Attentional Modulation of Brain Responses to Primary Appetitive and Aversive Stimuli

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.