Trait reward sensitivity modulates connectivity with the temporoparietal junction and Anterior Insula during strategic decision making.

Many decisions happen in social contexts such as negotiations, yet little is understood about how people balance fairness versus selfishness. Past investigations found that activation in brain areas involved in executive function and reward processing was associated with people offering less with no threat of rejection from their partner, compared to offering more when there was a threat of rejection. However, it remains unclear how trait reward sensitivity may modulate activation and connectivity patterns in these situations.

Corticostriatal responses to social reward are linked to trait reward sensitivity and subclinical substance use in young adults.

Aberrant levels of reward sensitivity have been linked to substance use disorder and are characterized by alterations in reward processing in the ventral striatum (VS). Less is known about how reward sensitivity and subclinical substance use relate to striatal function during social rewards (e.g.

An fMRI dataset of social and nonsocial reward processing in young adults.

Trait reward sensitivity, risk for developing substance use, and mood disorders have each been linked with altered striatal responses to reward. Moreover, striatal response to reward is sensitive to social context, such as the presence of a peer, and drugs are often sought out and consumed in social contexts or as a result of social experiences. Thus, mood disorder symptoms, striatal responses to social context and social reward may play a role in substance use.

An fMRI Dataset on Social Reward Processing and Decision Making in Younger and Older Adults.

Behavioural and neuroimaging research has shown that older adults are less sensitive to financial losses compared to younger adults. Yet relatively less is known about age-related differences in social decisions and social reward processing. As part of a pilot study, we collected behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 50 participants (Younger: N = 26, ages 18-34 years; Older: N = 24, ages 63-80 years) who completed three tasks in the scanner: an economic trust game as the investor with three partners (computer, stranger, friend) as the investee; a card-guessing task with monetary gains and losses shared with three partners (computer, stranger, friend); and an ultimatum game as responder to three anonymous proposers (computer, age-similar adults, age-dissimilar adults).

Common and Distinct Drug Cue Reactivity Patterns Associated with Cocaine and Heroin: An fMRI Meta-Analysis.

Substance use and substance use disorders represent ongoing major public health crises. Specifically, the use of substances such as cocaine and heroin are responsible for over 50,000 drug related deaths combined annually. We used a comparative meta-analysis procedure to contrast activation patterns associated with cocaine and heroin cue reactivity, which may reflect substance use risk for these substances.

Social Context and Reward Sensitivity Enhance Corticostriatal Function during Experiences of Shared Rewards.

Although prior research has demonstrated enhanced striatal response when sharing rewards with close social connections, less is known about how individual differences affect ventral striatal (VS) activation and connectivity when experiencing rewards within social contexts. Given that self-reported reward sensitivity and level of substance use have been associated with differences in VS activation, we set out to investigate whether these factors would be independently associated with enhancements to neural reward responses within social contexts. In this pre-registered study, participants (N=45) underwent fMRI while playing a card guessing game in which correct or incorrect guesses resulted in monetary gains and losses that were shared evenly with either a close friend, stranger (confederate), or non-human partner.

Trait Reward Sensitivity Modulates Connectivity with the Temporoparietal Junction and Anterior Insula during Strategic Decision Making.

Many decisions happen in social contexts such as negotiations, yet little is understood about how people balance fairness versus selfishness. Past investigations found that activation in brain areas involved in executive function and reward processing was associated with people offering less with no threat of rejection from their partner, compared to offering more when there was a threat of rejection. However, it remains unclear how trait reward sensitivity may modulate activation and connectivity patterns in these situations.

Characterizing the mechanisms of social connection.

Understanding how individuals form and maintain strong social networks has emerged as a significant public health priority as a result of the increased focus on the epidemic of loneliness and the myriad protective benefits conferred by social connection. In this review, we highlight the psychological and neural mechanisms that enable us to connect with others, which in turn help buffer against the consequences of stress and isolation. Central to this process is the experience of rewards derived from positive social interactions, which encourage the sharing of perspectives and preferences that unite individuals.

Corticostriatal Responses to Social Reward are Linked to Trait Reward Sensitivity and Subclinical Substance Use in Young Adults.

Aberrant levels of reward sensitivity have been linked to substance use disorder and are characterized by alterations in reward processing in the ventral striatum (VS). Less is known about how reward sensitivity and subclinical substance use relate to striatal function during social rewards (e.g.

Social feedback promotes positive social sharing, trust, and closeness.

Positive social sharing is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy that enhances positive affect and social belonging, particularly when met with positive social feedback. Despite the ubiquity of positive social sharing both in person and online, what drives this behavior is not well understood. We hypothesized that positive social feedback serves as a reward that reinforces sharing behavior and strengthens social bonds.

Choosing for others changes dissociable computational mechanisms underpinning risky decision-making.

Choices under risk often have consequences for ourselves and others. Yet, it is unclear how the other's identity (stranger, close friend, etc.) influences risky choices made on their behalf.

Parent-Child Attachment Security and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Forgiveness.

Although greater parent-child attachment security is linked with children's lower levels of depressive symptoms, little research has evaluated potential explanatory mechanisms. We investigated whether dispositional gratitude and interpersonal forgiveness explain the relation between attachment security with parents and early adolescents' depressive symptoms. Early adolescents (N = 105; M age = 12.

Age-related differences in ventral striatal and default mode network function during reciprocated trust.

Social relationships change across the lifespan as social networks narrow and motivational priorities shift to the present. Interestingly, aging is also associated with changes in executive function, including decision-making abilities, but it remains unclear how age-related changes in both domains interact to impact financial decisions involving other people. To study this problem, we recruited 50 human participants (N = 26, ages 18-34; N = 24, ages 63-80) to play an economic trust game as the investor with three partners (friend, stranger, and computer) who played the role of investee.

Age-related change in task-evoked amygdala-prefrontal circuitry: A multiverse approach with an accelerated longitudinal cohort aged 4-22 years.

The amygdala and its connections with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) play central roles in the development of emotional processes. While several studies have suggested that this circuitry exhibits functional changes across the first two decades of life, findings have been mixed - perhaps resulting from differences in analytic choices across studies. Here we used multiverse analyses to examine the robustness of task-based amygdala-mPFC function findings to analytic choices within the context of an accelerated longitudinal design (4-22 years-old; N = 98; 183 scans; 1-3 scans/participant).

Experimental evidence for a child-to-adolescent switch in human amygdala-prefrontal cortex communication: A cross-sectional pilot study.

Interactions between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are fundamental to human emotion. Despite the central role of frontoamygdala communication in adult emotional learning and regulation, little is known about how top-down control emerges during human development. In the present cross-sectional pilot study, we experimentally manipulated prefrontal engagement to test its effects on the amygdala during development.

Longitudinal changes in amygdala, hippocampus and cortisol development following early caregiving adversity.

Although decades of research have shown associations between early caregiving adversity, stress physiology and limbic brain volume (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus), the developmental trajectories of these phenotypes are not well characterized.

The Role of Social Reward and Corticostriatal Connectivity in Substance Use.

This report describes an ongoing R03 grant that explores the links between trait reward sensitivity, substance use, and neural responses to social and nonsocial reward. Although previous research has shown that trait reward sensitivity and neural responses to reward are linked to substance use, whether this relationship is impacted by how people process social stimuli remains unclear. We are investigating these questions via a neuroimaging study with college-aged participants, using individual difference measures that examine the relation between substance use, social context, and trait reward sensitivity with tasks that measure reward anticipation, strategic behavior, social reward consumption, and the influence of social context on reward processing.

The role of right temporoparietal junction in processing social prediction error across relationship contexts.

How do people update their impressions of close others? Although people may be motivated to maintain their positive impressions, they may also update their impressions when their expectations are violated (i.e. prediction error).

The influence of relationship closeness on default-mode network connectivity during social interactions.

Reciprocated trust plays a critical role in forming and maintaining relationships, and has consistently been shown to implicate neural circuits involved in reward-related processing and social cognition. Less is known about neural network connectivity during social interactions involving trust, however, particularly as a function of closeness between an investor and a trustee. We examined network reactivity and connectivity in participants who played an economic trust game with close friends, strangers and a computer.

The social cognitive appraisal of trustworthiness in individuals with dimensional levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms: a translational study.

: Misappraisals in evaluating the trustworthiness of others may be one mechanism contributing to the interpersonal difficulties individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face. : This study used a translational experimental design to examine the behavioural and neural correlates underlying the appraisal of facial stimuli morphed on dimensions of trustworthiness across three groups: individuals with high posttraumatic stress symptoms (HPTS), low posttraumatic stress symptoms (LPTS), and healthy controls (HC). : Participants (N = 70) rated how trustworthy to untrustworthy they perceived three facial morphs (trustworthy, neutral, and untrustworthy) while undergoing electroencephalography (EEG).

Neurobehavioral Mechanisms Supporting Trust and Reciprocity.

Trust and reciprocity are cornerstones of human nature, both at the levels of close interpersonal relationships and economic/societal structures. Being able to both place trust in others and decide whether to reciprocate trust placed in us is rooted in implicit and explicit processes that guide expectations of others, help reduce social uncertainty, and build relationships. This review will highlight neurobehavioral mechanisms supporting trust and reciprocity, through the lens of implicit and explicit social appraisal and learning processes.

Decreased Amygdala Reactivity to Parent Cues Protects Against Anxiety Following Early Adversity: An Examination Across 3 Years.

Background: The human brain remains highly plastic for a protracted developmental period. Thus, although early caregiving adversities that alter amygdala development can result in enduring emotion regulation difficulties, these trajectories should respond to subsequent enriched caregiving. Exposure to high-quality parenting can regulate (i.

Altered ventral striatal-medial prefrontal cortex resting-state connectivity mediates adolescent social problems after early institutional care.

Early caregiving adversity is associated with increased risk for social difficulties. The ventral striatum and associated corticostriatal circuitry, which have demonstrated vulnerability to early exposures to adversity, are implicated in many aspects of social behavior, including social play, aggression, and valuation of social stimuli across development. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the degree to which early caregiving adversity was associated with altered coritocostriatal resting connectivity in previously institutionalized youth (n = 41) relative to youth who were raised with their biological families from birth (n = 47), and the degree to which this connectivity was associated with parent-reported social problems.