“…NAc activation is considered to reflect a rewarding effect, where the NAc shows dopaminergic innervation (Izuma et al, 2008 ; Lin et al, 2012 ); sincere praise (i.e., reliable praise) evokes more brain activity in the NAc compared to flattery, suggesting a higher rewarding effect of the former. The PCC, rather than dopamine-innervated areas, is involved in higher-order processing of social interactions (Yokoyama et al, 2017 ; Alcalá-López et al, 2018 ; Kageyama et al, 2019 ), probably based on self-referential processing (Brewer et al, 2013 ), regulating the focus of attention (Leech and Sharp, 2014 ), and in the functional processing and flexible response to environment changes (Leech et al, 2012 ). The correlation between the brain activity in the PCC and subjective reliability scores of our participants may reflect the high cognitive process, engagement with information relevant to the self, and adaptation of oneself to the environment, mirroring the rewarding effects of reliable feedback.…”