The µ-opioid system promotes visual attention to faces and eyes
| Autor: | Marie Eikemo, O. V. Chelnokova, Guro Engvig Løseth, Frode Willoch, Bruno Laeng, Siri Leknes |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Agonist Visual perception Eye Movements genetic structures medicine.drug_class Narcotic Antagonists Cognitive Neuroscience Receptors Opioid mu Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 050105 experimental psychology Naltrexone Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Reward polycyclic compounds medicine Humans Visual attention Attention 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Agonism Social Behavior Morphine 05 social sciences Eye movement Original Articles General Medicine Gaze eye diseases Analgesics Opioid nervous system Face Visual Perception Cues Psychology human activities Neuroscience 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Opioid antagonist medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Scopus-Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 1749-5024 1749-5016 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/scan/nsw116 |
| Popis: | Paying attention to others' faces and eyes is a cornerstone of human social behavior. The µ-opioid receptor (MOR) system, central to social reward-processing in rodents and primates, has been proposed to mediate the capacity for affiliative reward in humans. We assessed the role of the human MOR system in visual exploration of faces and eyes of conspecifics. Thirty healthy males received a novel, bidirectional battery of psychopharmacological treatment (an MOR agonist, a non-selective opioid antagonist, or placebo, on three separate days). Eye-movements were recorded while participants viewed facial photographs. We predicted that the MOR system would promote visual exploration of faces, and hypothesized that MOR agonism would increase, whereas antagonism decrease overt attention to the information-rich eye region. The expected linear effect of MOR manipulation on visual attention to the stimuli was observed, such that MOR agonism increased while antagonism decreased visual exploration of faces and overt attention to the eyes. The observed effects suggest that the human MOR system promotes overt visual attention to socially significant cues, in line with theories linking reward value to gaze control and target selection. Enhanced attention to others' faces and eyes represents a putative behavioral mechanism through which the human MOR system promotes social interest. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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