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Analysis of real-time fMRI data from 59 participants undergoing neurofeedback training suggests that reinforcement learning contributes to successful self-regulation in the dopaminergic midbrain.

Sladky & Riva et al. investigated how human allocation of trust depends on brain activity of the amygdala, a core brain structure for social cognition. They found dissociated activation between the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, the former coding for trust assignation, and the latter coding for trust reciprocation.

Abstract Pain habituation is associated with a decrease of activation in brain areas related to pain perception. However, little is known about the specificity of these decreases to pain, as habituation has also been described for other responses like spinal reflexes and other sensory responses. Thus, it might be hypothesized that previously reported reductions in activation are not specifically related to pain habituation. For this reason, we performed a 3 T fMRI study using either painful or non-painful electrical stimulation via an electrode attached to the back of the left hand. Contrasting painful vs. non-painful stimulation revealed significant activation clusters in regions well-known to be related to pain processing, such as bilateral anterior and posterior insula, primary/secondary sensory cortices (S1/S2) and anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). Importantly, our results show distinct habituation patterns for painful (in aMCC) and non-painful (contralateral claustrum) stimulation, while similar habituation for both types of stimulation was identified in bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and contralateral S2. Our findings thus distinguish a general habituation in somatosensory processing (S2) and reduced attention (IFG) from specific pain and non-pain related habituation effects where pain-specific habituation effects within the aMCC highlight a change in affective pain perception.