Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Jun 2012)

Neural responses to advantageous and disadvantageous inequity

  • Klaus eFliessbach,
  • Klaus eFliessbach,
  • Klaus eFliessbach,
  • Courtney B Phillipps,
  • Peter eTrautner,
  • Marieke eSchnabel,
  • Christian E Elger,
  • Christian E Elger,
  • Christian E Elger,
  • Armin eFalk,
  • Armin eFalk,
  • Bernd eWeber,
  • Bernd eWeber,
  • Bernd eWeber

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00165
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6

Abstract

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In this paper we study neural responses to inequitable distributions of rewards despite equal performance. We specifically focus on differences between advantageous (AI) and disadvantageous inequity (DI). AI and DI were realized in a hyperscanning fMRI experiment with pairs of subjects simultaneously performing a task in adjacent scanners and observing both subjects' rewards. Results showed i) hypoactivation of the ventral striatum under DI but not under AI; ii) inequity induced activation of medial and dorsolateral prefrontal regions, that were stronger under DI than AI; iii) correlations between subjective evaluations of DI and amygdala activity, and between AI evaluation and right ventrolateral prefrontal activity. Our study provides neurophysiological evidence for different cognitive processes that occur when exposed to DI and AI, respectively. Our data is compatible with the assumption that any form of inequity represents a norm violation, but that important differences between AI and DI emerge from an asymmetric involvement of status concerns.

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