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CATCHING the eye of someone beautiful triggers a flurry of activity deep in
the brain鈥攁 finding that may shed light on why first impressions last when
we meet new people.

Evidence is growing that in animals, a region of the brain called the ventral
striatum becomes active when the animal anticipates a reward of food. The same
region becomes active in drug addicts and compulsive gamblers when they are
about to indulge their habit.

Knut Kampe of University College London and his colleagues wondered whether a
social 鈥渞eward鈥濃�攖he sight of an attractive face鈥攚ould have the same
effect. To find out, they scanned the brains of 8 men and 8 women as they looked
at 160 photos of 40 different people in quick succession. The volunteers then
rated how attractive they found the faces they鈥檇 seen.

Unattractive faces did not activate the volunteers鈥� brains. But the ventral
striatum became more active when the photo was of an attractive person looking
straight out at the viewer, and less active if the person鈥檚 gaze was averted.
Kampe thinks this makes sense, because exchanging looks with an attractive
person represents a social 鈥済ift鈥�, while it鈥檚 disappointing to go unnoticed.

Interestingly, these responses were not sexual鈥攖hey happened regardless
of the gender of the person in the photo. We might link any attractive people
with 鈥渞eward鈥� because they have high social status. 鈥淢eeting a potential good
friend or someone who might influence our career might be very rewarding,鈥� says
Kampe.

He adds that the response seemed quick and automatic, and might partly
explain evidence that we make snap judgements of people within three or four
seconds of meeting them.