) engaged in the same task. The signal in all structures (pMFC, NAcc, and thalamus) was differently modulated by positive and negative feedback. LFP activity in the NAcc showed a biphasic time course after positive feedback during the FRN time interval. Negative feedback elicited a much weaker and later response. In the thalamus a monophasic modulation was recorded during the FRN time interval. Again, this modulation was more pronounced after positive performance feedback compared to negative feedback. In channels outside the target area no modulation was observed. The surface-FRN was reliably elicited on a group level in HP and showed no significant difference following negative feedback between patients and HP. German Clinical Trial Register: Neurocognitive specification of dysfunctions within basal ganglia-cortex loops and their therapeutic modulation by deep brain stimulation in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome, http://www.drks.de/DRKS00005316.

Keywords: Deep brain Stimulation; Feedback-related negativity; Nucleus accumbens; Performance monitoring; Thalamus; Time estimation task.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Brain Mapping
Deep Brain Stimulation / methods*
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials / physiology
Feedback, Physiological / physiology*
Female
Humans
Male
Nucleus Accumbens / physiology*
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / therapy
Photic Stimulation
Thalamus / physiology*
Tourette Syndrome / therapy

Associated data

DRKS/DRKS00005316