{
  "abstract": "Rewards crucially shape behavior and memory. Twenty years ago, Adcock et al. (2006) reported that anticipatory mesolimbic activation predicts later recollection of high-reward stimuli, outlining a VTA-hippocampus-NAcc circuit that gates selective motivated memory formation. Here, we report a preregistered direct replication of this seminal study using the small-telescope approach and a 2.5-fold larger sample. We found evidence for anticipatory reward-related activation preceding high-reward memory formation in the left VTA, but did not replicate corresponding effects in the medial temporal lobe or evidence for a VTA-hippocampus-NAcc network specifically supporting motivated memory formation. These findings suggest that anticipatory mesolimbic effects on high-reward memory formation are more spatially circumscribed, and likely smaller, than previously assumed. Exploratory analyses indicate that reward-cue activity can alternatively be explained by the encoding of reward-item associations, which later provide a value signal for goal-directed retrieval. Together with previous large-scale behavioural evidence from our group, we propose a shift of the mechanistic emphasis from reward-mediated gating of item memories to the formation and later use of reward-item associations, a perspective that provides a framework for further empirical evaluation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Juliane Nagel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin Fungisai Gerchen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Peter Kirsch"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gordon Feld"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/78b4rq8zm144e.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.31234/osf.io/zq62s_v2",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "78b4rq8zm144e",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zq62s_v2/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Behavioral Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Cognitive Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Cognitive Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Learning"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Memory"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Social and Behavioral Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Memory and Neural Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7208711646",
  "pdf_url": "https://osf.io/zq62s/download",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/78b4rq8zm144e.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:26:06Z",
      "native_id": "zq62s",
      "source": "osf",
      "url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/zq62s_v2/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "bepress:Cognitive Neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Reward Signals Support Encoding of Reward-Item Associations During Motivated Learning",
  "title_text": "Reward Signals Support Encoding of Reward-Item Associations During Motivated Learning",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:26:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/78b4rq8zm144e",
  "venue": "PsyArXiv",
  "versions": []
}