Feeling good doesn't just lift our mood-it also helps us stay flexible and resilient. A new study by an international team of neuroscientists shows that natural brain opioids released after rewards play a key role in broadening attention, offering fresh insights into stress, cognition, and well-being.
How do positive emotions help us cope with stress and stay mentally flexible? A new international study led by Henk van Steenbergen provides new perspectives. The research, published in Psychological Medicine, shows that endogenous opioids-the brain's own chemicals that are associated with pleasant feelings-play a key role in broadening our attention after receiving a reward.
Bigger picture
For decades, psychologists have argued that some types of positive emotions allow people to "see the bigger picture." When individuals feel positive emotions after receiving a reward, they are less likely to fall into tunnel vision or rigid patterns of thought. This makes it easier to adapt to new challenges. In contrast, positive emotions experienced during the pursuit of a reward can narrow attention, focusing an individual on their goal. Until now, however, the neurochemical processes behind these effects were poorly understood.
Reward broadens attention
To uncover the mechanism, the researchers conducted an experiment in which participants completed attention tasks that presented large letters consisting of smaller letters after receiving small rewards. Normally, before receiving a reward, attention narrows and people tend to see the small letters before the bigger letters. After receiving a small reward, attention broadens and people tend to see the large letter before the smaller letters.
Role of the opioid system
By administering a safe opioid blocker to participants, they could test whether natural brain opioids were responsible for the narrowing or broadening of attention (seeing the large letter faster) normally seen after receiving rewards. Indeed, when the opioid system was temporarily blocked, the broadening effect of receiving a reward disappeared, but the narrowing effect before receiving the reward still occurred. These results provide evidence that endogenous opioids are key to the broadening occurring in post-reward positive affects but not pre-reward narrowing.
Resilience and cognitive flexibility
The team of researchers from the Netherlands, the United States, and the UK found that naturally occurring opioids, which are released during pleasurable experiences, substantially contribute to this attentional broadening. 'These findings open the door to a new line of research on how the brain's own opioids support resilience and cognitive flexibility,' says Van Steenbergen. 'Pleasurable activities such as social connection, physical exercise, or enjoying music can activate this natural system. At a time when opioid misuse is a major social concern, it is important to highlight that our own bodies are equipped with safe and beneficial ways to counteract stress and its cognitive consequences.'
The study Seeing the bigger picture: Endogenous opioids mediate attentional broadening after reward receipt is published open access in Psychological Medicine.
