Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of Psychological Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725101815 Dr. Henk van Steenbergen et al.
Points
- The study investigated endogenous opioids’ role in attentional broadening after reward receipt.
- Forty volunteers received either 50 mg naltrexone or placebo in a crossover design.
- Participants completed a Navon letters task to assess reward receipt vs. anticipation effects.
- Attentional broadening after reward receipt under placebo was eliminated when opioid receptors were blocked by naltrexone.
- This highlights endogenous opioids’ role in cognitive flexibility, resilience, and potential mental health implications.
Summary
This preregistered, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study investigated the role of endogenous opioids in mediating attentional broadening following reward receipt, a mechanism by which positive affect can counteract stress-induced tunnel vision. Contemporary society faces significant challenges that contribute to stress, often leading to a constricted attentional scope. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of attentional broadening after positive experiences could offer insights into resilience and creativity.
The study involved 40 volunteers, each participating in two sessions separated by at least one week. In these sessions, participants received either 50 mg of naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, or a placebo. Following drug administration, participants completed a Navon letters task. This task was specifically designed to differentiate the effects of actual reward receipt from mere reward anticipation on an individual’s attentional scope, allowing for precise measurement of attentional broadening.
As hypothesized, the results demonstrated that the attentional broadening typically observed after receiving a reward under placebo conditions was entirely eliminated when opioid receptors were blocked by naltrexone. Importantly, naltrexone did not appear to blunt the effects of reward anticipation on task performance or induce attentional narrowing, suggesting a specific role for endogenous opioids in the post-reward phase of attentional modulation. These findings highlight the critical involvement of endogenous opioids in cognitive flexibility and resilience, particularly through naturally occurring positive experiences, with potential implications for mental health interventions and stress management strategies.
Link to the article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/seeing-the-big[…]dening-after-reward-receipt/12153AC64B791ACFD0FF08DB080F52A3
References
Steenbergen, H. van, Gable, P., Fagan, H., Molteni, L., Midveris, A., & Huneke, N. (2025). Seeing the bigger picture: Endogenous opioids mediate attentional broadening after reward receipt. Psychological Medicine, 55, e283. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725101815
