The structural neural substrate of subjective happiness.

Wataru Sato,Reiko Sawada,Yasutaka Kubota,Shota Uono,Sayaka Yoshimura,Takanori Kochiyama,Motomi Toichi

doi:10.1038/srep16891

Abstract

Happiness is a subjective experience that is an ultimate goal for humans. Psychological studies have shown that subjective happiness can be measured reliably and consists of emotional and cognitive components. However, the neural substrates of subjective happiness remain unclear. To investigate this issue, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires that assessed subjective happiness, the intensity of positive and negative emotional experiences, and purpose in life. We found a positive relationship between the subjective happiness score and gray matter volume in the right precuneus. Moreover, the same region showed an association with the combined positive and negative emotional intensity and purpose in life scores. Our findings suggest that the precuneus mediates subjective happiness by integrating the emotional and cognitive components of happiness.

Highlights

Happiness is a subjective experience that is an ultimate goal for humans
Our analysis of psychological ratings revealed that the mean subjective happiness score was similar to that reported in a previous study[19]
The correlation analysis revealed that subjective happiness was negatively associated with negative emotional traits, as previously reported[18], but not with the negative emotional states

Summary

Introduction

Happiness is a subjective experience that is an ultimate goal for humans. Psychological studies have shown that subjective happiness can be measured reliably and consists of emotional and cognitive components. The neural substrates of subjective happiness remain unclear To investigate this issue, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires that assessed subjective happiness, the intensity of positive and negative emotional experiences, and purpose in life. Empirical psychological studies of subjective happiness have shown that the construct can be measured reliably over time[2], is strongly influenced by genetic factors[3], and consists of emotional (e.g., experiencing more pleasure and less displeasure) and cognitive (e.g., evaluating one’s life as good) components[1]. We used structural MRI and measures of subjective happiness[2], and possible emotional (positive and negative emotional intensity15), and cognitive (the evaluation of purpose in one’s life16) components of happiness to test these hypotheses. We assessed participants’ trait and state anxiety level[17] to confirm www.nature.com/scientificreports/

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Conclusion