Cited by 152Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorFace Recognition and Perception

Appetitive motivation predicts the neural response to facial signals of aggression.

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Beaver, John D., Lawrence, Andrew D., Passamonti, Luca, Calder, Andrew J.·2008·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

The "behavioral approach system" (BAS) (Gray, 1990) has been primarily associated with reward processing and positive affect. However, additional research has demonstrated that the BAS plays a role in aggressive behavior, heightened experience of anger, and increased attention to facial signals of aggression. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that variation in the BAS trait in healthy participants predicts activation in neural regions implicated in aggression when participants view facial signals of aggression in others. Increased BAS drive (appetitive motivation) was associated with increased amygdala activation and decreased ventral anterior cingulate and ventral striatal activation to facial signals of aggression, relative to sad and neutral expressions. In contrast, increased behavioral inhibition was associated with increased activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate, a region involved in the perception of fear and threat. Our results provide the first demonstration that appetitive motivation constitutes a significant factor governing the function of neural regions implicated in aggression, and have implications for understanding clinical disorders of aggression.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.0033-08.2008

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  • In people, strength of mesolimbic incentive salience has been linked to personality traits of impulsiveness and sensation-seeking.

    “In people, also, strength of mesolimbic incentive salience has also been linked to personality traits of impulsiveness and sensation-seeking (e.g., Gray’s BAS [behavioral activation system]) (Gray et al., 1999; Beaver et al., 2008; Hickey and Peelen, 2015).”

    From Evolving Concepts of Emotion and Motivation (2018) · cites this paper as Beaver et al., 2008

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Cole PM, Zahn-Waxler C (1992) Emotional dysregulation in disruptive be- havior disorders. In: Rochester symposium on developmental psychopa- thology, Vol 4, Developmental perspectives on depression (Ciccheti D, Toth SL, eds), pp 173-210. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester.
  2. Gray JA (1982) The neuropsychology of anxiety: an enquiry into the func- tions of the septo-hippocampal system, Ed 1. Oxford: Oxford UP.

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Authors
Beaver, J. D., Lawrence, A. D., Passamonti, L., & Calder, A. J.
Affiliations
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (GB)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2008-03-12
Volume
28
Issue
11
Pages
2719-2725
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2064855375
Cited by
152
References
74
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 11
FWCI
5.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
appetitive motivation, behavioral approach system, aggression, amygdala, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, behavioral inhibition, threat perception, anger
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aggression, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Nerve Net, Photic Stimulation, Reward

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