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<p>Reward expectancy engages the anterior insular cortex (AIC) to coordinate cognitive allocation. Using intracranial electroencephalographic data from epilepsy patients navigating a virtual T-maze, we identified reward-specific brain patterns (RBPs) that were preactivated in the AIC prior to reward onset. This pre-activation was followed by phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between theta oscillations and gamma activity, with coupling strength positively correlated with the pre-activation level across contacts. Furthermore, this PAC exhibited a phase-precession-like effect (PPLE), characterized by a progressive shift of peak gamma activity to earlier theta phases across successive navigation rounds. Participants exhibiting stronger PPLE in the AIC showed greater trial-by-trial improvements in reward-collection performance. Taken together, these findings reveal a precise phase-tuned timing mechanism in the AIC that supports reward-directed behavior. Specifically, oscillatory coordination initiated by representational pre-activation, is dynamically refined through PPLE across successive exposures to the same reward. This mechanism accelerates responses to impending rewards, thereby optimizing adaptive behavior.</p>

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Phase-tuned modulation during reward expectancy in human anterior insular cortex

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月16日

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  • Linglin Yang,
  • Katia Lehongre,
  • Xinfeng Yu,
  • Hongyi Ye,
  • Vincent Navarro,
  • Sen Cheng,
  • Nikolai Axmacher,
  • Shuang Wang,
  • Hui Zhang

摘要

Reward expectancy engages the anterior insular cortex (AIC) to coordinate cognitive allocation. Using intracranial electroencephalographic data from epilepsy patients navigating a virtual T-maze, we identified reward-specific brain patterns (RBPs) that were preactivated in the AIC prior to reward onset. This pre-activation was followed by phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between theta oscillations and gamma activity, with coupling strength positively correlated with the pre-activation level across contacts. Furthermore, this PAC exhibited a phase-precession-like effect (PPLE), characterized by a progressive shift of peak gamma activity to earlier theta phases across successive navigation rounds. Participants exhibiting stronger PPLE in the AIC showed greater trial-by-trial improvements in reward-collection performance. Taken together, these findings reveal a precise phase-tuned timing mechanism in the AIC that supports reward-directed behavior. Specifically, oscillatory coordination initiated by representational pre-activation, is dynamically refined through PPLE across successive exposures to the same reward. This mechanism accelerates responses to impending rewards, thereby optimizing adaptive behavior.