Hedonic processing in humans is mediated by an opioidergic mechanism in a mesocorticolimbic system

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hedonic processing in humans is mediated by an opioidergic mechanism in a mesocorticolimbic system

AU - Buchel, Christian

AU - Miedl, Stephan

AU - Sprenger, Christian

N1 - © 2018, Buchel et al.

PY - 2018/11/16

Y1 - 2018/11/16

N2 - It has been hypothesized that the pleasure of a reward in humans is mediated by an opioidergic system involving the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens and the amygdala. Importantly, enjoying the pleasure of a reward is distinct from incentive salience induced by cues predicting the reward. We investigated this issue using a within subject, pharmacological challenge design with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and fMRI. Our data show that blocking opioid receptors reduced pleasure associated with viewing erotic pictures more than viewing symbols of reward such as money. This was paralleled by a reduction of activation in the ventral striatum, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus and medial prefrontal cortex. Crucially, the naloxone induced activation decrease was observed at reward delivery, but not during reward anticipation, indicating that blocking opioid receptors decreases the pleasure of rewards in humans.Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).

AB - It has been hypothesized that the pleasure of a reward in humans is mediated by an opioidergic system involving the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens and the amygdala. Importantly, enjoying the pleasure of a reward is distinct from incentive salience induced by cues predicting the reward. We investigated this issue using a within subject, pharmacological challenge design with the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and fMRI. Our data show that blocking opioid receptors reduced pleasure associated with viewing erotic pictures more than viewing symbols of reward such as money. This was paralleled by a reduction of activation in the ventral striatum, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus and medial prefrontal cortex. Crucially, the naloxone induced activation decrease was observed at reward delivery, but not during reward anticipation, indicating that blocking opioid receptors decreases the pleasure of rewards in humans.Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Limbic System/physiology

KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging

KW - Male

KW - Naloxone/administration & dosage

KW - Narcotic Antagonists/administration & dosage

KW - Pleasure

KW - Prefrontal Cortex/physiology

KW - Reward

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.7554/eLife.39648

DO - 10.7554/eLife.39648

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 30444488

VL - 7

JO - ELIFE

JF - ELIFE

SN - 2050-084X

ER -