Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41820348›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Cortical-limbic circuit dynamics of approach-avoidance conflict in humans.

Brooke R Staveland, Julia Oberschulte, Barbara Berger, Tamas Minarik, Olivia Kim-McManus, Jon T Willie, Peter Brunner, Mohammad Dastjerdi, Jack J Lin, Elizabeth L Johnson and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Brooke R StavelandHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. brooke.staveland@ucsf.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8002-2821
Julia OberschulteDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Barbara BergerHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9106-3474
Tamas MinarikHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Olivia Kim-McManusDepartment of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4785-7795
Jon T WillieDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9565-4338
Peter BrunnerDepartment of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2588-2754
Mohammad DastjerdiDepartment of Neurology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5972-5936
Jack J LinDepartment of Neurology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1304-227X
Elizabeth L JohnsonDepartments of Medical Social Sciences, Pediatrics, and Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5297-5019
Michelle PaffDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6780-2855
Ming HsuHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7195-3579
Robert T KnightHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8686-1685

Funding

National Science Foundation (NSF) GRFPU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) R01 NS-021135
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Choosing to approach or avoid is common in everyday life and excessive avoidance is a cardinal feature of anxiety disorders. We use intracranial EEG to define a prefrontal-limbic circuit supporting approach and avoidance. Presurgical epilepsy patients (n = 20) performed an approach-avoidance conflict decision-making task inspired by the arcade game Pac-Man, where patients trade off rewards against losses from ghost attack. During approach, theta power increases across a limbic circuit including the hippocampus, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, which drops during avoidance. Theta connectivity between this circuit and lateral prefrontal cortex increases during approach and falls during avoidance. Network connectivity tracks how long patients approach, with enhanced synchronicity extending approach times. During imminent threat, the system switches to sustained increase in high-frequency activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex. The results provide evidence of a distributed prefrontal-limbic circuit, mediated by theta oscillations and high frequency activity, underlying approach-avoidance conflict in humans.

Indexed as

Avoidance LearningConflict, PsychologicalLimbic SystemPrefrontal CortexAdultAmygdalaDecision MakingElectroencephalographyEpilepsyFemaleGyrus CinguliHippocampusHumansMaleTheta RhythmYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID41820348
PMCPMC13125241

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.