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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Published on: March 19, 2014

Is our self nothing but reward?

Georg Northoff¹, Dave J Hayes

¹Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. georg.northoff@rohcg.on.ca

Biological Psychiatry

|February 1, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Neuroscience research links self-processing brain regions to reward circuits. Exploring integration, segregation, or parallel models may clarify the self-reward relationship and advance understanding of consciousness.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Neurobiology

Background:

The sense of self is a complex cognitive function.
Neuroscience is investigating the neural underpinnings of self-processing.
Self-related stimuli activate brain regions typically associated with reward processing, such as the ventral tegmental area, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and ventral striatum.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the potential relationship between the neural mechanisms of self and reward.
To review existing models (integration, segregation, parallel processing) explaining the self-reward connection.
To highlight the benefits of interdisciplinary interaction between the fields of self and reward.

Main Methods:

Review of recent neuroscience findings on self-processing and reward circuits.
Analysis of theoretical models linking self and reward.
Discussion of the implications of current research for understanding self and reward.

Main Results:

Evidence suggests overlap between brain regions involved in self-representation and reward processing.
Three distinct models—integration, segregation, and parallel processing—can conceptualize the self-reward relationship.
Current findings provide a basis for evaluating these models, though further research is needed.

Conclusions:

Increased interaction between the study of self and reward is mutually beneficial.
Investigating the self-reward link can enhance our understanding of reward processing.
This interdisciplinary approach can illuminate how neural function contributes to the concept of self.