Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 18, 2025
09:40
Measuring Neural and Behavioral Activity During Ongoing Computerized Social Interactions: An Examination of Event-Related Brain Potentials
Published on: November 15, 2014
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Brain structure and function and social exclusion reactivity in the Cyberball game
Rosa H Mulder1, Bing Xu1, Mónica López-Vicente2
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Behavioural Brain Research
|June 23, 2025
Summary
Brain connectivity during rest, not brain structure, predicts how children outwardly react to social rejection. Specific network connections are linked to more expressive emotional responses during peer rejection experiences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Social rejection is a universal stressor linked to mental health issues.
- Previous research connected rejection to brain activity in pain-processing areas but didn't link it to stable brain characteristics.
- Understanding biological underpinnings of rejection sensitivity is crucial for addressing mental health concerns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between brain structure, resting-state functional connectivity, and rejection sensitivity in children.
- To identify brain characteristics associated with heightened emotional reactivity to social rejection.
- To explore the biological basis of rejection sensitivity in a large, diverse pediatric sample.
Main Methods:
- A multi-ethnic, population-based sample of 1814 children aged 9-12 years was studied.
- Rejection sensitivity was assessed using the Cyberball paradigm, measuring emotional facial expressions and self-reported feelings during peer rejection.
- Brain structure and resting-state functional connectivity were analyzed in relation to observed and self-reported reactions.
Main Results:
- Stronger resting-state functional connectivity between the dorsal striatum, visual, and sensori-motor networks was associated with negative emotional facial expressions during peer rejection.
- Connectivity between the cingulo-operculum and dorsal attention network also correlated with more expressive negative reactions to rejection.
- No significant associations were found between brain structure and rejection reactions, nor between resting-state connectivity and self-reported feelings.
Conclusions:
- Resting-state functional connectivity, particularly within specific neural networks, is linked to observable emotional reactivity during social rejection in children.
- The dorsal striatum's connectivity may explain more expressive behavioral responses to rejection.
- Findings suggest that brain activity patterns during rest could indicate a predisposition to feeling distressed by social rejection.
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