title: BRAIN REWARD ACTIVITY TO MASKED IN-GROUP SMILING FACES PREDICTS FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
abstract: This study examined whether neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS) to in-group facial expressions-presented without explicit awareness-could predict friendship patterns in newly arrived individuals from China six months later. Individuals who initially showed greater VS activity in response to in-group happy expressions during functional neuroimaging later made considerably more in-group friends, suggesting that VS activity might reflect reward processes that drive in-group approach behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: Pin-Hao A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Whalen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: Todd F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Heatherton
keywords: acculturation; fMRI; face; friendship; reward