Reward positivity elicited by predictive cues.

A recent theory holds that a component of the human event-related brain potential called the reward positivity reflects a reward prediction error signal. We investigated this idea in gambling-like task in which, on each trial, a visual stimulus predicted a subsequent rewarding or nonrewarding outcome with 80% probability. Consistent with earlier results, we found that the reward positivity was larger to unexpected than to expected outcomes. In addition, we found that the predictive cues also elicited a reward positivity, as proposed by the theory. These results indicate that the reward positivity reflects the initial assessment of whether a trial will end in success or failure and the reappraisal of that information once the outcome actually occurs.