Incentive valence differentially engages open- and closed-loop basal ganglia circuits during movement initiation
Output Details
Description
Affective signals profoundly influence movement, yet the mechanisms linking motivationally relevant contexts with motor behavior remain unclear. Combining ultra high field (7T) connectomics with task-based (3T) neuroimaging, we provide the first systems-level evidence in humans for such a mechanism: a ventral putamen-centered open-loop circuit (OLC) connecting affective and motor areas, operating alongside the canonical dorsal putamen-centered closed-loop sensorimotor circuit (CLC). Critically, the phenomenological quality of incentive (how it is construed as reward versus threat) rather than magnitude alone, likely determines which circuit dominates during movement initiation. These findings help to explain paradoxical kinesia in Parkinson's disease, where affective contexts can bypass degraded sensorimotor circuits, and establish foundations for context-based therapeutic interventions.
Identifier (DOI)
10.64898/2025.12.21.695842
