Corticostriatal Connectivity during Prosocial Decision-making Relates to Giving Behavior during Adolescence

Prosocial behavior during adolescence becomes more differentiated based on the recipient of the action as well as the perceived value or benefit, relative to the cost to self, for the recipients. The current study investigated how functional connectivity of corticostriatal networks tracked the value of prosocial decisions as a function of target recipient (caregiver, friend, stranger) and age of the giver, and how they related to giving behavior. Two hundred sixty-one adolescents (9-15 and 19-20 years of age) completed a decision-making task in which they could give money to caregivers, friends, and strangers while undergoing fMRI. Results indicated that adolescents were more likely to give to others as the value of the prosocial decision (i.e., the difference between the benefit to other relative to the cost to self) increased; this effect was stronger for known (caregiver and friends) than unknown targets, and increased with age. Functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and OFC increased as the value of the prosocial decisions decreased for strangers, but not for known others, irrespective of choice. This differentiated NAcc-OFC functional connectivity during decision-making as a function of value and target also increased with age. Furthermore, regardless of age, individuals who evinced greater value-related NAcc-OFC functional connectivity when considering giving to strangers relative to known others showed smaller differentiated rates of giving between targets. These findings highlight the role of corticostriatal development in supporting the increasing complexity of prosocial development across adolescence.