Fig 1.
(A) Fear conditioning procedure. Participants were fear-conditioned to a visual conditioned stimulus (CSShock) through multiple parings with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (Shock). A control stimulus (CSTouch) was paired with a neutral event (Touch). Reinforcement rate is 50%. (B) Decision-making task. Participants made a series of choices between a safe and risky option in the context of either a CSShock or CSTouch. Reinforcement rate is 30%. Note. Red and green lightning depicts the presentation of the Shock and Touch, respectively.
Fig 2.
Mean pleasantness ratings for the fear-conditioned (CSShock) and neutral (CSTouch) stimulus as a function of experimental phase (i.e., baseline, after fear conditioning, and after the decision-making task).
Error bars depict standard error of the mean. a5 = very pleasant; -5 = very unpleasant.
Fig 3.
Mean pupil dilation response (t-score: Peak change from baseline) for the fear-conditioned (CSShock) and neutral (CSTouch) stimulus across fear conditioning (i.e., early, mid, to late acquisition) and CS cue presentation during the decision-making task (i.e., early vs. late).
Error bars depict standard error of the mean. Note. CS = Conditioned Stimulus.
Fig 4.
Mean reaction time (in ms) for CSShock- and CSTouch-trials as a function of reminder (i.e., proceeding a trial in which a Shock, a Touch, or no electro stimulation was given).
Error bars depict standard error of the mean. Note.*p <.05, **p <.005.
Fig 5.
Mean expected value (in Euros) of the chosen option for CSShock- and CSTouch-trials as a function of reminder (i.e., proceeding a trial in which a Shock, a Touch, or no electro stimulation was given).
Error bars depict standard error of the mean. Note. *p <.05.
Fig 6.
Estimates for the adapted PT-model.
Plot (A) depicts estimates for the alpha (α) coefficient after a Touch reminder. Plot (B) depicts subjective valuation after a Touch reminder. Note. PT = Prospect Theory; CS = Conditioned Stimulus. *p <.05, **p <.005.
Table 1.
Brain activation related to CS cue presentation (Touched_CSTouch vs. Shocked_CSShock).
Fig 7.
Linking the PT model valuation parameter α to brain activation.
(A) vmPFC activation in Relief contrast. A Touched-CSTouch > Shocked-CSShock contrast revealed activation within the vmPFC. We applied these masks to obtain a vmPFC ROI. (B) Correlation between vmPFC activity and α. Subsequent correlation analyses revealed that condition-specific activation in the vmPFC is positively related to condition-specific individual α-estimates. Note. CS = Conditioned Stimulus; vmPFC = ventro medial PreFrontal Cortex; PT = Prospect Theory.