Time-domain and time-frequency neural responses to monetary and social rewards across three different tasks

Abstract

The neural response to reward is often examined during monetary reward tasks. However, there is a growing interest in examining other types of reward (e.g., social reward) that require modifications to task design. It is important to understand the impact of task design and reward type on the neural response to reward, particularly for efforts to examine the specificity of a specific type of reward in relation to psychopathology. The present study involved 303 18-year-olds (49.5 % female) who completed the monetary Doors task and two social tasks: a social version of the Doors task and Island Getaway. We recorded electroencephalography during the tasks to measure the time-domain reward positivity (RewP) and time-frequency delta and theta activity. Results indicated that all three tasks elicited the RewP, greater delta activity to favorable outcomes (monetary win, social like/acceptance), and greater theta activity to unfavorable outcomes (monetary loss, social dislike/rejection). For all three measures, the neural response was positively correlated across all three tasks, but the correlation was stronger for the tasks that were more similar in trial structure compared to reward type. The present study suggests that different monetary and social reward tasks can elicit similar neural responses to reward, but similarities in task design and reward type can impact correlation in neural response to reward across tasks.