Fig. 3: Midbrain VTA univariate activation during anticipation of trivia answers uniquely explains subsequent recall.
From: Hippocampal convergence during anticipatory midbrain activation promotes subsequent memory formation
Anticipatory BOLD activation (i.e., during the Question interval preceding each trivia answer) in the midbrain VTA and medial temporal lobe ROIs was used to predict memory outcome for each trial in a mixed-effects logistic regression model (N = 23 participants). This method allows the identification of variance that is uniquely accounted for by each of the ROIs. Bar graphs in each panel represent the parameter estimate for each ROI in the full model. Among the ROIs, midbrain VTA activation was the only statistically significant predictor of subsequent recall of answers (p = 0.015). For visualization, the estimated predicted probability of recall relative to the individual’s mean probability (delta from within-subject mean, y-axis) is plotted against the univariate signal in each ROI (arbitrary units, a.u.; x-axis). Red overlays on the brain images demarcate the ROIs (Brain template obtained from FSL and reproduced with permission). Light gray lines depict the slope for each participant, while the solid black line depicts the mean slope across all participants. Error bars represent the SEM. *p < 0.05.
