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Neural correlates of experimentally induced flow experiences.

Martin Ulrich, Johannes Keller, Klaus Hoenig, Christiane Waller, Georg Grön

Neuroimage February 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.08.019 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Functional magnetic resonance perfusion imaging experiment Peer reviewed
Sample size 27
Population Human subjects performing mental arithmetic tasks
Topics Default mode network
Keywords Anova Amygdala Analysis of variance Ba Boredom experimental condition Brodmann area Casl Cnr Contrast-to-noise ratio Epi Echo time Echo-planar imaging Field of view Flow experimental condition Flow experience Fov Ifg Inferior frontal gyrus Intrinsic motivation Mni Mpfc MRI Magnetic resonance imaging Medial prefrontal cortex Montreal neurological institute Overload experimental condition Perfusion imaging Repetition time Rest experimental condition Spm Statistical parametric mapping Rcbf
Key findings The authors report that flow was associated with increased activity in the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus and left putamen and decreased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, and that subjective flow ratings were significantly associated with activity changes in the inferior frontal gyrus and amygdala, with a trend toward significance in the medial prefrontal cortex. They conclude these changes map onto features of flow: outcome probability coding, cognitive control, reduced self-referential processing, and reduced negative arousal.

Abstract

Flow refers to a positive, activity-associated, subjective experience under conditions of a perceived fit between skills and task demands. Using functional magnetic resonance perfusion imaging, we investigated the neural correlates of flow in a sample of 27 human subjects. Experimentally, in the flow condition participants worked on mental arithmetic tasks at challenging task difficulty which was automatically and continuously adjusted to individuals' skill level. Experimental settings of "boredom" and "overload" served as comparison conditions. The experience of flow was associated with relative increases in neural activity in the left anterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the left putamen. Relative decreases in neural activity were observed in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the amygdala (AMY). Subjective ratings of the flow experience were significantly associated with changes in neural activity in the IFG, AMY, and, with trend towards significance, in the MPFC. We conclude that neural activity changes in these brain regions reflect psychological processes that map on the characteristic features of flow: coding of increased outcome probability (putamen), deeper sense of cognitive control (IFG), decreased self-referential processing (MPFC), and decreased negative arousal (AMY).

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