Money Lights Up the Brain

Neuroscientists have recently conducted a study in which brain responses have been studied in association with money. Subjects observed red and green targets in their field of vision. Selecting targets was associated with monetary targets which could earn 10 cents or nothing each time.

One of the interesting findings was that the visual portion of the brain responded positively to targets that had been associated with rewards in the past. The brain actually made such targets appear more prominent to the subject just as how objects of interest would stand out while one is glancing over a scene.

Activation in neural regions associated with decision-making was also observed confirming that cognitive functions are activated whenever there are chances of making money.

While these results are hardly ground-breaking, scientists believe that this will be a first step towards understanding the seat of addiction which would explain how the brain responds to gambling, drugs etc.