Open AccessIncreases in brain activity during social competition predict decreases in working memory performance and later recall
Author(s) -
DiMenichi Brynne C.,
Tricomi Elizabeth
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.23396
Subject(s) - precuneus , psychology , recall , working memory , task (project management) , cognitive psychology , prefrontal cortex , competition (biology) , distraction , neuroscience , cognition , ecology , management , economics , biology
In our fMRI experiment, participants completed a learning task in both a noncompetitive and a socially competitive learning environment. Despite reporting a preference for completing the task while competing, participants remembered significantly more during the task and later recalled more from the noncompetitive learning environment. Furthermore, during working memory maintenance, there was performance‐related deactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the precuneus/PCC. During feedback presentation, there was greater activation in the mPFC and the precuneus/PCC while competing. Differential activation in the precuneus/PCC predicted worse later recall for information learned competitively. Since previous research suggests that the mPFC is involved in social‐referencing, while the precuneus/PCC is implicated in off‐task thoughts, our results suggest that receiving feedback regarding competition produces more activation in brain regions implicated in social interaction, as well as task distraction. While competition may make a task more enjoyable, the goal of winning may distract from maximizing performance. Hum Brain Mapp 38:457–471, 2017 . © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.