Associations Between Neighborhood Resources and Youths' Response to Reward Omission in a Task Modeling Negatively Biased Environments.

OBJECTIVE: Neighborhoods provide essential resources (eg, education, safe housing, green space) that influence neurodevelopment and mental health. However, we need a clearer understanding of the mechanisms mediating these relationships. Limited access to neighborhood resources may hinder youths from achieving their goals and, over time, shape their behavioral and neurobiological response to negatively biased environments blocking goals and rewards. METHOD: To test this hypothesis, 211 youths (aged ∼13.0 years, 48% boys, 62% identifying as White, 75% with a psychiatric disorder diagnosis) performed a task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Initially, rewards depended on performance (unbiased condition); but later, rewards were randomly withheld under the pretense that youths did not perform adequately (negatively biased condition), a manipulation that elicits frustration, sadness, and a broad response in neural networks. We investigated associations between the Childhood Opportunity Index (COI), which quantifies access to youth-relevant neighborhood features in 1 metric, and the multimodal response to the negatively biased condition, controlling for age, sex, medication, and psychopathology. RESULTS: Youths from less-resourced neighborhoods responded with less anger (p < .001, marginal R2 = 0.42) and more sadness (p < .001, marginal R2 = 0.46) to the negatively biased condition than youths from well-resourced neighborhoods. On the neurobiological level, lower COI scores were associated with a more localized processing mode (p = .039, marginal R2 = 0.076), reduced connectivity between the somatic-motor-salience and the control network (p = .041, marginal R2 = 0.040), and fewer provincial hubs in the somatic-motor-salience, control, and default mode networks (all pFWE < .05). CONCLUSION: The present study adds to a growing literature documenting how inequity may affect the brain and emotions in youths. Future work should test whether findings generalize to more diverse samples and should explore effects on neurodevelopmental trajectories and emerging mood disorders during adolescence. DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT: One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group.

Medial prefrontal cortex suppresses reward-seeking behavior with risk of punishment by reducing sensitivity to reward.

Reward-seeking behavior is frequently associated with risk of punishment. There are two types of punishment: positive punishment, which is defined as addition of an aversive stimulus, and negative punishment, involves the omission of a rewarding outcome. Although the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is important in avoiding punishment, whether it is important for avoiding both positive and negative punishment and how it contributes to such avoidance are not clear. In this study, we trained male mice to perform decision-making tasks under the risks of positive (air-puff stimulus) and negative (reward omission) punishment, and modeled their behavior with reinforcement learning. Following the training, we pharmacologically inhibited the mPFC. We found that pharmacological inactivation of mPFC enhanced the reward-seeking choice under the risk of positive, but not negative, punishment. In reinforcement learning models, this behavioral change was well-explained as an increase in sensitivity to reward, rather than a decrease in the strength of aversion to punishment. Our results suggest that mPFC suppresses reward-seeking behavior by reducing sensitivity to reward under the risk of positive punishment.

Associations between aerobic exercise and dopamine-related reward-processing: Informing a model of human exercise engagement.

Endurance or aerobic exercise has many physical and mental health benefits, but less is known about the specific impact that cardiovascular activity may have on dopamine-associated brain circuits involved in reward processing and mood regulation in humans. Understanding such effects will help to explain individual differences in both exercise uptake and maintenance. This study evaluated neural response to a classical taste-conditioning reward prediction error task with the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, along with data on self-reported aerobic exercise among healthy young adult females (N = 111). Results indicated positive associations between reported aerobic exercise and regional brain response that remained significant after multiple comparison correction for the right medial orbital frontal cortex response to unexpected sucrose receipt (r = 0.315, p = .0008). The medial orbitofrontal cortex is implicated in reward and outcome value computation and the results suggest that aerobic exercise may strengthen this circuitry, or reciprocally, higher orbitofrontal cortical activity may reinforce exercise behavior. The findings aid in developing a model of how exercise engagement can modify reward-circuit function and could be used therapeutically in conditions associated with altered brain salience response.

Does Self-Sacrifice Make Me Great? Research on the Relationship Between Employee Conscientiousness and Pro-Social Rule Breaking.

Based on the theory of purposeful work behavior, this study proposed that the two facets of employee conscientiousness, namely duty orientation and achievement orientation, have opposite effects on pro-social rule breaking (PSRB). We also explored the moderating effect of employees' task characteristic (job autonomy) and social characteristic (leader reward omission) on the above relationships. Using two-wave data collected from 216 employee-supervisor dyads, we found that duty orientation was positively related to PSRB, while achievement orientation was negatively related to PSRB. Further, job autonomy, by amplifying employees' perceived meaningfulness of their higher-order implicit goals, can strengthen the positive effect of duty orientation and the negative effect of achievement orientation on PSRB. Similarly, leader reward omission could also activate the negative effect of achievement orientation and PSRB, but not significantly moderate the positive relationship between duty orientation and PSRB. By separating the distinct role of facet-specific personality, our study sheds light on the relationship between employee conscientiousness and PSRB.

Linking Safety-Specific Leader Reward and Punishment Omission to Safety Compliance Behavior: The Role of Distributive Justice and Role Ambiguity.

Background: Although positive safety leadership has attracted increasingly academic and practical attention due to its critical effects on followers' safety compliance behavior, far fewer steps have been taken to study the safety impact of laissez-faire leadership. Objective: This study examines the relationships between safety-specific leader reward and punishment omission (laissez-faire leadership) and followers' safety compliance, and the mediations of safety-specific distributive justice and role ambiguity. Methods: On a two-wave online survey of 307 workers from high-risk enterprises in China, these relationships were tested by structural equations modeling and bootstrapping procedures. Results: Findings show that safety-specific leader reward omission was negatively associated with followers' safety compliance through the mediating effects of safety-specific distributive justice and role ambiguity. Safety-specific leader punishment omission was also negatively associated with followers' safety compliance through the mediating effect of safety-specific role ambiguity, while safety-specific distributive justice was an insignificant mediator. Originality: The study addresses and closes more gaps by explaining how two contextualized laissez-faire leadership measures relate to followers' safety behaviors, following the contextualization and matching principles between predictors, mediators and criteria, and by revealing two mechanisms behind the detrimental effects of laissez-faire leadership on safety outcomes.

Self-Regulation Failure? The Influence Mechanism of Leader Reward Omission on Employee Deviant Behavior.

Contingent reinforcement behavior is generally regarded as one of the key elements of being a "good" leader, yet the question of what happens when this behavior is absent has received little attention in past empirical research. Drawing upon self-regulation theory, we develop and test a model that specifies the effects of leader reward omission on employes' deviant behavior. Using the data of 230 workers from two manufacturing companies located in South China collected across three time points, we find that leader reward omission is positively associated with deviant behavior. Moreover, the indirect effects of leader reward omission on employes' deviant behavior are mediated by moral disengagement. Our study also reveals that Machiavellianism can aggravate the positive effect of leader reward omission on moral disengagement, and subsequently exacerbate the indirect effect on employes' deviant behavior. Taken together, our findings reveal the consequences of leader reward omission, and the importance of examining subordinate self-regulation under the lack of positive reinforcement.

Effects of Social Isolation on Perineuronal Nets in the Amygdala Following a Reward Omission Task in Female Rats.

Negative urgency is a facet of impulsivity associated with negative affect and risky behavior that may involve the amygdala. The current study determined if social isolation during development alters negative urgency and c-Fos activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Female Sprague-Dawley rats were raised in an isolated condition (IC), a standard social condition (SC), or an enriched condition (EC) and then were tested for locomotor activity, novelty place preference, and negative urgency using a reward omission task. Following performance on the reward omission task, the brains were analyzed for c-Fos expression in Ca2+/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) and calbindin (CB) neurons, as well as in parvalbumin (PV) neurons associated with perineuronal nets (PNNs) in BLA. IC rats exhibited enhanced locomotion compared with both SC and EC rats, as well as enhanced novelty place preference compared with EC rats; only IC rats showed increased responding following omission of an expected reward (negative urgency). Following completion of the reward omission task, IC rats also displayed increased percent of c-Fos neurons in BLA associated with CaMKII, CB, and PV neurons compared with SC and EC rats. In IC rats, c-Fos activation in BLA occurred following the omission of an expected reward. Finally, IC rats displayed reduced PNN intensity associated with PV neurons compared with EC rats, but the percent of these neurons co-expressing c-Fos was greater in IC rats; SC rats were intermediate between IC and EC rats. Negative urgency was observed in IC rats, but not SC or EC rats. While multiple mechanisms are likely involved, this behavioral effect was associated with an isolation-induced increase in activity of excitatory neurons in BLA, as well as decreased PNN intensity surrounding GABAergic neurons in the same region.

Safety-Specific Passive-Avoidant Leadership and Safety Compliance among Chinese Steel Workers: The Moderating Role of Safety Moral Belief and Organizational Size.

Despite the documented relationship between active-approaching leadership behaviors and workplace safety, few studies have addressed whether and when passive-avoidant leadership affects safety behavior. This study examined the relationship between two types of safety-specific passive-avoidant leadership, i.e., safety-specific leader reward omission (SLRO) and safety-specific leader punishment omission (SLPO), and safety compliance, as well as the moderating effects of an individual difference (safety moral belief) and an organizational difference (organizational size) in these relationships. These predictions were tested on a sample of 704 steel workers in China. The results showed that, although both SLRO and SLPO are negatively related to safety compliance, SLPO demonstrated a greater effect than SLRO. Moreover, we found that steel workers with high levels of safety moral belief were more resistant to the negative effects of SLRO and SLPO on safety compliance. Although steel workers in large enterprises were more resistant to the negative effects of SLPO than those in small enterprises, the SLRO-compliance relationship is not contingent upon organizational size. The current study enriched the safety leadership literature by demonstrating the detrimental and relative effects of two types of safety-specific passive-avoidant leadership on safety compliance and by identifying two boundary conditions that can buffer these relationships among steel workers.

A Role Theory Perspective on How and When Goal-Focused Leadership Influences Employee Voice Behavior.

Despite an increasing number of studies that identify leaders' role in promoting employees' voice behavior, little is known about the role that supervisors' goal-focused leadership plays in this. The current study aims to address this research gap by using the role theory to explain how supervisors' goal-focused leadership influences employees' voice behavior and the conditions under which supervisors' have maximum impact on employee voice. A field study of 197 employees and their immediate supervisors offered support for our model. The results indicated a positive association between goal-focused leadership and employees' voice behavior that was mediated by leaders' omission of reward and punishments. We also found that perceived helping and support from coworkers positively moderated the relationship between leaders' reward and punishment omission and employees' voice behavior such that the relationship was weaker when coworker helping and support was higher. The findings provide more comprehensive picture of the process by which goal-focused leadership influences employee voice and highlight how coworkers can buffer the negative effect of ineffective managerial reward and punishment omission. The practical implications of this research, its limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Reward loss and addiction: Opportunities for cross-pollination.

Paradigms used to study the response to and consequences of exposure to reward loss have been underutilized in approaches to the psychobiology of substance use disorders. We propose here that bringing these two areas into contact will help expanding our understanding of both reward loss and addictive behavior, hence opening up opportunities for cross-pollination. This review focuses on two lines of research that point to parallels. First, several neurochemical systems involved in addiction are also involved in the modulation of the behavioral effects of reward loss, including opioid, GABA, and dopamine receptors. Second, there are extensive overlaps in the brain circuitry underlying both reward loss and addiction. Common components of this system include, at least, the amygdala, ventral and dorsal striatum, and various prefrontal cortex regions. Four emerging avenues of research that benefit from emphasis on the common ground between reward loss and addiction are reviewed, namely, the neural circuitry involved in reward devaluation, the influence of genetic and reward history on the behavioral vulnerability and resilience, the role of competing natural rewards, and emotional self-medication. An understanding of the role of reward loss in addiction will point to a deeper understanding of the initiation and maintenance of substance use disorders.

Cocaine withdrawal alters the reward omission effect and enhances traits of negative urgency in rats across multiple days of testing.

BACKGROUND: The personality trait of negative urgency, characterized as behaving rashly when emotionally perturbed, is gaining attention as an indicator for susceptibility to problematic substance use. How this trait is influenced by exposure to drugs of abuse is still unclear. Using an animal model of binge cocaine consumption, we tested this relationship in a reward-omission task across multiple days. METHODS: Adult, male, Sprague-Dawley rats received seven daily (ip) injections of saline, cocaine (10-20mg/kg), or cocaine (20-40mg/kg). Cocaine doses increased linearly each day from the lower to the higher dose. A separate group received RTI-113 (3.0mg/kg), a selective dopamine transporter inhibitor, for 7 days. Fifteen days after their final injection, rats were trained on a reward-omission task with an operant component to earn further rewards. RESULTS: Previous exposure to cocaine resulted in dose-dependent increases in negative urgency in separate behavioral variables across days of testing. The lower dose range increased negative urgency on the dimension of decreased reaction time to press a lever, while the higher dose range increased the rate of increase in lever presses made per trial. Rats receiving RTI-113 did not resemble either cocaine group and instead showed a decrease in lever pressing across days. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that previous binge cocaine consumption enhances behavioral markers of negative urgency in a dose-dependent, time-sensitive manner on discrete behavioral dimensions. The results with RTI-113 suggest the relationship between cocaine exposure and negative urgency is unlikely to be explained solely by inhibition of dopamine reuptake.

Dorsomedial striatum lesions affect adjustment to reward uncertainty, but not to reward devaluation or omission.

The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has been implicated in the acquisition of reward representations, a proposal leading to the hypothesis that it should play a role in situations involving reward loss. We report the results of an experiment in which the effects of DMS excitotoxic lesions were tested in consummatory successive negative contrast (reward devaluation), autoshaping training with partial vs. continuous reinforcement (reward uncertainty), and appetitive extinction (reward omission). Animals with DMS lesions exhibited reduced lever pressing responding, but enhanced goal entries, during partial reinforcement training in autoshaping. However, they showed normal negative contrast, acquisition under continuous reinforcement (CR), appetitive extinction, and response facilitation in early extinction trials. Open-field testing also indicated normal motor behavior. Thus, DMS lesions selectively affected the behavioral adjustment to a situation involving reward uncertainty, producing a behavioral reorganization according to which goal tracking (goal entries) became predominant at the expense of sign tracking (lever pressing). This pattern of results shows that the function of the DMS in situations involving reward loss is not general, but restricted to reward uncertainty. We suggest that a nonassociative, drive-related process induced by reward uncertainty requires normal output from DMS neurons.

Behavioral neuroscience of psychological pain.

Pain is a common word used to refer to a wide range of physical and mental states sharing hedonic aversive value. Three types of pain are distinguished in this article: Physical pain, an aversive state related to actual or potential injury and disease; social pain, an aversive emotion associated to social exclusion; and psychological pain, a negative emotion induced by incentive loss. This review centers on psychological pain as studied in nonhuman animals. After covering issues of terminology, the article briefly discusses the daily-life significance of psychological pain and then centers on a discussion of the results originating from two procedures involving incentive loss: successive negative contrast-the unexpected devaluation of a reward-and appetitive extinction-the unexpected omission of a reward. The evidence reviewed points to substantial commonalities, but also some differences and interactions between physical and psychological pains. This evidence is discussed in relation to behavioral, pharmacological, neurobiological, and genetic factors that contribute to the multidimensional experience of psychological pain.