University of South Carolina, Department of Exercise Science, Columbia, SC, USA.
University of South Carolina, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Columbia, SC, USA.
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2024 Jul;212:107930. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107930. Epub 2024 Apr 30.
Positive social comparative feedback is hypothesized to generate a dopamine response in the brain, similar to reward, by enhancing expectancies to support motor skill learning. However, no studies have utilized neuroimaging to examine this hypothesized dopaminergic mechanism. Therefore, the aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the effect of positive social comparative feedback on dopaminergic neural pathways measured by resting state connectivity. Thirty individuals practiced an implicit, motor sequence learning task and were assigned to groups that differed in feedback type. One group received feedback about their actual response time to complete the task (RT ONLY), while the other group received feedback about their response time with positive social comparison (RT + POS). Magnetic resonance imaging was acquired at the beginning and end of repetitive motor practice with feedback to measure practice-dependent changes in resting state brain connectivity. While both groups showed improvements in task performance and increases in performance expectancies, ventral tegmental area and the left nucleus accumbens (mesolimbic dopamine pathway) resting state connectivity increased in the RT + POS group but not in the RT ONLY group. Instead, the RT ONLY group showed increased connectivity between ventral tegmental area and primary motor cortex. Positive social comparative feedback during practice of a motor sequence task may induce a dopaminergic response in the brain along the mesolimbic pathway. However, given that absence of effects on expectancies and motor learning, more robust and individualized approaches may be needed to provide beneficial psychological and behavioral effects.
正性社会比较反馈被假设通过增强对支持运动技能学习的期望来产生大脑中的多巴胺反应，类似于奖励。然而，没有研究利用神经影像学来检验这种假设的多巴胺机制。因此，本初步研究的目的是通过静息态连接来研究正性社会比较反馈对多巴胺能神经通路的影响。30 名个体练习了一种内隐的、运动序列学习任务，并被分配到反馈类型不同的组中。一组接受关于完成任务的实际反应时间的反馈（仅 RT），而另一组接受关于其反应时间的反馈与正性社会比较（RT+POS）。在有反馈的重复运动练习开始和结束时采集磁共振成像，以测量静息态大脑连接的练习依赖性变化。虽然两组都表现出任务表现的提高和表现期望的提高，但 RT+POS 组的腹侧被盖区和左侧伏隔核（中脑边缘多巴胺通路）静息态连接增加，而仅 RT 组没有增加。相反，仅 RT 组显示腹侧被盖区和初级运动皮层之间的连接增加。在运动序列任务的练习过程中给予正性社会比较反馈可能会在中脑边缘途径中诱导大脑中的多巴胺反应。然而，鉴于对期望和运动学习没有影响，可能需要更强大和个体化的方法来提供有益的心理和行为效果。
