The magazine of the european research area European Commission Copenhagen, a missed chance?

30 research

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eu No. 63 | APRIL 2010

or the hypothalamus, while others are located 

in the cerebral cortex.” This is the region of 

the  brain the TrygFonden Research Group 

researchers are concentrating on. Consisting 

of 10 scientists from Oxford University and 

the University of Aarhus, the research team 

is multidisciplinary and international. Neuro-

scientists, physicians, psychologists, engineers 

and computer scientists from Scotland, Ireland, 

Denmark, Bangladesh, France, England, 

Germany and South Africa are collaborating 

to better understand pleasure, our pleasure.

“Our work is mainly focused on the study 

and understanding of the functional anatomy 

of the human brain. To do this, we use state-

of-the-art neuroimaging techniques such 

as magneto-encephalography (MEG).” With 

such techniques, the researchers hope soon 

to  reveal  the as yet undiscovered role of 

the  orbitofrontal cortex, located just behind 

the eyes. Why this particular area? Because it 

is significantly bigger in human beings than in 

other primates. But in terms of hard facts, 

what can we learn from this area and how can 

it be useful from a medical standpoint? 

Children’s faces 

A baby’s face has always attracted more 

attention than an adult’s. Most of us will be 

more enraptured by a close relative’s offspring 

than by his or her new friend! For Morten 

Kringelbach’s team, understanding this phe-

nomenon presented an opportunity to help 

women suffering from postnatal depression. 

Aided by fellow researcher Alan Stein and 

other colleagues, Morten Kringelbach and 

his team examined the brain activity of men 

and women when shown pictures of children’s 

and adults’ faces. The result: researchers 

detected a surge of activity in the medial orbito-

frontal cortex just one seventh of a second after 

showing someone a child's face. By contrast, 

no such observations were made when show-

ing adult faces.

“The medial orbitofrontal cortex is clearly 

responsible for a reward mechanism and it is 

quite possible that babies’ faces and social 

pleasures in general are good for our well-

being.” It has been found that women suf-

fering from ‘baby blues’ (

2

) fail to react like 

other women to babies’ faces, even when 

their own baby is involved. “Activity in this 

brain region may change during postnatal 

depression. This could serve as a warning 

signal, helping to identify and treat women 

susceptible to this type of depression. In addi-

tion, treating mothers and fathers suffering 

from baby blues would help reduce the risk of 

their own children ending up suffering from 

depression.” 

Understanding the nature of pleasure in order to be able 

to treat affective disorders: this is the quest of Morten 

Kringelbach and his TrygFonden Research Group. 

“The lack of pleasure is a very common problem in mental 

illnesses such as depression. By better understanding the 

brain circuitry that pleasure is dependent on, we hope to 

be able to restore the balance of these fundamental brain 

networks in the short and long term”, says the Oxford 

University (UK) and University of Aarhus (DK) neuroscientist. 

Let’s take a look at this adventure in Hedonia, the land 

of hedonism.