title: Social network modulation of reward-related signals.
abstract: Everyday goals and experiences are often shared with others who may hold different places within our social networks. We investigated whether the experience of sharing a reward differs with respect to social network. Twenty human participants played a card guessing game for shared monetary outcomes with three partners: a computer, a confederate (out of network), and a friend (in network). Participants subjectively rated the experience of sharing a reward more positively with their friends than the other partners. Neuroimaging results support participants' subjective reports, as ventral striatal BOLD responses were more robust when sharing monetary gains with a friend as compared to the confederate or computer, suggesting a higher value for sharing with an in-network partner. Interestingly, ratings of social closeness covaried with this activity, resulting in a significant partner × closeness interaction; exploratory analysis showed that only participants reporting higher levels of closeness demonstrated partner-related differences in striatal BOLD response. These results suggest that reward valuation in social contexts is sensitive to distinctions of social network, such that sharing positive experiences with in-network others may carry higher value.
authors: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA.
authors: Dominic S
authors: DS
authors: Fareri
authors: Michael A
authors: MA
authors: Niznikiewicz
authors: Victoria K
authors: VK
authors: Lee
authors: Mauricio R
authors: MR
authors: Delgado
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012201:Reward; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen