Imagining Pleasure and Pain in the Brain

What is it about?

Research on emotional perception and learning indicates appetitive cues engage nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex, whereas amygdala activity is modulated by the emotional intensity of appetitive and aversive cues. This study sought to determine patterns of functional activation and connectivity among these regions during narrative emotional imagery. Using fMRI, we investigate activation of these structures when participants vividly imagine pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant scenes.

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Why is it important?

This study suggests a central role for NAc and mPFC in processing pleasurable events that is consistent across stimulus media, showing the same pattern of activation during pleasant imagery as previously observed in research assessing human reactions to tangible appetitive cues or when viewing arousing pleasant pictures. Moreover, narrative imagery might be a useful tool to study in which appetitive processing is compromised.