When a person's face is displayed, he or she reacts faster and more accurately than the faces of others.This predominant effect of the self-face is observed even when presented so as not to be conscious (subliminal), so subconscious level intracerebral processing is involved.However, the mechanism of the brain that produces the dominant effect of the self-face has not been clarified so far.

　Therefore, the research group investigated the activity of the brain on the faces of oneself and others displayed subliminally using functional magnetic resonance imaging.Then, he discovered that the ventral tegmental area deep in the brain was strongly active against his face, even though he was unaware that his face was displayed.This ventral tegmental area is the center of the reward system that releases dopamine and motivates people.By working this dopamine reward system, attention is automatically directed to the information on one's face and the reaction is promoted, so it is thought that the superior effect of one's face will occur.

　Furthermore, even if the size of the eyes and chin of the face to be displayed was changed by processing the photograph, the activity of the ventral tegmental area on one's face remained high.From this, it was found that at the subconscious level, oneself and another's face are distinguished based on the shape of facial parts such as eyes and nose, not on the balance of the face.

　This discovery that the dopamine reward system is activated just by displaying one's face subliminally not only leads to the elucidation of the neural mechanism that creates self-consciousness, but is also expected to be applied to manipulate the motivation by working on the subliminal consciousness. It is supposed to be done.

Paper information:[Cerebral Cortex] Self face activates the dopamine reward pathway without awareness