



Studies of subjective well-being have conventionally relied upon self-report, which directs subjects’ attention to their emotional experiences. This method presumes that attention itself does not influence emotional processes, which could bias sampling. We tested whether attention influences experienced utility (the moment-by-moment experience of pleasure) by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the activity of brain systems thought to represent hedonic value while manipulating attentional load. Subjects received appetitive or aversive solutions orally while alternatively executing a low or high attentional load task. Brain regions associated with hedonic processing, including the ventral striatum, showed a response to both juice and quinine. This response decreased during the high-load task relative to the low-load task. Thus, attentional allocation may influence experienced utility by modulating (either directly or indirectly) the activity of brain mechanisms thought to represent hedonic value.
Show More# | Filename | Description | Filesize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ReadMe.txt | Overview | 11.9 KB |
2 | AE_afni_ae16.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae16 | 451 MB |
3 | AE_afni_ae17.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae17 | 427 MB |
4 | AE_afni_ae18.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae18 | 433 MB |
5 | AE_afni_ae19.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae19 | 434 MB |
6 | AE_afni_ae20.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae20 | 425 MB |
7 | AE_afni_ae21.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae21 | 441 MB |
8 | AE_afni_ae22.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae22 | 431 MB |
9 | AE_afni_ae23.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae23 | 431 MB |
10 | AE_afni_ae24.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae24 | 449 MB |
11 | AE_afni_ae25.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae25 | 434 MB |
12 | AE_afni_ae26.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae26 | 409 MB |
13 | AE_afni_ae27.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae27 | 445 MB |
14 | AE_afni_ae28.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae28 | 457 MB |
15 | AE_afni_ae29.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae29 | 455 MB |
16 | AE_afni_ae30.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae30 | 442 MB |
17 | AE_afni_ae31.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae31 | 443 MB |
18 | AE_afni_ae32.tgz | directory AE_afni/ae32 | 473 MB |
19 | AE_afni_GroupAnalysis_PLoS.tgz | directory AE_afni/GroupAnalysis_PLoS | 76.7 MB |
20 | AE_dicoms_ae16_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae16_dicoms | 208 MB |
21 | AE_dicoms_ae17_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae17_dicoms | 215 MB |
22 | AE_dicoms_ae18_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae18_dicoms | 211 MB |
23 | AE_dicoms_ae19_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae19_dicoms | 214 MB |
24 | AE_dicoms_ae20_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae20_dicoms | 209 MB |
25 | AE_dicoms_ae21_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae21_dicoms | 211 MB |
26 | AE_dicoms_ae22_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae22_dicoms | 220 MB |
27 | AE_dicoms_ae23_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae23_dicoms | 211 MB |
28 | AE_dicoms_ae24_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae24_dicoms | 218 MB |
29 | AE_dicoms_ae25_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae25_dicoms | 214 MB |
30 | AE_dicoms_ae26_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae26_dicoms | 217 MB |
31 | AE_dicoms_ae27_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae27_dicoms | 213 MB |
32 | AE_dicoms_ae28_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae28_dicoms | 218 MB |
33 | AE_dicoms_ae29_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae29_dicoms | 222 MB |
34 | AE_dicoms_ae30_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae30_dicoms | 212 MB |
35 | AE_dicoms_ae31_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae31_dicoms | 216 MB |
36 | AE_dicoms_ae32_dicoms.tgz | directory AE_dicoms/ae32_dicoms | 223 MB |
37 | other.tgz | directory other | 10 MB |