Is mindset related to functional connectivity in motivation-related brain networks: A resting-state fMRI study in adolescents

Introduction: the aim of this study was to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity patterns of the reward circuitry and executive control network, and their associations with growth mindset of intelligence in adolescents Methods: we investigated seed-based functional connectivity of three pre-defined seeds, the caudate and putamen (reward circuitry), and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC; executive control region) in 59 adolescents between 13–16 years old. Growth mindset was used as covariate in the seed-based analysis Results: our findings revealed the expected whole-brain functional connectivity patterns of the three pre-defined seeds. In contrast to the literature, none of these functional connectivity patterns between the seeds and all other voxels of the brain were related to growth mindset Conclusion: the current study suggests that the neural representation of a growth mindset is not consistently observed in resting-state neural connectivity and might depend on contextual or cultural differences.