Elevated integration within the reward network underlies vulnerability to distress.

Distress tolerance (DT), the capability to persist under negative circumstances, underlies a range of psychopathologies. It has been proposed that DT may originate from activity and connectivity in diverse neural networks orchestrated by the reward system. To test this hypothesis, we examined the link between DT, and integration and segregation in the reward network as derived from resting state functional connectivity data. DT was measured in 147 healthy participants, using the Behavioral Indicator of Resiliency to Distress task. We found that distress intolerant participants demonstrated heightened reward network integration relative to distress tolerant subjects. In addition, these differences in integration were higher relative to the rest of the brain and, more specifically, the somatomotor network, which has been implicated in impulsive behavior. These findings support the notion that increased integration in large-scale brain networks may constitute a risk for distress intolerance and its psychopathology correlates.