01/06/2026
How three brain regions, the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex or OFC, and hippocampus, communicate with each other during different stages of reward and loss processing. The arrows indicate the direction and type of connectivity, with red representing reward-related interactions and blue representing loss-related interactions. Importantly, reward-related connections are based on phase-locking, meaning the timing of brain rhythms becomes synchronized, while loss-related connections are based on amplitude correlation, meaning the strength of activity fluctuates together across regions.
During reward anticipation, the amygdala and OFC show increased theta-band phase-locking. This suggests that when a reward is expected, these two regions coordinate their activity timing in the theta frequency range, which is often linked to attention and decision-making. This synchronized timing may help integrate emotional significance from the amygdala with value-based evaluation in the OFC as an individual prepares for a possible reward.
During reward receipt, connectivity shifts toward the amygdala and hippocampus, with increased phase-locking in the delta and high gamma frequency bands. This pattern suggests close coordination between emotional processing and memory-related regions when a reward is actually obtained. In contrast, during loss receipt, the amygdala increases its high gamma amplitude correlation with the OFC, indicating stronger shared activity strength, while showing decreased theta amplitude correlation with the hippocampus. Together, these changes reflect distinct neural communication strategies for processing rewarding versus aversive outcomes.
Reference: Manssuer, L., et al. (2022)
