A systematic review of the neural correlates of well-being reveals no consistent associations

Findings from behavioral and genetic studies indicate a potential role for the involvement of brain structures and brain functioning in well-being. We performed a systematic review on the association between brain structures or brain functioning and well-being, including 56 studies. The 11 electroencephalography (EEG) studies suggest a larger alpha asymmetry (more left than right brain activation) to be related to higher well-being. The 18 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies, 26 resting-state functional MRI studies and two functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies identified a wide range of brain regions involved in well-being, but replication across studies was scarce, both in direction and strength of the associations. The inconsistency could result from small sample sizes of most studies and a possible wide-spread network of brain regions with small effects involved in well-being. Future directions include well-powered brain-wide association studies and innovative methods to more reliably measure brain activity in daily life. •We performed a systematic review on the neural correlates of well-being.•A wide range of brain regions was involved in well-being in the different studies.•More left than right brain activation might be related to higher well-being.•Replication of associations across studies was scarce, in strength and direction.•Well-powered brain-wide association studies are needed to study neural correlates of well-being.