Data from: A human subcortical network underlying social avoidance revealed by risky economic choices

Social interactions have a major impact on well-being. While many
individuals actively seek social situations, others avoid them, at great
cost to their private and professional life. The neural mechanisms
underlying individual differences in social approach or avoidance
tendencies are poorly understood. Here we estimated people's
subjective value of engaging in a social situation. In each trial, more or
less socially anxious participants chose between an interaction with a
human partner providing social feedback and a monetary amount. With
increasing social anxiety, the subjective value of social engagement
decreased; amygdala BOLD response during decision-making and when
experiencing social feedback increased; ventral striatum BOLD response to
positive social feedback decreased; and connectivity between these regions
during decision-making increased. Amygdala response was negatively related
to the subjective value of social engagement. These findings suggest a
relation between trait social anxiety / social avoidance and activity in a
subcortical network during social decision-making.