title: Neural evidence for an association between social proficiency and sensitivity to social reward.
abstract: Data from developmental psychology suggests a link between the growth of socio-emotional competences and the infant's sensitivity to the salience of social stimuli. The aim of the present study was to find evidence for this relationship in healthy adults. Thirty-five participants were recruited based on their score above the 85th or below the 15th percentile of the empathy quotient questionnaire (EQ, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare neural responses to cues of social and non-social (monetary) reward. When compared to the high-EQ group, the low-EQ group showed reduced activity of the brain s reward system, specifically the right nucleus accumbens, in response to cues predictive of social reward (videos showing gestures of approval)-but increased activation in this area for monetary incentives. Our data provide evidence for a link between self-reported deficits in social proficiency and reduced sensitivity to the motivational salience of positive social stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany. angossen@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gossen
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Groppe
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kohls
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herrington
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gründer
authors.forename: Katja N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Spreckelmeyer
mesh_terms: D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003463:Cues; D056348:Emotional Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D012201:Reward; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: NAcc; autism; empathy; social interest; social reward