Fig. 1

Episodic memory paradigm, behavioral performance, and brain activation across rural and urban groups in the discovery and replication samples. a Episodic memory paradigm. b The interaction effect of behavioral performance during encoding and retrieval sessions in the discovery sample. c The interaction effect of behavior performance during encoding and retrieval sessions in the replication sample. d Discovery sample: During the encoding session, the rural group engaged more activation at bilateral caudate and putamen, bilateral middle frontal gyrus under aversive stimuli. During the retrieval session, the rural group engaged more activation at bilateral hippocampus, right amygdala, left thalamus, and fusiform under aversive stimuli (whole brain cluster-wise FWE-corrected P < 0.05). e Replication Sample: During the encoding session, the rural group engaged activation at bilateral caudate, left middle and superior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex under aversive stimuli. During the retrieval session, the rural group also engaged activation in left inferior temporal gyrus, thalamus, and bilateral middle frontal gyrus than the urban group (P < 0.001 uncorrected, k > 30)