Baseline physical activity moderates brain-behaviour relationships in response to framed health messages.

ABSTRACT: Health messaging often employs gain-framing (highlighting behaviour benefits) or loss-framing (emphasizing nonengagement risks) to promote behaviour change. This study examined how neural responses to gain- and loss-framed messages predict changes in physical activity. We conducted a mega-analysis of raw fMRI and pedometer/accelerometer data from four studies (N = 240) that tracked brain activity during message exposure and real-world physical activity longitudinally. Focusing on brain regions theorized by the Affect-Integration-Motivation framework-the anterior insula, ventral striatum, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal striatum, and presupplementary motor area-we found that baseline physical activity levels moderated brain-behaviour relationships in response to message framing. More

SUBMITTER: Ahn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12124189 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature