Abstract
Very little is known about the neurobiological correlates of reward processing during social decision-making in the developing
brain and whether prior social and moral information (reputations) modulates reward responses in youth as has been demonstrated
in adults. Moreover, although externalizing behavior problems in youth are associated with deficits in reward processing and
social cognition, a real-life social interaction paradigm using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) has not yet been applied to
probe reward processing in such youth. Functional neuroimaging was used to examine the neural correlates of reward-related
decision-making during a trust task in two samples of age-matched 11 to 16-year-old boys: with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) externalizing behavior problems. The task required subjects to decide whether to share or keep monetary rewards from
partners they themselves identified during a real-life peer sociometric procedure as interpersonally aggressive or kind (vs.
neutral). Results supported the notion that prior social and moral information (reputations) modulated reward responses in
the adolescent brain. Moreover, boys with externalizing problems showed differential activation in the bilateral insula during
the decision phase of the game as well as the caudate and anterior insula during the outcome phase of the game. Similar activation
in adolescents in response to reward related stimuli as found in adults suggests some developmental continuity in corticostriatal
circuits. Group differences are interpreted with caution given the small group sizes in the current study. Notwithstanding
this limitation, the study provides preliminary evidence for anomalous reward responses in boys with externalizing behavior
problems, thereby providing a possible biological correlate of well-established social-cognitive and reward-related theories
of externalizing behavior disorders.
brain and whether prior social and moral information (reputations) modulates reward responses in youth as has been demonstrated
in adults. Moreover, although externalizing behavior problems in youth are associated with deficits in reward processing and
social cognition, a real-life social interaction paradigm using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) has not yet been applied to
probe reward processing in such youth. Functional neuroimaging was used to examine the neural correlates of reward-related
decision-making during a trust task in two samples of age-matched 11 to 16-year-old boys: with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) externalizing behavior problems. The task required subjects to decide whether to share or keep monetary rewards from
partners they themselves identified during a real-life peer sociometric procedure as interpersonally aggressive or kind (vs.
neutral). Results supported the notion that prior social and moral information (reputations) modulated reward responses in
the adolescent brain. Moreover, boys with externalizing problems showed differential activation in the bilateral insula during
the decision phase of the game as well as the caudate and anterior insula during the outcome phase of the game. Similar activation
in adolescents in response to reward related stimuli as found in adults suggests some developmental continuity in corticostriatal
circuits. Group differences are interpreted with caution given the small group sizes in the current study. Notwithstanding
this limitation, the study provides preliminary evidence for anomalous reward responses in boys with externalizing behavior
problems, thereby providing a possible biological correlate of well-established social-cognitive and reward-related theories
of externalizing behavior disorders.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Contribution
- Pages 1-12
- DOI 10.1007/s00787-011-0225-x
- Authors
- Carla Sharp, Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Building, Houston, TX 77204, USA
- Philip C. Burton, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
- Carolyn Ha, Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 126 Heyne Building, Houston, TX 77204, USA
- Journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Online ISSN 1435-165X
- Print ISSN 1018-8827