Hyperthymic temperament predicts neural responsiveness for nonmonetary reward.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Affective Science

Background:

• Hyperthymic temperament, a cheerful disposition, may protect against depressive symptoms.
• Previous research linked hyperthymic temperament to reward anticipation in monetary reward tasks.
• The neural correlates of hyperthymic temperament's response to nonmonetary rewards remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between hyperthymic temperament and neural responsiveness to nonmonetary rewards.
• To explore brain regions modulated by hyperthymic temperament in response to task-related feedback.
• To determine if hyperthymic temperament predicts neural responses to both monetary and nonmonetary feedback.

Main Methods:

• Healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a modified monetary incentive delay task.
• Nonmonetary positive feedback (task success) trials were compared with no-feedback trials.
• Brain activity was analyzed to identify regions where neural responsiveness to nonmonetary rewards was predicted by hyperthymic temperament.

Main Results:

• Hyperthymic temperament negatively predicted premotor area activation during anticipation of nonmonetary rewards.
• Primary somatosensory and somatosensory association areas showed activation by performance feedback, positively predicted by hyperthymic temperament.
• These findings indicate differential neural responses to nonmonetary rewards based on hyperthymic temperament.

Conclusions:

• Hyperthymic temperament is associated with neural responsiveness to both monetary and nonmonetary rewards.
• The observed neural activity in somatosensory areas may reflect affective regulation processes linked to hyperthymic temperament.
• Hyperthymic temperament may serve as a biomarker for neural responses to diverse reward types.