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The neural correlates of subjective pleasantness
1Ghent University, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology and Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. simone.kuhn@ugent.be
Neuroimage
|March 13, 2012
Summary
Subjective pleasantness processing involves specific brain regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum, identified through meta-analysis. Judgments of pleasantness appear to be automatic, regardless of timing during brain scanning.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Subjective pleasantness processing is crucial for decision-making.
- A neural network underlies pleasure across various modalities.
- Understanding the neural correlates of pleasantness is key to cognitive and environmental factor research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform a quantitative meta-analysis of brain imaging data on subjective pleasantness.
- To identify brain regions correlated with self-reported pleasantness judgments.
- To investigate differences in brain activity between immediate and subsequent pleasantness judgments.
Main Methods:
- Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.
- Inclusion of 40 studies correlating brain regions with self-reported pleasantness (attractiveness, liking, beauty).
- Comparison of brain activity between judgments made during and after scanning.
Main Results:
- Positive correlates of pleasantness found in medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left ventral striatum, pregenual cortex, right cerebellum, left thalamus, and mid cingulate cortex.
- Negative correlates identified in the left precentral gyrus, right cerebellum, and right inferior frontal gyrus.
- No significant differences in brain activation were observed between immediate and subsequent judgments.
Conclusions:
- Subjective pleasantness judgments are directly linked to the brain's reward circuitry, including the mOFC and ventral striatum.
- The evaluation of likability or pleasure appears to be an automatic neural process.
- Reporting pleasantness judgments does not elicit or enhance this automatic evaluation.
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