Fig. 5: Modulation of ventral striatum activity and connectivity by the positivity of social feedback associates with self-efficacy update bias.

a Left panel - a statistical parametric map depicting the covariance of brain encoding of judges’ feedback positivity with self-efficacy update bias in the VS. A significant correlation was evident in the right VS (SVC FWE < 0.05). The map is presented at an uncorrected statistical threshold of voxel-level p < 0.025, for display purposes. Right panel—to visualize the correlation in the VS, we extracted the mean activity (beta weights) from a 4 mm sphere centered around the coordinates of peak covariance in the VS, and plotted these values against indices of self-efficacy update bias. b Whole-brain regression analysis, testing the correlation of self-efficacy update bias with VS functional connectivity reflecting positive social feedback. The scatterplot on the right illustrates the significant correlation in the pMTG cluster (similarly to a). The presented brain map is thresholded at voxel-level p < 0.005, uncorrected, for display purposes. The scatterplots in panels a–b by no means present a test result from an independent ROI, and the line denotes a linear trend. c Exploratory mediation analysis. Right VS-related increments in self-efficacy update bias were mediated by VS-left pMTG functional connectivity during encoding of judges’ feedback positivity. Asterisks denote significance as follows: ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.005; *p < 0.05. VS ventral striatum, pMTG posterior middle temporal gyrus, R right, L left, FC functional connectivity, PPI psychophysiological interactions. All brain images are presented in neurological convention (i.e., right is right).