The neural basis of responsibility attribution in decision-making

Social responsibility links personal behavior with societal expectations and plays a key role in affecting an agent's emotional state following a decision. However, the neural basis of responsibility attribution remains unclear. In two previous event-related brain potential (ERP) studies we found that personal responsibility modulated outcome evaluation in gambling tasks. Here we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to identify particular brain regions that mediate responsibility attribution. In a context involving team cooperation, participants completed a task with their teammates and on each trial received feedback about team success and individual success sequentially. We found that brain activity differed between conditions involving team success vs. team failure. Further, different brain regions were associated with reinforcement of behavior by social praise vs. monetary reward. Specifically, right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with social pride whereas dorsal striatum and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were related to reinforcement of behaviors leading to personal gain. The present study provides evidence that the RTPJ is an important region for determining whether self-generated behaviors are deserving of praise in a social context

The attention network characteristics of adults with high ADHD traits: low stability, boost accuracy by sacrificing response time

Adults with high ADHD traits (H-ADHD) face challenges in academics, social interactions, and careers, yet their attention characteristics remains unclear. Using Attention Network Test (ANT), we examine attentional characteristics (including specific attentional qualities and overall attentional performance) of H-ADHD and explore how their specific attentional qualities impact overall attentional performance. We find H-ADHD primarily manifests lower alerting network, higher intra-individual coefficient of variation (ICV) and poorer balanced integration score (BIS). These results remain stable even after controlling for covariates such as anxiety and depression scores. Furthermore, the BIS deficiency in high attention deficit traits group (H-ADHD-I) specifically manifests as “high accuracy—slow reaction time,” reflecting their response pattern as the reaction time compensated accuracy. Additionally, compared to alerting network, attentional variability (ICV) has a greater role in mediating the impact of ADHD symptoms on overall attentional performance (BIS). Taken together, H-ADHD mainly exhibit deficits in sustained attention (alerting network), attentional stability (ICV), and overall attentional performance. ADHD symptoms worsen overall attentional performance due to increased attentional variability. The study emphasizes the sensitivity of alerting network, ICV, and BIS indicators, and highlights the significance of attentional variability, suggesting their potential clinical value in the future

Intrinsic prefrontal organization underlies associations between achievement motivation and delay discounting

Achievement motivation is a core component of human decision making. However, neural mechanisms that link achievement motivation and intertemporal choice have not yet been elucidated. Here, we examined neural pathways underlying the relationship between achievement motivation and intertemporal choice using a delay discounting task and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on 86 healthy subjects. Behaviorally, delay discounting rate was positively correlated with achievement motivation. Functional coupling of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), medial orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum was positively correlated with achievement motivation. Notably, the mediation analysis showed that the impact of achievement motivation on delay discounting was mediated by intrinsic connectivity between the dlPFC and mPFC. Our findings suggest that intrinsic organization within the prefrontal cortex plays a key role in linking achievement motivation and intertemporal choice

High Self-Control Reduces Risk Preference: The Role of Connectivity Between Right Orbitofrontal Cortex and Right Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Risk preference, the preference for risky choices over safe alternatives, has a great impact on many fields, such as physical health, sexual safety and financial decision making. Ample behavioral research has attested that inadequate self-control can give rise to high risk preference. However, little is known about the neural substrates underlying the effect of self-control on risk preference. To address this issue, we combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses to explore the neural basis underlying the effect of self-control on risk preference across two independent samples. In sample 1 (99 participants; 47 males; 20.37 ± 1.63 years), the behavioral results indicated that the scores of self-control were significantly and negatively correlated with risk preference (indexed by gambling rate). The VBM analyses demonstrated that the higher risk preference was correlated with smaller gray matter volumes in right orbitofrontal cortex (rOFC) and right posterior parietal cortex. In the independent sample 2 (80 participants; 33 males; 20.33 ± 1.83 years), the RSFC analyses ascertained that the functional connectivity of rOFC and right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) was positively associated with risk preference. Furthermore, the mediation analysis identified that self-control mediated the impact of functional connectivity of rOFC-rACC on risk preference. These findings suggest the functional coupling between the rOFC and rACC might account for the association between self-control and risk preference. The present study extends our understanding on the relationship between self-control and risk preference, and reveals possible neural underpinnings underlying this association

Subclinical Psychiatric Symptomatology and a Proposed Diagnostic Criterion Separating Psychopathological Procrastinators From Trait Procrastinators.

Procrastination trait describes irrational delays of scheduled tasks despite clear awareness of the adverse consequences of doing so. Although procrastination is well-known to be linked to psychiatric or pathological processes, the criterion for "psychopathological procrastination" distinguishing from the procrastination trait is understudied. This is a 5-year longitudinal observational study. Participants (N = 464) completed measures of trait procrastination in 2018, with a follow-up conducted in 2023 (N = 267) collecting subclinical symptomatology. A constrained multivariate direct gradient model (cmDGM) was employed to prospectively predict subclinical psychiatric symptomatology formulated by the DSM-5 framework. The two-stage psychopathological connectome model was then constructed to constitute a "diagnostic criterion" reflecting "psychopathological procrastination." Procrastination prospectively predicted subclinical psychopathological symptoms and unhealthy lifestyles. Subclinical bridge hubs of "failure to self-regulate delays," "failure to control adverse consequences," "useless to self-change," "out-of-control irruptions," "poor sleep quality," and "negative emotional reactions" were identified in the two-stage psychopathological network. These hubs constituted the 9-item pathological procrastination diagnostic criterion (3PDC) with good diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.82, p < 0.01). The present study revealed the predictive role of procrastination for subclinical psychiatric symptomatology and further established the subclinical 3PDC to lay the foundation for the "diagnostics of psychopathological procrastinators." [Abstract copyright: © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A longitudinal resource for population neuroscience of school-age children and adolescents in China

During the past decade, cognitive neuroscience has been calling for population diversity to address the challenge of validity and generalizability, ushering in a new era of population neuroscience. The developing Chinese Color Nest Project (devCCNP, 2013–2022), the first ten-year stage of the lifespan CCNP (2013–2032), is a two-stages project focusing on brain-mind development. The project aims to create and share a large-scale, longitudinal and multimodal dataset of typically developing children and adolescents (ages 6.0–17.9 at enrolment) in the Chinese population. The devCCNP houses not only phenotypes measured by demographic, biophysical, psychological and behavioural, cognitive, affective, and ocular-tracking assessments but also neurotypes measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain morphometry, resting-state function, naturalistic viewing function and diffusion structure. This Data Descriptor introduces the first data release of devCCNP including a total of 864 visits from 479 participants. Herein, we provided details of the experimental design, sampling strategies, and technical validation of the devCCNP resource. We demonstrate and discuss the potential of a multicohort longitudinal design to depict normative brain growth curves from the perspective of developmental population neuroscience. The devCCNP resource is shared as part of the “Chinese Data-sharing Warehouse for In-vivo Imaging Brain” in the Chinese Color Nest Project (CCNP) – Lifespan Brain-Mind Development Data Community (https://ccnp.scidb.cn) at the Science Data Bank