title: Reward sensitivity is associated with brain activity during erotic stimulus processing.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Básica, Clínica y Psicobiologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain. vcostume@uji.es
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Costumero
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barrós-Loscertales
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bustamante
authors.forename: Noelia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ventura-Campos
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosell-Negre
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ávila
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004882:Erotica; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012201:Reward; D055815:Young Adult