Default mode network activity is related to efficiency in a combined motion error and gambling task

Default mode network activity is related to efficiency in a combined motion error and gambling task Full article

Journal

Scientific Reports
ISSN: 2045-2322

Output data

Year: 2026, Volume: 16, Article number : 4422, Pages count : 13 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-34609-9

Authors

Chernov Gregory V. ¹ , Mel’nikov Mikhail Y. ² , Belianin Alexis V. ^3,4 , Rudych Pavel D. ⁵ , Bezmaternykh Dmitry D. ⁶ , Shakhzadayev Rassul M. ²

Affiliations

1	Department of Economics, University College London, London, WC1H 0AX, UK
2	Department of Biophysics, Biomedicine and Neuroscience, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050038, Republic of Kazakhstan
3	Almaty Management University, Laboratory for Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Almaty, 050060, Republic of Kazakhstan
4	National Research University Higher School of Economics, Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Finance, Moscow, 109028, Russia
5	International Tomography Center, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
6	Research Institute of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, Federal Research Center of Fundamental and Translational Medicine, Novosibirsk, 630060, Russia

Decision-making under risk lies at the core of strategic action in human activities. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying decision-making in trial-and-error-based learning in the absence of explicit risk ratios have not been thoroughly understood. This study investigates the neural correlates of long-term success during repeated risky decision-making. We combined a motion detection task with a higher-level risk task in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm. Twenty-five healthy adults participated in an fMRI task that required stopping a ball covertly moving at a constant speed at a certain spot. Participants initially selected a task difficulty level progressively related to the magnitude of the monetary reward and then attempted the task of chosen difficulty. Positive versus negative feedback (a monetary gain versus no gain) contrast comprised clusters in the striatum, executive control regions, and the Default mode network (DMN). The activity in brain regions associated with metacognitive functions (DMN nodes) and not in those involved in reward evaluation and risk-taking (striatum) was positively related to the exploration index, which reflects the effectiveness of risk-taking. This study provides insights into the functional roles of the DMN (especially, its anterior node) in high-level decision-making in risky environments, highlighting its importance in metacognitive control during reward-related learning.

Chernov G.V. , Mel’nikov M.Y. , Belianin A.V. , Rudych P.D. , Bezmaternykh D.D. , Shakhzadayev R.M.
Default mode network activity is related to efficiency in a combined motion error and gambling task
Scientific Reports. 2026. V.16. 4422 :1-13. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-34609-9 OpenAlex

Submitted:	Sep 11, 2024
Accepted:	Dec 29, 2025
Published online:	Jan 6, 2026

OpenAlex:

W7118401142

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