Fig 3. Stress-induced changes in amygdala emotional salience and prefrontal executive networks in the decision phase.

(A and C) Stress-induced differences in brain representation of the degree of inequality and the functional connectivity between the amygdala and vmPFC. (A and B) PPI analysis based on the right amygdala as a seed showed that the stress group had increased functional connectivity of the right amygdala and the vmPFC during the decision stage in the punishment options. *P < 0.05; error bars represent the SEM. (C) The mediating effect of amygdala-vmPFC connectivity on the association between acute stress and the punishment rate (i.e., the frequency of selecting the punishment option in the decision phase). (D–G) Stress-induced neural activity in the decision phase. (D) Relative to the control group, the stress group demonstrated stronger DLPFC activation when selecting the punishment option than when selecting the help option (initial whole-brain threshold P < 0.001, cluster corrected P _FWE < 0.05 for left DLPFC). (E–G) Relative to the control group, the stress group had stronger activation in the rDLPFC, rTPJ, and rPCC in trials in which participants selected the punishment option (initial threshold P < 0.001; cluster corrected P _FWE < 0.05), and the effect was not significant in trials in which participants selected the help option. The source data of Fig 3B–3G can be found at https://osf.io/fkae9/. DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; PPI, psychophysiology interaction; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex.