Reward sensitivity is associated with brain activity during erotic stimulus processing

The behavioral approach system (BAS) from Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory is a neurobehavioral system involved in the processing of rewarding stimuli that has been related to dopaminergic brain areas. Gray's theory hypothesizes that the functioning of reward brain areas is modulate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-06, Vol.8 (6), p.e66940-e66940
Main Authors: Costumero, Victor, Barrós-Loscertales, Alfonso, Bustamante, Juan Carlos, Ventura-Campos, Noelia, Fuentes, Paola, Rosell-Negre, Patricia, Ávila, César
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arousal
Biology
Brain
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Correlation analysis
Cues
Decision making
Dopamine
Dopamine receptors
Erotica
Eroticism
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Humans
Information processing
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medicine
Neostriatum
Neurobiology
Neurosciences
Personality
Personality traits
Photic Stimulation
Pictures
Punishment
Reinforcement
Reward
Sensitivity
Sexual behavior
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Stimuli
Studies
Substrates
Young Adult
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Summary:The behavioral approach system (BAS) from Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory is a neurobehavioral system involved in the processing of rewarding stimuli that has been related to dopaminergic brain areas. Gray's theory hypothesizes that the functioning of reward brain areas is modulated by BAS-related traits. To test this hypothesis, we performed an fMRI study where participants viewed erotic and neutral pictures, and cues that predicted their appearance. Forty-five heterosexual men completed the Sensitivity to Reward scale (from the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire) to measure BAS-related traits. Results showed that Sensitivity to Reward scores correlated positively with brain activity during reactivity to erotic pictures in the left orbitofrontal cortex, left insula, and right ventral striatum. These results demonstrated a relationship between the BAS and reward sensitivity during the processing of erotic stimuli, filling the gap of previous reports that identified the dopaminergic system as a neural substrate for the BAS during the processing of other rewarding stimuli such as money and food.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0066940