Adolescents' affective and neural responses to parental praise and criticism

Negative feedback was associated with increased activity in the neural 'saliency network', including anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Positive feedback improved mood and increased activity in brain regions supporting social cognition, including temporoparietal junction, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and precuneus. A more positive general self-view and perceived parental warmth were associated with elevated mood, independent of feedback valence, but did not impact neural responses.

Taken together, these results enhance our understanding of adolescents' neural circuitry involved in the processing of parental praise and criticism, and the impact of parental feedback on well-being.