Akanksha Nambiar

Trait reward sensitivity and behavioral motivation are associated with connectivity between the default mode network and the striatum during reward anticipation.

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience February 20, 2026 James B Wyngaarden, Akanksha Nambiar, Jeffrey Dennison et al.

Individuals vary substantially in their responses to rewarding events and their motivation to pursue rewards. While the ventral striatum (VS) plays a central role in reward anticipation, its functional connectivity with the default mode network (DMN)-critical for self-referential processing and value integration-potentially represents a key mechanism through which trait differences manifest in...