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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
12:09

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Published on: March 19, 2014

Individual preferences modulate incentive values: Evidence from functional MRI.

Susan Koeneke1, Andreas F Pedroni, Anja Dieckmann

  • 1University of Zurich, Institute of Psychology, Division Neuropsychology, Switzerland. s.koeneke@psychologie.uzh.ch.

Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF
|November 27, 2008
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Summary

Brand preference significantly influences brain activity in reward areas, similar to objective reward intensity. This suggests subjective value plays a key role in decision-making and action preparation for preferred rewards.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Marketing Science

Background:

  • Objective reward intensity is typically used in reward processing studies.
  • Subjective incentive values of equivalent rewards can vary significantly.
  • Branding is a key factor influencing subjective reward value.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if individual brand preferences modulate neural activity in reward areas.
  • To compare the effect of brand preference to objective reward intensity.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
  • Participants played a wheel-of-fortune game for chocolate bars of varying subjective attractiveness.
  • Neural activity was analyzed during anticipation and outcome evaluation phases.

Main Results:

  • Linear association found between neural network activity and brand preference hierarchy.
  • Preference-dependent activity observed in premotor, insular, orbitofrontal cortex, and midbrain during anticipation.
  • Preference influenced neural activity in caudate nucleus, precuneus, lingual gyrus, cerebellum, and pallidum during outcome evaluation.

Conclusions:

  • Differently preferred brands exert a graded effect on the incentive value of equivalent rewards.
  • Anticipation phase activity reflects intensified 'wanting' for preferred brands, aiding action preparation.
  • This mechanism may explain real-life approach behaviors in choice situations.