Figure 2. Visualization of study goals.

Note. (A)) The primary study goal was to identify distinct and common neural mechanisms of valuation across value encoding and retrieval. To address this goal, brain activation associated with value for consumer products was determined while value-related information was present (value-encoding phase), and later, when value-related information was absent (value-retrieval phase). Resulting phase-subtraction and conjunction-based ROI masks were used to determine whether value-related activity was significantly distinctive during value encoding and retrieval. (B) The secondary study goal was to test for evidence of interaction versus independence between neural mechanisms of valuation and episodic memory. In the case of interaction, we then aimed to determine the nature of the relationship between these systems by probing for competition versus cooperation. To address this goal, demands on memory was manipulated at encoding and retrieval, with corresponding neuroimaging analyses examining effects of encoding experiences on value-related brain activation. Additional analyses were used to determine whether brain activation related to value differed with successful encoding of associated episodic details (product attributes). An absence of memory-dependent effects on the neural correlates of value was taken as evidence for independence. Enhanced value-related activation with more encoding experiences or successful episodic encoding was taken as evidence of cooperation (reciprocal green arrows). Diminished value-related activation with more encoding experiences or successful episodic encoding was taken as evidence of competition (inhibiting red lines).