title: Does Feedback-Related Brain Response during Reinforcement Learning Predict Socio-motivational (In-)dependence in Adolescence?
abstract: This multi-methodological study applied functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural activation in a group of adolescent students (N = 88) during a probabilistic reinforcement learning task. We related patterns of emerging brain activity and individual learning rates to socio-motivational (in-)dependence manifested in four different motivation types (MTs): (1) peer-dependent MT, (2) teacher-dependent MT, (3) peer-and-teacher-dependent MT, (4) peer-and-teacher-independent MT. A multinomial regression analysis revealed that the individual learning rate predicts students' membership to the independent MT, or the peer-and-teacher-dependent MT. Additionally, the striatum, a brain region associated with behavioral adaptation and flexibility, showed increased learning-related activation in students with motivational independence. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in behavioral control, was more active in students of the peer-and-teacher-dependent MT. Overall, this study offers new insights into the interplay of motivation and learning with (1) a focus on inter-individual differences in the role of peers and teachers as source of students' individual motivation and (2) its potential neurobiological basis.
authors.affiliation: Ernst-Moritz Arndt University Greifswald Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raufelder
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boehme
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romund
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Golde
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gleich
authors.affiliation: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beck
keywords: fMRI; motivation; reinforcement learning; social relationships in school